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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

February 22, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Watch What Happens

The song of the day for Sunday, February 22, 2015 is “Watch What Happens.”

About This Song

“Watch What Happens” was written for the 1964 French film The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg or Les parapluies de Cherbourg in the original French. The music was written by Micheal Legrand with the original lyrics by the director, Jacques Demy. Norman Gimbel wrote the English lyrics. The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg is a lovely film. It is completely sung-through, which at first thought may seem somewhat odd, but it is so well-written and directed, that it all seems perfectly natural. The films stars the absolutely glorious Catherine Deneuve, who was only 20 years old when the film was made. It shows up on Turner Classic Movies at least once or twice a year and is certainly worth your time. And, Michel Legrand’s score is brilliant.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded several of Michel Legrand’s song, including his wonderful version of “How Do You Keep The Music Playing.” His first Legrand recording was “Once Upon A Summertime,” from his 1962 album I Wanna Be Around. I’m glad that he included “Watch What Happens” on this album; he sings it very well and it’s a high point on If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set.

Watch What Happens

Listen to Watch What Happens on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1965.


“Watch What Happens,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs for the Jet Set, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Jacques Demy, Michel Legrand, Norman Gimbel, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

August 25, 2013 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Watch What Happens

The song of the day for Sunday, August 25, 2013 is “Watch What Happens.”

About This Song

Thanks to Turner Classic Movies and my digital video recorder, I watched The Umbrellas of Cherbourg for the first time this evening and knew within in a few minutes of the movie that “Watch What Happens” had to be the song of the day. The melody runs throughout the entire film. The film was released in 1964 with a marvelous score by Michel Legrand and lyrics in French by Jacques Demy, who also directed the movie. The entire film is sung-through, though it should not be considered an opera. There are no songs sung by a chorus; it’s that instead of spoken dialogue, the dialogues is sung. And it works beautifully as a film. The English lyrics for “Watch What Happens” are by Norman Gimbel.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Watch What Happens” is from Tony Bennett’s 1965 album If I Ruled the World: Songs For the Jet Set. It was arranged and conducted by Don Costa; the album was produced by Ernie Altschuler. This is one of Bennett’s finest albums and includes other great songs, including “If I Ruled the World” and “Fly Me To The Moon.”

http://open.spotify.com/track/6J1m1Bse56jNnCy7opDbXb
“Watch What Happens,” as well as the album If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set, is available from iTunes and Amazon.com (for vinyl fans, amazon.com has a new vinyl LP rerelease of this album for sale as well).

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Don Costa, Ernie Altschuler, If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set, Jacques Demy, Michel Legrand, Norman Gimbel, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

June 29, 2013 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Watch What Happens

The song of the day for Saturday, June 29, 2013 is “Watch What Happens.”

About This Song

“Watch What Happens” was written in 1964 by Michel Legrand with English lyrics by Norman Gimbel for the film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Bennett’s masterful 1965 album If I Ruled the World – Songs For the Jet Set.

Tony Bennett has opened every concert of his that I have attended with this song, which makes me very happy because I love this song very much and never tire of hearing him sing it. (And yes, this dates back to seeing The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at the tender age of fifteen. I think my parents took me because I was taking French in school at the time.)

http://open.spotify.com/track/6J1m1Bse56jNnCy7opDbXb
“Watch What Happens,” as well as the If I Ruled The World – Songs For the Jet Set, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: If I Ruled the World, Michel Legrand, Norman Gimbel, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

November 29, 2012 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Watch What Happens

The Song of the Day for Thursday, November 29, 2012 is Watch What Happens.

About Watch What Happens

Watch What Happens was written for the 1964  Les Parapluies De Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourgh) by Michael Legrand, with lyrics by the film’s screenwriter, Jacques Demy. Norman Gimbel wrote the English lyrics.

About This Version

This version is from Tony Bennett’s wonderful 1965 album If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set and was arranged and conducted by Don Costa. The Ralph Sharon Trio ,with Hal Gaylor on bass and Billy Exiner on drums, was featured on the album, as was Al Cohn on tenor saxophone. Ernie Altschuler produced the album.

Mr. Bennett’s recording of Watch What Happens was included on a later release of the soundtrack that included several bonus tracks of jazz interpretations of songs from the film. The soundtrack is available on Amazon.

Watch What Happens, along with the album If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Al Cohn, Jacque Demy, Michael Legrand, Norman Gimbel, Ralph Sharon Trio, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

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