The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Pick Yourself Up

The song of the day for Wednesday, January 19, 2022, is “Pick Yourself Up.”

About This Song

This song was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1939 film Swing Time, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It was used in the early part of the film where Astaire pretends to not be able to dance and asks for Ginger Rogers as his dance instructor just so he could dance with her. This song has been widely recorded, including those by Nat King Cole, Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Diana Krall.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Pick Yourself Up” with The Bill Charlap Trio for the 2015 album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. Peter Washington (bass) and Kenny Washington (drums) join Bill Charlap on piano.

“Pick Yourself Up,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern is available on Apple Music.

In the first year of the COVID pandemic, the Actor’s Fund got a lot of jazz musicians together, under the direction of Tony DeSare, to create a video of this song as a fundraiser. It’s a joyous version and did raise a lot of money for out-of-work actors. Enjoy!

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Song of the Day: Somebody Loves Me

The song of the day for Tuesday, November 16, 2021, is “Somebody Loves Me.”

About Today

The Year of Tony Bennett wishes the wonderful Diana Krall a very happy birthday!

About This Song

“Somebody Loves Me” was written by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ballard MacDonald, for George White’s Scandals of 1924. Popular early recordings include those by Paul Whiteman and Cliff Edwards, also known as Ukulele Ike. Other recordings include those by Dave Brubeck, Ella Fitzgerald, Fletcher Henderson, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, and many more.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Diana Krall recorded “Somebody Loves Me” for their 2018 album Love Is Here To Stay with The Bill Charlap Trio (Charlap on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Kenny Washington on drums).

“Somebody Loves Me,” as well as Love Is Here To Stay is available on Apple Music.

Tony and Diana did this story on NPR about their album.

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Song of the Day: Pick Yourself Up

The song of the day for Saturday, January 30, 2021, is “Pick Yourself Up.”

About This Song

“Pick Yourself Up” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the film Swing Time, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It was used in the early part of the film where Astaire pretends to not be able to dance and asks for Ginger Rogers as his dance instructor just so he could dance with her. This song has been widely recorded, including those by Nat King Cole, Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Diana Krall.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Pick Yourself Up” with The Bill Charlap Trio for the 2015 album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. It swings quite nicely.

Pick Yourself Up

Tony Bennett, Bill Charlap · The Silver Lining - The Songs of Jerome Kern · Song · 2015

“Pick Yourself Up,” as well as The Silver Lining, is available from Apple Music.

We’ve got some great videos today:

Here’s Astaire and Rogers from Swing Time

Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers - Pick Yourself Up [High Quality]

An iconic dance scene from the 1936 movie "Swing Time". This movie was selected in 2004 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It also ranks #90 in AFI"s (American Film Institute) "100 Years... 100 Movies" list.

Last June, singer Tony DeSare created this fabulous All-Star Jazz Collab for the Actors Fund version of “Pick Yourself Up.” It was a fundraiser for the Actors Fund and much needed as actors have not been able to work since the pandemic began. I find myself returning to this video often, as it always makes me feel happy!

Pick Yourself Up - All-Star Jazz Collab for the Actors Fund

Go here to donate to Actors Fund: http://actorsfund.org/jazz Pick Yourself Up - By Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields Featuring: Piano: Tedd Firth Bass: Billy Thornton Guitar: Edward Decker Drums and Percussion: Brian Czach Background Vocals: Jarrett Johnson Featured Singers (in order of appearance): Clint Holmes Tierney Sutton @Steve Tyrell @Tony

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Song of the Day: S’Wonderful

The song of the day for Wednesday, September 30, 2020, is “S’Wonderful.”

About This Song

George and Ira Gershwin wrote “S’Wonderful” for the 1927 musical Funny Face, where it was introduced by Adele Astaire (Fred’s sister) and Allen Kearns.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Diana Krall, with The Bill Charlap Trio, recorded “S’Wonderful” for their 2018 album Love Is Here To Stay. Bill Charlap arranged and produced the album. In addition to Charlap, the trio includes Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums.

“S’Wonderful,” as well as Love Is Here To Stay, is available from Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: They Didn’t Believe Me

The song of the day for Thursday. January 30, 2020, is “They Didn’t Believe Me.”

About This Song

Jerome Kern and Herbert Reynolds wrote “They Didn’t Believe Me” in 1914 for Broadway musical The Girl From Utah. It became Kern’s first major song success.

This song redefined the American love song. Before “They Didn’t Believe Me,” love songs reflected the customary waltz-rhythms of European influence. Kern broke the mold and fitted the new American passion for modern dances such as the fox-trot. The song is also remarkable in its use of ‘everyday’ language in a love song. Theatre historian John Kenrick writes that, until this point, the majority of love songs had relied on flowery vocabulary to express romantic sentiments. The song put Kern in great demand on Broadway and established a pattern for musical theatre love songs that lasted through the 1960s.

“They Didn’t Believe Me” became a standard and was used in several films in the 1930s and 1940s. Significant recordings include those by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dinah Washington, Jeanette MacDonald, Johnny Mercer, Charlie Parker, Elvis Costello, Stan Kenton, Bill Frisell, Bud Powell, Edward Woodward, Harry Belafonte, Leontyne Price, and Marian McPartland.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “They Didn’t Believe Me” with the Bill Charlap Trio for the 2015 album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern.

I think that Bennett’s recording of “They Didn’t Believe Me” is remarkable. With quiet and subdued accompanimnet from the Bill Charlap Trio, Bennett sings from his heart. It’s sincere, touching, and as real as can be.

“They Didn’t Believe Me,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available from iTunes.