The song of the day for Thursday, June 9, 2016 is “The Cole Porter Medley.”

About This Song

This masterful medley of Cole Porter songs covers the full arc of Porter’s songs. For information about each of the songs in the medley, including lyrics, see The Cole Porter Medley entry in our companion discography.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded the Cole Porter Medley in 1975 for his Improv album Tony Bennett Sings Life Is Beautiful. The wonderful arrangement is by Torrie Zito.

“The Cole Porter Medley,” as well as all of the songs released on Bennett’s own Improv label, is available from iTunes on The Complete Improv Recordings.

About Today

Today marks the 125th anniversary of Cole Porter, born on June 9, 1891 in Peru, Indiana.

Here are a few Cole Porter birthday presents!

A nice NPR story called Get To Know: The Cole Porter Songbook, with links to recordings.

A pretty nice film biography of Cole Porter called De-Lovely, starring Kevin Kline as Porter and Ashley Judd as his wife Linda, came out in 2004. Here are a few clips to whet your interest.

This clip of “Night and Day” features Kevin Kline and John Barrowman in rehearsal with a segue to the performance:

And “So In Love” featuring Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd (whose character is in the process of dying from lung cancer and knows she won’t live long enough to see the premiere and asks her husband to play the score for her)–and another segue. By the way, Kline is an accomplished pianist and played the piano in real-time while filming! No fake cut-aways to someone else’s hands!

I hear that the recent wave we had here in Portland is heading for the rest of country. So I offer up a favorite Cole Porter song from Kiss Me Kate.

In closing, stay cool and enjoy some great Cole Porter music today.