The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

By 2 Comments

Song of the Day: Yesterday I Heard The Rain

The song of the day for Wednesday, April 23, 2014 is “Yesterday I Heard The Rain.”

About This Song

“Yesterday I Heard The Rain” was written in 1968 by the noted Mexican composer Armando Manzanero, with lyrics by Gene Lees. Originally titled “Esta Tarde Vi Llover” in the original Spanish, this song, like most Manzanero’s songs, is beautiful and romantic.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s 1968 album of the same name. The lovely arrangement is by Torrie Zito. Bennett also recorded a duet of this song with Alejandro Sanz released on Duets II.

The Year of Tony Bennett is located in Portland, Oregon. It rained yesterday, it’s raining now and it’s forecast to rain for another week or so. I can’t think of better and more beautiful song to get me through this rainy patch.

Yesterday I Heard The Rain (Esta Tarde Vi Llover)

Listen to Yesterday I Heard The Rain (Esta Tarde Vi Llover) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1968

I think my father had that exact same blue sweater and glen plaid slacks as Tony does in the photo on the album cover. 🙂

“Yesterday I Heard The Rain,” as well as the album of the same name, is available from iTunes.

By 1 Comment

Song of the Day: Yesterday I Heard The Rain

The song of the day for Saturday, March 15, 2014 is “Yesterday I Heard The Rain.”

About This Song

“Yesterday I Heard The Rain” (“Esta Tarde Vi Llover” in the original Spanish) was written by in 1968 by the great Mexican composer Armando Manzanero. The English lyrics are by Gene Lees.

About This Version

This is one beautiful song that probably isn’t well known to many Tony Bennett fans, though perhaps more since its inclusion on the album Viva Duets. It was arranged and conducted by Torrie Zito and produced by Howard A. Roberts.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3tze4nATeCjWWqoWA9aQoz
“Yesterday I Heard The Rain,” as well as the album of the same name, is available from iTunes.

It’s YouTube Saturday. Today we feature Tony Bennett’s duet with Alejandro Sanz from Viva Duets singing “Yesterday I Heard The Rain.”

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Get Happy

The song of the day for Sunday, December 1, 2013 is “Get Happy.”

About This Song

“Get Happy” was written by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Ted Koehler, in 1930 for The Nine-Fifteen Revue, where it was introduced by Ruth Etting. It was the first song that Arlen and Koehler wrote together. Even though written in 1930, “Get Happy” may be best known by its performance by Judy Garland in the 1950 musical film Summer Stock. In addition to several recordings by Judy Garland, other recordings of this song include those by Frank Sinatra, Johnny Dankworth, Ella Fitzgerald, June Christy and Rufus Wainwright.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded this song for his 1968 album Yesterday I Heard the Rain; it was arranged and conducted by Torrie Zito. The Torrie Zito arrangement was used for Bennett’s 1971 concert album Get Happy with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Robert Farnon.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4ft0sAHcZ1Znf00yiTbFk8
“Get Happy,” as well as the album Yesterday I Heard The Rain, is available from iTunes.

And here’s Miss Judy Garland, performing “Get Happy” from Summer Stock:

By Leave a Comment

Song of the day: Experiment

The song of the day for November 1, 2013 is “Experiment.”

About This Song

Cole Porter wrote “Experiment” for Gertrude Lawrence for his 1933 London West End musical Nymph Errant. This song was a favorite of the great singer Mabel Mercer. The song was also featured, somewhat ironically, in the 2004 somewhat autobiographical film about Cole Porter, Delovely, starring Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd, where it was sung by Kevin Kline.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Experiment” for his album Life Is Beautiful, released in 1975 on his own Improv label. It was arranged by Torrie Zito. The album featured the Torrie Zito Trio, with Zito on piano, John Guiffrida on bass and Chuck Hughes on drums.

http://open.spotify.com/track/5zFwXvDD2y002OUKCxP7FC
“Experiment,” as well as all of the songs that Tony Bennett recorded on the Improv label, is available from iTunes and Amazon.

By 1 Comment

Song of the Day: They Can’t Take That Away From Me

The song of the day for Tuesday, August 13, 2013 is “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”

About This Song

“They Can’t Take That Away From Me” was written in 1937 by George and Ira Gershwin for the movie Shall We Dance. The song was introduced by Fred Astaire, who sang the song to Ginger Rogers. However, unlike many of Astaire’s performances in his films with Ginger Rogers, he does not dance to this number in the movie; instead, he stands on the deck of a ferry and sings to a seated Ginger Rogers. George Gershwin died two months after the film’s release; it was his last score.

The song has been popular since its release and has been recorded many times, including those by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Errol Gardner, Sarah Vaughan and Charlie Parker.

About This Version

This beautiful version of “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” is from Tony Bennett’s 1967 album For Once In My Life. The very fine arrangement is by Torrie Zito.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3QKaf1BKP7Th6IQJX8FhuJ
“They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” as well as the album For Once In My Life, is available from iTunes.

Subscribe to The Year of Tony Bennett

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Current Reader Favorites