The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Climb Ev’ry Mountain

The song of the day for Monday, June 7, 2021, is “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.”

About This Song

Written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” is from the beloved musical The Sound of Music, which opened on Broadway in 1959 and ran for 1,443 performances. It is sung at the end of Act One by the Mother Abbess.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” in 1959 and released it as a single; the same recording was included on his 1962 album Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits. He sang it at his 1962 concert at Carnegie Hall on June 9, 1962, captured on Tony Bennett At Carnegie Hall.

Climb Ev"ry Mountain (From "The Sound Of Music") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962

Listen to Climb Ev"ry Mountain (From "The Sound Of Music") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962 on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1962.

“Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” as well as Tony Bennett At Carnegie Hall is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Climb Ev’ry Mountain

The song of the day for Tuesday, February 13, 2018 is “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.”

About This Song

“Climb Ev’ry Mountain” is just one of the many songs from The Sound of Music, written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. The Sound of Music opened in 1959 and ran for 1,443 performances. It is sung at the end of Act One by the Mother Abbess. The Sound of Music was the last musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein; Oscar Hammerstein died of cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere.

About This Version

Tony Bennett included “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” in his section of songs from Broadway musicals at his Carnegie Hall concert, recorded on June 9, 1962.

Climb Ev"ry Mountain (From "The Sound Of Music") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962

Listen to Climb Ev"ry Mountain (From "The Sound Of Music") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962 on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1962.


“Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” as well as Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: My Favorite Things

The song of the day for Saturday, July 30, 2016 is “My Favorite Things.”

About This Song

“My Favorite Things” is, of course, from The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. In the Broadway production, the song was introduced by Mary Martin and sung in the office of the Mother Abbess before Maria leaves to become governess for the von Trapp family. In the film, where it was sung by Julie Andrews, the song was moved to a scene with the children, when there is a storm and Maria sings the song to the children so that they won’t be too scared.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “My Favorite Things” in 1968 for his wonderful album Snowfall, which was arranged and conducted by Robert Farnon. I believe it is one the finest Christmas albums ever made by anyone, ever.

My Favourite Things

Listen to My Favourite Things on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1968.

“My Favorite Things,” as well as Snowfall, is available from iTunes.

About Today

I guess it’s Christmas in July here at the Year of Tony Bennett. Here’s Bennett singing today’s song in a lovely Christmas setting. And that cute redhead on the couch? His lovely and extremely talented daughter, Antonia.

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Song of the Day: Climb Ev’ry Mountain

The song of the day for Friday, July 15, 2016 is “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.”

About This Song

“Climb Ev’ry Mountain” is from the beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music, which opened on Broadway in 1959 and ran for 1,443 performances. It is sung at the end of Act One by the Mother Abbess.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” in 1959, with an arrangement by Frank DeVol. It was released as a single that year and was included on Bennett’s 1962 album Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits.

Climb Ev"ry Mountain

Listen to Climb Ev"ry Mountain on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1962.


“Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” as well as Mr Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: My Favorite Things

The song of the day for Thursday, November 28, 2013, US Thanksgiving Day, is “My Favorite Things.”

About This Song

“My Favorite Things” was written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein for the 1959 musical The Sound of Music. Sadly, it was the last musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein; Oscar Hammerstein died from cancer nine months after the opening of the musical on Broadway.

US readers might be interested to know that a live production of The Sound of Music, starring Carrie Underwood as Maria, will air on NBC next Thursday, December 5. I watched a “making of” one hour special about this production on TV Wednesday evening, and it looks quite interesting. I was kind of charmed to see that Carrie Underwood has been listening to her mentor, Tony Bennett. Early in the broadcast, she was asked if she was nervous and she replied that of course she had the butterflies, but if you don’t have butterflies, the audience will likely sense that you don’t really care.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s wonderful 1968 album, Snowfall, which was arranged and conducted by Robert Farnon. Musical supervision was by Tony Tamburello and the album was produced by Jack Gold.

As we near our Christmas celebration with The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, beginning on December 14, we’ll be featuring most of the songs from this wonderful album. An editor at iTunes sums up exactly how I feel about this extraordinary album:

The 1968 set Snowfall is far more than an obligatory holiday release from a legendary singer. Teaming with British arranger/composer Robert Farnon, Tony Bennett brings a warmth and emotional commitment to the familiar tunes, lending them a unique luster. With his customary ability to personalize a song lyric, he makes “The Christmas Song,” “White Christmas,” “Winter Wonderland” and other Yuletide standards feel immediate and vital.

I think it’s far and away the best Christmas album ever recorded.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0MoZADdiiC9yzcWpBbNYAC
“My Favorite Things,” as well as the album Snowfall, is available from iTunes and Amazon.

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