An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett
Glad to see Tony Bennett really enjoying his birthday!
Tony Bennett on Twitter
LIVE on #Periscope: Treating myself to a birthday cake pop and coffee @Starbucks. #Tony90 #TonyxStarbuckshttps://www.periscope.tv/w/am9zXjFlVmpZZG9yeUpkS0x8MXlwS2RQTlBiQW5LV5MD3hpNiJ29-7Wyvz_IDpgscescUmC-yuSurs6uwFi6 …
On the second day of the Tony Bennett 90th Birthday Bash, Monday, August 1, 2016 the song of the day is “The Rules of the Road.”
“The Rules of the Road” was written in 1961 by our songwriter of the month, Cy Coleman, and Carolyn Leigh.
It’s no secret that I absolutely adore this song. All the different versions too. Here’s the original: recorded in 1961 and included on Bennett’s Grammy-winning album I Left My Heart in San Francisco. The arrangement is by Ralph Burns. (Hint: we’ll be returning to this album before the birthday bash is over.)
Rules of the Road
Listen to Rules of the Road on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1962.
And here’s the alternate version, which I love. This time, it’s a Ralph Sharon arrangement from When Lights Are Low.
The Rules Of The Road
Listen to The Rules Of The Road on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1964.
Listening to these recordings one after the other is master class in singing.
Today we kick off the first day of the Tony Bennett 90th Birthday Bash, Sunday, July 31, 2016 with “Fly Me To The Moon.”
“Fly Me To The Moon” was originally titled “In Other Words,” and was written in 1954 by Bart Howard. With its original title the song was not doing that well, in spite of several recordings. In 1962, Howard renamed the song to “Fly Me To The Moon,” and the song began to catch on. Tony Bennett’s 1965 recording for If I Ruled The World was a big hit for Bennett. There have been many recordings of the song, including those by Frank Sinatra, Kaye Ballard and many more. However, Bart Howard told Bennett that his 1965 recording was “the definitive performance of this song.”
Tony Bennett recorded “Fly Me To The Moon” in 1965 for his album If I Ruled The World: Songs for the Jet Set. The arrangement is by Don Costa.
Fly Me To The Moon
Listen to Fly Me To The Moon on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1965.