The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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

The song of the day for Tuesday, July 15, 2014 is “Can’t Get Out Of This Mood.”

About This Song

Today’s song was composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Frank Loesser 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 this song for his 1967 album Tony Makes It Happen!. The album was arranged by the very talented Marion Evans and the orchestrations are excellent; this song is a great example of Evans’ work. The strings are just right and the trombone solo is fantastic. Oh, and Tony Bennett is as good as it gets on this song.

http://open.spotify.com/track/5GqhWBdSSvgPp82stuEh9Z
“Can’t Get Out Of This Mood,” as well Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Lady’s In Love With You

The song of the day for Sunday, June 29, 2014 is “The Lady’s In Love With You.”

About This Song

“The Lady’s In Love With You” was written by Frank Loesser and Burton Lane for the 1939 film Some Like It Hot (not to be confused with the excellent 1959 Billy Wilder film), where it was introduced by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross. It’s been widely recorded, including those by Tony Bennett, Glenn Miller, Margaret Whiting, and Michael Feinstein.

The Year of Tony Bennett would like to remember the great American songwriter Frank Loesser, who was born on this day, June 29, in 1910. Loesser had a remarkable career as the writer of Guys and Dolls, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and the remarkable The Most Happy Fella. He also wrote for films, including today’s song and “They’re Either Too Young or Too Old” for Stage Door Canteen.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song in 1967 for his album Tony Makes It Happen! This album also features another Loesser song, “Can’t Get Out Of This Mood.” The album was arranged and conducted by Marion Evans.

http://open.spotify.com/track/196IZPSQKytH80IeAzzT4b
“The Lady’s In Love With You,” as well as the album Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: On the Sunny Side of the Street

The song of the day for Wednesday, February 12, 2014 is “On the Sunny Side of the Street.”

About This Song

“On The Sunny Side of the Street” was written by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields in 1930. It was introduced in Lew Leslie’s International Revue. The song was one of the first in a series of cheerful songs to try to cheer people up over the Great Depression. It has proven popular with singers, who love the wonderful Fields lyrics, and jazz players, who love McHugh’s swingy tune.

About This Version

Today’s version of “On the Sunny Side of the Street” is from Bennett’s 1967 album Tony Makes It Happen! This song, as well as the entire album, was arranged and conducted by Marion Evans. Howard Roberts produced the album.

We choose this song, in part, as it is one of the four songs that k.d. lang sang last night in her Broadway debut in After Midnight.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6hINWgC3EgCfjis27zY9Gq
“On the Sunny Side of the Street,” as well as the album Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Don’t Get Around Much Anymore

The song of the day for Tuesday, February 4, 2014 is “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.”

About This Song

Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington wrote this tune in 1940; it was originally called “Never No Lament.” In 1942, Bob Russell wrote the lyric and the title became “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.”

The Ink Spots made a very successful recording of the song in 1943; Ellington recorded an instrumental version that same year. With vocalist Al Hibbler, Ellington recorded the song with vocals in 1947.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” in 1967 for his album Tony Makes It Happen! (The album title is the answer to the fourth song on the album: “What Makes It Happen?”). The album was arranged and conducted by Marion Evans and produced by Howard Roberts. He recorded a new version in 1999 for Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool; he went on to record it with Michael Bublé on Duets II and Miguel Bose on Viva Duets. The documentary film The Zen of Bennett has a long scene on the recording of this song with Bublé for Duets II.

http://open.spotify.com/track/491ebIOXElVbEqQgzVILO2
“Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart

The song of the day for Saturday, December 28, 2013 is “I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart.”

About This Song

“I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart” was written in 1938 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Mills, Henry Nemo and John Redmond. The song was a major hit for Ellington, reaching #1 on the charts. In addition to his own recording that year, other recordings by Benny Goodman and Mildred Bailey were made that year and were extremely popular as well. In 1952, Ellington named this song as one of his eleven favorite songs that he had written.

About This Version

Today’s version of “I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart” is from Tony Bennett’s 1967 album Tony Makes It Happen! This version was arranged and conducted by Marion Evans. The album was produced by Howard Roberts.

http://open.spotify.com/track/72GRwENAjiE7aY8FD5ORwy
“I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart,” as well as the album Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.