The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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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.

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Song of the Day: What Makes It Happen?

The Song of the Day for Tuesday, November 26, 2013 is “What Makes It Happen?”

About This Song

“What Makes It Happen?” was written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn for the 1966 musical Walking Happy. Van Heusen and Cahn were nominated for the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist, but lost to Kander and Ebb for Cabaret.

About This Version

Forty-seven years ago today, November 26, 1966, Tony Bennett recorded three songs, all arranged by Marion Evans: My Inamorta, Country Girl and today’s song of the day, What Makes It Happen. Today’s song is the question that the name of the album it appears on answers: Tony Makes It Happens! Ernie Altschuler produced the album, which was released in 1967.

What Makes It Happen

Listen to What Makes It Happen on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1967

“What Makes It Happen?,” as well as the album 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 Thursday, October 31, 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 by Duke Ellington in 1938. The lyrics were written by Irving Mills, Henry Nemo and John Redmond. The Ellington recording charted at #1 in 1938 and was followed by a successful Benny Goodman recording. It has also be recorded by Dinah Washington, Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine and Stan Getz, among many others.

In 1952, Ellington named “I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart” as one of his favorite of 11 recordings. The website jazzstandards.com ranks this song at 152.

About This Version

Today’s version is from the 1967 album Tony Makes It Happen! This song, as well of all of the songs on this album, was arranged and conducted by Marion Evans. Mr. Evans did the arrangements for Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s upcoming jazz album that will be released in January, 2014. As we get closer to January, we’ll be featuring more information about the great Marion Evans. He does big band arrangements are really fantastic and this song is an excellent example.

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 and Amazonc