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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

February 19, 2022 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Album of the Week: Tony Sings For Two

The album of the week starting on February 20, 2022, is Tony Sings For Two.

Tony Sings For Two

On October 28, 1959, Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon entered the CBS 30th Street Studio with a briefcase full of sheet music to record an album with no orchestra, just Bennett and Sharon on piano. They looked through the music and tried different tunes. Once a song was selected, they recorded it in one or two takes; the arrangements were spontaneous. In one afternoon, they recorded 16 songs, 12 of which made it onto the album; a 13th song was added to the 1995 CD re-release. Mitch Miller showed up at the start of these sessions, furious that they were really going through with it. When he saw that there was no dissuading Bennett, he turned to Frank Laico and said, “I’m leaving. I can’t support this.” The resulting album, Tony Sings For Two was released until early 1961. The album was a masterpiece and is one of Bennett’s finest albums.

Album Facts

Release Date February 6, 1961
Label Columbia
Producer Mitch Miller
Vocals Tony Bennett
Piano Ralph Sharon
Recording Date October 28, 1959
Recording Engineer Frank Laico

Listen to Tony Sings For Two

You can also listen to Tony Sings For Two on

  • Apple Music
  • Amazon Music player
  • Qobuz
  • YouTube Music
  • Pandora

Filed Under: Album of the Week Tagged With: A Sleepin' Bee, Bewitched, Frank Laico, Happiness is a Thing Called Joe, I Didn't Know What Time It Was, I'm Thru With Love, Just Friends, Mam'selle, Mitch Miller, My Funny Valentine, Nobody's Heart Belongs To Me, Ralph Sharib, Skylark, Street of Dreams, The Man That Got Away, Tony Bennett, Where Or When

June 9, 2020 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: The Man That Got Away

The song of the day for Wednesday, June 10, 2020, is “The Man That Got Away.”

About Today

The Year of Tony Bennett is celebrating America’s greatest female entertainer–Judy Garland. Judy was born as Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She died on June 22, 1969, in London, England from an overdose of barbiturates.

We’ve got lots of extra media of Miss Garland following our customary link to Tony’s recording.

About This Song

“The Man That Got Away” was written by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin for Judy’s spectacular 1954 version of A Star Is Born, with James Mason. Her performance of the song is legendary in film history, with 27 takes in three days, three separate sessions, and two different directors. The filmed scene is brilliant and made the song a huge hit for Garland, who sang it in most of her concerts.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Man That Got Away” in 1959, with Ralph Sharon, for the album Tony Sings For Two, released in 1961.

“The Man That Got Away,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available from iTunes.

Here is Judy’s performance of our song from her concert at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961:

Of course, no topic about “The Man That Got Away” would be complete without the scene from A Star Is Born:

Judy Garland had a television program, The Judy Garland Show, that ran in 1962 and 1963 on CBS. My mother and I used to watch it every Sunday night. Tony Bennett appeared on the show and they sang about the city of San Francisco:

I love seeing their affection for each other in this clip.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: A Star Is Born, Harold Arlen, I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Ira Gershwin, Judy Garland, The Judy Garland Show, The Man That Got Away, Tony Bennett

June 22, 2019 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Playlist of the Week: Tony Loves a Harold Arlen Song

The playlist of the week of June 23 is Tony Loves a Harold Arlen Song.

Harold Arlen is widely considered to be one of America’s finest songwriters. Bennett’s recordings of his work are all wonderful.

Tony Loves a Harold Arlen Song

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, from The Playground

A Sleepin’ Bee, with lyrics by Truman Capote, from Tony Sings For Two

Blues in the Night, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, from Playin’ With My Friends

Don’t Like Goodbyes, with lyrics by Truman Capote, from The Art of Romance

Ill Wind (You’re Blowin’ Me No Good), with lyrics by Ted Koehler, from Tony Bennett On Holiday

Last Night When We Were Young, with lyrics by Yip Harburg, from Perfectly Frank

One for My Baby (And One More for the Road), with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, on Perfectly Frank

So Long, Big Time, with lyrics by Dory Langon Previn, on The Many Moods of Tony

That Old Black Magic, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, from Bennett & Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962

The Man That Got Away, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, from Tony Sings For Two

Filed Under: Playlist of the Week Tagged With: #tony90, A Sleepin', A Sleepin' Bee, Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive, Bennett & Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962, Blues in the Night, Don't Like Goodbyes, Dory Langdon Previn, Harold Arlen, Ill Wind (You're Blowing Me No Good), Ira Gerswhin, Johnny Mercer, Last Night When We Were Young, One for My Baby (And One More For the Road), Perfectly Frank, Playin' With My Friends, So Long Big Time, Ted Koehler, That Old Black Magic, The Art of Romance, The Man That Got Away, The Many Moods of Tony, The Playground, Tony Bennett, Tony Bennett On Holiday, Truman Capote, Yip Harburg

May 11, 2019 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Playlist of the Week: Tony Loves a Piano

The playlist of the week of May 12, 2019, is Tony Loves a Piano. Some of Bennett’s finest recordings have been made with just Tony and a pianist. This week we honor some of the best of those recordings.

Tony Loves a Piano

Some of Tony Bennett's finest recordings have been with only Tony and a pianist. This week we honor some of the best of those recordings.

My Foolish Heart (Victor Young and Ned Washington) with Bill Evans
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (Richard Rodgers and Larry Hart) with Ralph Sharon
Cold, Cold Heart (Hank Williams) with John Bunch
Some Other Time (Leonard Bernstein, Adolph Green and Betty Comden) with Bill Evans
The Man That Got Away (Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin) with Ralph Sharon
A Sleepin’ Bee (Harold Arlen and Truman Capote) with Ralph Sharon
Dream Dancing (Cole Porter) with Bill Evans
One For My Baby (by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer)/It Had To Be You (Isham Jones, Gus Kahn) with John Bunch
We’ll Be Together Again (Carl T. Fischer and Frankie Laine) with Bill Evans

Filed Under: Playlist of the Week Tagged With: A Sleepin' Bee, Adolph Green, Betty Comden, Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered, Bill Evans, Carl T. Fischer, Cold Cold Heart, Cole Porter, Dream Dancing, Frankie Laine, Gus Kahn, Hank Williams, Harold Arlen, I Love a Piano, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Isham Jones, It Had To Be You, John Bunch, Johnny Mercer, Larry Hart, Leonard Bernstein, My Foolish Heart, Ned Washington, One For My Baby, Ralph Sharon, Richard Rodgers, Some Other Time, The Man That Got Away, Truman Capote, Victor Young, We'll Be Together Again

July 16, 2012 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

July 16 2012

The Man That Got Away

Today’s Song of  the Day is one of my favorite songs from the Great American Songbook, The Man That Got Away by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin. Other than Judy Garland’s untoppable performance of this song in A Star is Born, Tony’s is my favorite version of the song. Originally released on Tony’s masterpiece album Tony Bennett Sings for Two in 1959.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin, Judy Garland, The Man That Got Away, Tony Bennett

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