The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Tony Live! Chicago

The song of the day for Sunday, March 8, 2020, is “Chicago.”

About This Song

“Chicago” was written in 1932 by Fred Fisher. If there is any song associated with the great city of Chicago, it is this song. It’s been widely recorded by singers including Count Basie and Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and many, many more.

About This Version

We’re continuing our review of the songs that Bennett sang with the Dave Brubeck Trio. Their second song in the set was “Chicago,” captured on Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962.

“Chicago,” as well as Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: That Old Black Magic

The song of the day for Thursday, October 17, 2019, is “That Old Black Magic.”

About Today

I really do try hard to not repeat songs too often as the song of the day. In fact, I strive for balance of recordings that we Tony Bennett fans know and love with lesser-known but equally terrific recordings. Today is one of those exceptions–I found myself singing “That Old Black Magic” in the shower this morning and knew I had to showcase it today. It’s just one of those songs!

About This Song

One of the great songs by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, “That Old Black Magic” was written in 1942 and first recorded by Glenn Miller and was also used in the 1942 movie Star Spangled Rhythm. It’s been recorded many times and used in several films, including the 1956 film Bus Stop, where it was sung by Marilyn Monroe.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and the Dave Brubeck Trio (Brubeck on piano, Eugene Wright on bass, and Joe Morello on drums) recorded this improvisation of “That Old Black Magic” on August 28, 1962, at a concert celebrating that year’s White House interns.

The tapes from that concert were long thought lost. They were recently discovered in the Sony/Columbia vaults, filed accidentally in the classical section, and released in 2013 on Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962.

“That Old Black Magic,” as well as Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962, is available from iTunes.