The song of the day for Sunday, August 23, 2015 is “Close Your Eyes.”

About This Song

“Close Your Eyes” was written in 1933 by Bernice Petkere, named by Irving Berlin as the “Queen of Tin Pan Alley.” A vaudeville performer as a child, she sold her first song in 1931, “Starlight,” recorded by Bing Crosby. “Close Your Eyes” is her most well-known song. The song started getting jazz treatments in the 1950s, starting with a great duet from Coleman Hawkins and Milt Jackson.

About These Versions

Tony Bennett has recorded this song three times: first in 1953, arranged by Gil Evans and featuring The Pastels; in 1955 with an arrangement by Percy Faith featuring The Ray Charles Singers and finally in 1961, arranged by Ralph Burns for his album My Heart Sings.

About Today

The Year of Tony Bennett introduces a new feature this Sunday, where we present several different recordings of the same song recorded by Tony Bennett. Whenever I decide to use a certain song and am presented with several different recordings to choose from, I listen to them all before I decide which to use as Song of the Day. It’s always quite interesting to hear both the similarities and differences over the years and with different musicians. So our new Sunday feature will present those versions so that you can listen to them all, if you wish, and decide which one you like best.

1953

“Close Your Eyes,” as well as Rarities, Outtakes and Other Delights, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

1955

“Close Your Eyes,” as well as The Columbia Singles, Vol. 3, is available from iTunes.

1961

“Close Your Eyes,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available from iTunes.