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.