The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Laura

The song of the day for Friday, January 12, 2018 is “Laura.”

About This Song

“Laura” was written by David Raksin, with lyrics from Johnny Mercer, for the 1944 film of the same name, starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. Raksin was known as a film composer (he also wrote the title song for The Bad and the Beautiful, which is included on the Bill Evans-Tony Bennett album Together Again), his compositions are often jazz standards. “Laura” has been recorded many times, by both singers and instrumentalists.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Laura” in 1959 for the album To My Wonderful One, released in 1960. Frank DeVol did the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

Laura

Tony Bennett · To My Wonderful One · Song · 1960


“Laura,” as well as To My Wonderful One, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Last Night When We Were Young

The song of the day for Monday, July 31, 2017 is “Last Night When We Were Young.”

About This Song

“Last Night When We Were Young” was written in 1935 by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg.

Arlen considered “Last Night When We Were Young” to be one of his favorite songs. In American Popular Song, Alec Wilder calls it a “most remarkable and beautiful song … (that) goes far beyond the boundaries of popular music.” Yip Harburg has said that he doesn’t know exactly where the title came from but that “the juxtaposition of those two phrases is almost a whole world of philosophy.” All in all, it’s a very beautiful and introspective song that is much beloved by singers. Frank Sinatra included on his wonderful album In The Wee Small Hours. It has also been recorded by Judy Garland, Mel Tormé, Carmen McRae and, of course, Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Last Night When We Were Young” in 1959 for the 1960 album To My Wonderful One. The arrangement was by Frank DeVol, who arranged and conducted the album.

Last Night When We Were Young

Listen to Last Night When We Were Young on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1960


“Last Night When We Were Young,” as well as To My Wonderful One, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Today marks the end of our look at Mitch Miller, which includes some of Bennett’s greatest recordings as well as others that many would sooner forget. However, we must never forget that it was Mitch Miller who signed Tony Bennett to Columbia, and for that many of us are eternally grateful.

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Song of the Day: Laura

The song of the day for Tuesday, October 25, 2016 is “Laura.”

About This Song

“Laura” was written for the 1944 film of the same name, starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. David Raksin was known as a film composer (he also wrote the title song for The Bad and the Beautiful, which is included on the Bill Evans-Tony Bennett album Together Again), his compositions are often jazz standards. “Laura” has been recorded many times, by both singers and instrumentalists. Note that the Johnny Mercer lyrics came later and weren’t used in the film. In fact, Mercer wrote the lyrics without having ever seen the film!

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Laura” in 1959 for his album To My Wonderful One. The arrangement is by Frank DeVol.

Laura

Tony Bennett · To My Wonderful One · Song · 1960


“Laura,” as well as To My Wonderful One, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Today is one of those days where two of my passions come together. I am a big fan of the writer Ross Macdonald and noir detective fiction in general and am part of a group on Facebook devoted to that. This morning, someone posted a picture of Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews from the film Laura. I figured “Laura had to be the song of the day.

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Song of the Day: Laura

The song of the day for Sunday, November 10, 2013 is “Laura.”

About This Song

“Laura” was written for the 1944 film of the same name, which starred Gene Tierney, Clifton Webb and Dana Andrews. The music was written by David Raksin and lyrics were added later by Johnny Mercer. Raksin was a noted film composer who wrote “The Bad and the Beautiful,” which Bill Evans played as a solo on his and Tony’s album Together Again. “Laura” is jazz standard, ranking #35 on the jazz standards.com website. In 1945, the year the film was released, there were five different recordings, with Woody Herman’s version gaining million-seller status. Over the years, “Laura” has been recorded by artists including Frank Sinatra, Billy Eckstine, Ella Fitzgerald and many others, including Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Laura” at the famed CBS 30th Street Studio in New York on this day in 1959. At the same session, he also recorded “Autumn Leaves,” “Speak Low” and “Tenderly.” The album was arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol and has a lush orchestral sound that suits the song selection very well. As an aside, Bucky Pizzarelli played guitar at this session. You can read more about the session here.

“Laura” appeared on Tony Bennett’s 1960 album To My Wonderful One, his eighth album at Columbia.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6A7vt75OqxDCsEWvvqgoCf
“Laura,” as well as the album To My Wonderful One, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: September Song

The song of the day for Sunday, September 1, 2013 is “September Song.”

About This Song

“September Song” was written by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson for the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday. The song was introduced in the musical by Walter Huston. The song has been widely sung since it was written, with significant recordings by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, in addition to Tony Bennett’s fine recording.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “September Song” for his 1960 album To My Wonderful One. He also included this recording on the Forty (and Fifty) Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett box sets. In the liner notes for the box set, Bennett writes:

I was very influenced by the way Walter Huston, who created it in Knickerbocker Holiday, interpreted this song: you can hear some of the same sweet bitterness in my own performance. This song also makes me appreciate the genius of Kurt Weill.

“September Song” was arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol; the album was produced by Mitch Miller and Al Ham.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1hw9QFhjuEsBxvXGuBWslK
“September Song,” as well as the album To My Wonderful One, is available from iTunes and Amazon.com.