The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Trav’lin’ Light

The song of the day for Wednesday, August 9, 2017 is “Trav’lin’ Light.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Trav’lin’ Light,” was written in 1942 by Trummy Young and Jimmy Mundy, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. This wonderful song was first recorded by Paul Whiteman with Billie Holiday on vocals. It’s a wonderful, classic Mercer lyric and the tune is lovely. In addition to this recording, this song has been recorded by Anita O’Day, Peggy Lee, Queen Latifah, Shirley Horn and Sonny Rollins.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Trav’lin Light” in 1966 for album of Billie Holiday songs: Tony Bennett On Holiday.

Trav"lin" Light

Listen to Trav"lin" Light on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1997.


“Trav’lin’ Light,” as well as Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Today’s song is dedicated to the memory of singer Barbara Cook, who died today at the age of 89 from respiratory failure. Next to Tony Bennett, she is my favorite singer in the world. Miss Cook took Broadway by storm as an ingenue in the 1950s and 60s and was known for her starring role in The Music Man on Broadway, opposite Robert Preston. Suffering from depression and alcoholism, Barbara Cook disappeared from the public for some years. In the middle 1970s, Luciano Pavarotti’s manager heard her singing in a small club and helped her mount a “comeback” concert at Carnegie Hall in 1975. Her career resurrected, she release many recordings, the last of which, Barbara Cook & Michael Feinstein – Cheek To Cheek: Live From Feinstein’s At Loews Regency, was released in 2011.

ABC News noted that her last meal was vanilla ice cream. For those of you who don’t remember, “Ice Cream” was sung by Miss Cook in one of great early successes on Broadway: She Love Me. Here she is, singing it live on French TV in 1979:

Rest in peace, Barbara Cook. I hope that you are finally trav’lin’ light.

New York Times obituary for Barbara Cook

Variety obituary

Playbill obituary

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Song of the Day: Trav’lin’ Light

The song of the day for Friday, October 28, 2016 is “Trav’lin’ Light.”

About This Song

“Trav’lin’ Light” was written in 1942, with music by Trummy Young and Jimmy Mundy and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. This wonderful song was first recorded by Paul Whiteman with Billie Holiday on vocal; this same recording was distributed as V-disc in 1944 to soldiers during World War II. It’s a wonderful, classic Mercer lyric and the tune is lovely. In addition to this recording, this song has been recorded by Anita O’Day, Peggy Lee, Queen Latifah, Shirley Horn and Sonny Rollins.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Trav’lin’ Light” in 1996 for his 1997 album Tony Bennett On Holiday, his album of songs made famous by Billie Holiday.

I have to say that I absolutely adore this song: the song itself, the Paul Whitman version with Billie Holiday, and this beautiful and heartbreaking recording by Tony Bennett.

Trav"lin" Light

Listen to Trav"lin" Light on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1997.


“Trav’lin’ Light,” as well as Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

And while we’re at it, here’s the 1942 version with Billie Holiday with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. I never cared for Paul Whiteman until I heard this recording; it’s absolutely wonderful.

Trav"lin Light

Listen to Trav"lin Light on Spotify. Billie Holiday · Song · 1956.

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Song of the Day: Trav’lin’ Light

The song of the day for Wednesday, November 18, 2015 is “Trav’lin’ Light .”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Trav’lin’ Light,” was written by Trummy Young and Jimmy Mundy, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. This wonderful song was first recorded by Paul Whiteman with Billie Holiday on vocals. It’s a wonderful, classic Mercer lyric and the tune is lovely. In addition to this recording, this song has been recorded by Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Queen Latifah, Shirley Horn and Sonny Rollins.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Trav’lin’ Light” 1996 for his tribute album to Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett on Holiday, released in 1997. This song features Ralph Sharon on piano.

I have to admit that I’m a sucker for this song; I actually have a “Trav’lin’ Light” playlist on my iPod. It’s a beautiful melody with deep and meaningful lyrics. I never tire of listening to this song.

Trav"lin" Light

Listen to Trav"lin" Light on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1997.


“Trav’lin’ Light ,” as well as Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Today we pay homage to the great John Herndon Mercer, who was born on November 18, 1909 in Savannah, Georgia. Mercer is, at least for this writer, the greatest lyricist of American popular song. From “Skylark” to “That Old Black Magic” to “Come Rain or Come Shine” to “Satin Doll” and dozens more are imprinted on fans of jazz and popular music. In addition to his gifts as a lyricist, he was also a composer, as we saw with yesterday’s “I Wanna Be Around,” as well as a gifted performer.

