The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: A Beautiful Friendship

The song of the day for Sunday, September 18, 2016 is “A Beautiful Friendship.”

About This Song

“A Beautiful Friendship” was written in 1956 by the sons of two great American songwriters. The composer, Donald Kahn, was the son of lyricist Gus Kahn and the lyricist, Stanley Styne, was the son of composer Jule Styne. In addition to Tony Bennett’s fine recording, “A Beautiful Friendship” has been recorded by Duke Ellington and Rosemary Clooney.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “A Beautiful Friendship” in 1967 for his album Tony Makes It Happen! It was arranged by Marion Evans, a friend of The Year of Tony Bennett as well as fellow native of Alabama. He continues to arrange for Tony Bennett to this day, including his work on the recent album Cheek To Cheek.

Thanks to my good friend Nick who posted it on his Tony Bennett Facebook page The Amazing Tony Bennett, I read this really sweet article from People magazine:

Lady Gaga: Tony Bennett Is the One ‘I Call When I’m in Heartbreak’

@nicolesands901 09/16/2016 AT 06:30 PM EDT Lady Gaga won’t cry anymore, once she’s got Tony Bennett on the line. Mother Monster honored the singing legend during a special taping for his 90th birthday bash on Thursday night. Taking the stage at New York City’s historic Radio City Music Hall, she thanked Bennett for helping her through tough times.

I’d say she’s lucky to have a friend like Tony.

A Beautiful Friendship

Listen to A Beautiful Friendship on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1967


“A Beautiful Friendship,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Can’t Get Out Of This Mood

The song of the day for Monday, August 22, 2016 is “Can’t Get Out Of This Mood.”

About This Song

With music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Frank Loesser, “Can’t Get Out Of This Mood” was written for the 1942 wartime musical, Seven Day’s Leave. This torch song was introduced in the movie by Ginny Simms, with the Freddy Martin Orchestra.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Can’t Get Out Of This Mood” in 1967 for his album Tony Makes It Happen! It features a terrific arrangement by Marion Evans.

Can"t Get Out Of This Mood

Listen to Can"t Get Out Of This Mood on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1967


“Can’t Get Out Of This Mood,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Monday, August 8, 2016 is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written for the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow by Burton Lane and Yip Harburg, which also gave us “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” While Alec Wilder was no fan of “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”, in America Popular Song, he praises “Old Devil Moon” as “a well-written, wholly convincing song. It drives, and its initial intensity is sustained throughout.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Old Devil Moon” in 1967 for the album Tony Makes It Happen! This recording has a lot going for it: Bennett is in great voice, Marion Evans’ arrangement is perfect and the band sounds great. I was thinking about Yip Harburg a lot today and this is one of my favorite of his songs. Happy Monday, all!

Old Devil Moon

Listen to Old Devil Moon on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1967


“Old Devil Moon,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Country Girl

The song of the day for Monday, July 25, 2016 is “Country Girl.”

About This Song

“Country Girl” was written by the Canadian-born composer, conductor, arranger and trumpet player Robert Farnon in 1966. Farnon composed both light classical and popular music, as well as film and television scores. Farnon worked with Tony Bennett on several albums, including the wonderful 1968 Snowfall.

About This Version

Tony first recorded “Country Girl” in 1966 for his album Tony Makes It Happen! The arrangement is by Marion Evans.

Country Girl

Listen to Country Girl on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1967


“Country Girl,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

About Today

We feature today’s song in honor of 99th anniversary of the birth of composer Robert Farnon.

Robert Joseph Farnon was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 24, 1915. He was an avid musical student as a youngster and studied the trumpet. With the advent of World War II, Farnon was commissioned as a Captain in the Canadian Army and was made head of the Canadian Band of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, a position which sent him to Europe during the war.

farnon-2

After the war, Farnon elected to remain in England and embarked on a very successful career as an arranger and composer for film and orchestra. He was widely acknowledged as one of the great arrangers, especially for strings and orchestras. He composed classical symphonies, art songs and scores for films including Captain Horatio Hornblower.

Robert Farnon died in England in 2005. His obituary from The Guardian contains a very good synopsis of his career.

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Song of the Day: I Don’t Know Why

The song of the day for Thursday, June 16, 2016 is “I Don’t Know Why.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “I Don’t Know Why,” was written in 1931 by Fred Ahlert and Roy Turk. The song was introduced by Russ Columbo and was made popular by the Wayne King Orchestra.

About This Version

Marion Evans and Tony Bennett in 1967. Photo by Milt Hinton.
Marion Evans and Tony Bennett in 1967. Photo by Milt Hinton.

Tony Bennett recorded “I Don’t Know Why” in 1967 for his album Tony Makes It Happen! The arrangement is by our good friend Marion Evans.

I Don"t Know Why (I Just Do)

Listen to I Don"t Know Why (I Just Do) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1967


“I Don’t Know Why,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.