The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: What A Little Moonlight Can Do

The song of the day for Tuesday, August 19, 2014 is “What A Little Moonlight Can Do.”

About This Song

This charming song was written by Harry Woods while he was living and working in temporarily in London for a British film studio as a composer. One of the songs he wrote was “What A Little Moonlight Can Do” for a movie called Roadhouse. Billie Holiday, with Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, recorded the song in 1935.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded today’s song in 1996 for his tribute album to Billie Holiday: Tony Bennett On Holiday. This album presents a side of Lady Day that I appreciate. Sure, we hear a lot of her soul-searching songs, but also the light, sweet and cheerful standards that she also sang to great effect, including this one. Bobby Tucker, who played piano for Billie Holiday, served as consultant for this album, which was a brilliant stroke.

One of the readers on our sister site, The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography, said that “I was surprised to discover that Tony Bennett’s tribute to Lady Day rang truer than all of the other attempts to politicize her, racialize her, or use her as a self-promotional ‘career stepping stone.'” I couldn’t agree more. It’s about the music. It always is.

Tony Bennett did the painting of Billie Holiday that is used on the cover of Tony Bennett On Holiday.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0PPOBJY0oBhGCR79a1CiVO
“What A Little Moonlight Can Do,” as well as the album Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: That Ole Devil Called Love

The song of the day for Tuesday, June 24, 2014 is “That Ole Devil Called Love.”

About This Song

“That Ole Devil Called Love” was written in 1944 by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher. Billie Holiday made the first recording in 1945, as the B-Side to “Lover Man.” Other recordings include those by Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett , Johnny Griffin and Susanna McCorkle.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “That Ole Devil Called Love” in January, 1997 for his tribute album to Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett On Holiday. This is a very fine album, made more so by Bennett working with Bobby Tucker, the former pianist for Miss Holiday. This, song as well as the entire album, was arranged and conducted by Jorge Calandrelli. Ralph Sharon played the piano.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2XTPGs0a732J32miBGWD9f
“That Ole Devil Called Love,” as well as the album Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Laughing at Life

The song of the day for Friday, June 20, 2014 is “Laughing at Life.”

About This Song

“Laughing At Life” was composed in 1930 by Bob Todd and Cornell Todd, with lyrics by Charles F. Kenny and Nick A. Kenny. Billie Holiday recorded it several times with different musicians including Lester Young and Count Basie. The song has also been recorded by Frankie Laine, Roy Eldridge, Carmen McRae and Milt Hinton.

About This Version

Your intrepid blogger has been in a Billie Holiday mood for several days now and so it’s no surprise that today’s song is from Tony Bennett’s tribute album to Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett On Holiday. Bennett picked a wonderful selection of songs for this album, described in his autobiography The Good Life:

People often focus on the negative aspects of Billie’s short and tragic life, on her sad songs. But I wanted to concentrate on the optimistic side of her legacy. … I wanted to put the emphasis on her upbeat songs like “All Of Me,” “Laughing At Life” and “What A Little Moonlight Can Do.” … She was truly the Goddess of Style, and she changed music forever.

It’s a charming arrangement by Jorge Calandrelli and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2X2mtLVpajxCJog0ixGJp9
“Laughing at Life,” as well as the album Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: My Old Flame

The song of the day for Friday, June 13, 2014 is “My Old Flame.”

About This Song

“My Old Flame” was written by Arthur Johnston (music) and Sam Coslow (lyrics) in 1934 for the movie Belle of the Nineties, which starred Mae West. Miss West was an ardent fan of Duke Ellington and insisted that Ellington and His Orchestra appear in the film and accompany her for the singing of this song.

The song has been widely recorded by artists including Cootie Williams, Ben Webster, Dinah Washington and Billie Holiday, among others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “My Old Flame” for his 1997 tribute album to Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett On Holiday. There are many fine recordings on this album in addition to today’s song including “Trav’lin’ Light,” “Good Morning, Heartache” and “Me, Myself and I.” The album features Ralph Sharon on piano, with strings arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2jBarJ6zzh3TyZn1hZqpMT
“My Old Flame,” as well as the album Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: These Foolish Things

The song of the day for Monday, May 12, 2014 is “These Foolish Things.”

About This Song

“These Foolish Things: was composed by Jack Strachey, with lyrics by Eric Mashwitz (as Holt Marvell) for a revue named Spread It Abroad. Although written and first performed in 1936, “These Foolish Things” was not an immediate hit. In fact, Maschwitz’ agent refused to publish the song and so Maschwitz himself did. There were several fine recordings in the 1930s, including one by Billie Holiday with the Teddy Wilson Orchestra and Benny Goodman. In the 1950s, the song became even more popular, with recordings by Artie Shaw, Nat King Cole, Art Pepper and Johnny Hartman. ”These Foolish Things” ranks #28 on jazzstandards.org and is still widely played and recorded.

About This Version

Tony Bennett chose this song for his tribute album to Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett On Holiday, released in 1997. The strings were orchestrated by Jorge Calandrelli and features Ralph Sharon on piano. The album was produced by Tony Bennett and his son, Danny Bennett.

http://open.spotify.com/track/38J0EAfT8bR9U0XFrqp53f
“These Foolish Things,” as well as the album Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

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