Mercer worked with great songwriters, including Harold Arlen, Henry Mancini, David Raskin, Jimmy Van Heusen and many more. In addition to his distinguished songwriting career, he also founded Capital Records.

The lyrics of Johnny Mercer have never lost their immediacy–they are as good now as they were when they were written some 60 or 70 years ago.

And so, today, we honor Johnny Mercer.

If you’re wanting some more Mercer, here’s a wonderful story from NPR in 2012:

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Song of the Day: Trav’lin’ Light

The song of the day for Thursday, April 30, 2015 is “Trav’lin’ Light.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Trav’lin’ Light,” was written by two musicians: Trummy Young and Jimmy Mundy. Young was a trombonist who played with many of the great swing bands, including Earl Hines, Jimmie Lunceford and Benny Goodman. He also played with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in the mid-1940s and then joined the Louis Armstrong All-Stars in 1952, where he stayed until 1964. Jimmy Mundy played tenor saxophone in the same era and was also a noted arranger. Together, they wrote the melody for “Trav’lin’ Light” in 1942 with lyrics from Johnny Mercer. Billie Holiday made the first recording of this song, but it has been relatively widely recorded, by artists including Chet Baker, Carmen McRae, Queen Latifah, Ella Fitzgerald and Anita O’Day.

About This Version

I have to start out by saying that I absolutely adore this song. The first time I listened to Tony Bennett sing this song, I listened to it constantly for days. I may be one of the few people in the world who not only have a “Trav’lin’ Light” playlist on their iPod, but listen to it regularly. Tony Bennett’s recording of this song is one of the most beautiful songs he’s ever recorded. I hope you like it too.

Trav"lin" Light

Listen to Trav"lin" Light on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1997.


“Trav’lin’ Light,” as well as Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

About Billie Holiday’s Version

Billie Holiday recorded “” several times, beginning with the first recording of the song June 12, 1942 with the Paul Whitman Orchestra. I’m not always a huge fan on Whitman, but this recording is astounding. It was released as single and also as a V-disc. Mundy did the arrangement and Trummy Young played trombone on this recording. Lester Young also played on this recording.

Trav"lin Light

Listen to Trav"lin Light on Spotify. Billie Holiday · Song · 1956.


“Trav’lin’ Light,” as well as Billie’s Blues, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Trav’lin’ Light

The song of the day for Wednesday, November 19, 2014 is “Trav’lin’ Light.”

About This Song

This beautiful song features a wonderful lyric from Johnny Mercer and an equally wonderful tune from Trummy Young and Jimmy Mundy. Munday was a tenor sax player and arranger who worked for Benny Goodman in the late 1930s before forming his own band in the early 1940s; he did free-lance arrangements for Goodman as well as other band leaders during that time. Trummy Young was a trombonist who played with Jimmy Lunceford in the late 1930s to the mid-1940s.

“Trav’lin’ Light” was written in 1942 and was first recorded by the Paul Whiteman band with Billie Holiday on vocals. It has also been recorded by Anita O’Day, Peggy Lee, Queen Latifah, Shirley Horn and Sonny Rollins.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Trav’lin’ Light” in 1996 for his album of Billie Holiday songs entitled On Holiday. I love this song more than I can possibly say and Bennett’s version is quite beautiful.

About Today

As part of Johnny Mercer Week at The Year of Tony Bennett, we continue with his biography …

As the son of a relatively well-to-do businessman, Johnny Mercer enjoyed growing up in Savannah. His father owned the first car in the town, and young Mercer certainly enjoyed his driving privileges. He attended prep school in Virginia. While he wasn’t a top student, his studies of literature helped to develop his song writing capabilities. He also helped organized the musical entertainment on the campus and began writing songs.

The Mercer family had a long association with Princeton University and it was always assumed that Johnny would enter Princeton upon graduation from prep school. However, his father’s business (and wealth) suffered severe setbacks from a failed real estate venture in Florida in 1927 and had to put his company into receivership in order to pay off a $1 million loss. Instead, young Mercer set his sights on New York.

… to be continued …

Trav"lin" Light

Listen to Trav"lin" Light on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1997.


“Trav’lin’ Light,” as well as On Holiday, is available on iTunes.

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