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 Friday, November 20, 2020, is “Trav’lin’ Light.”

About This 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 1996 for his 1997 album Tony Bennett On Holiday. Jorge Calendrelli wrote the arrangement.

Trav"lin" Light

Tony Bennett · Tony Bennett On Holiday: A Tribute To Billie Holiday · Song · 1997

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

And while you’re here, this is Billie Holiday with the Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra:

Trav"lin" Light

Listen to Trav"lin" Light on Spotify. Song · Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra, Billie Holiday · 2008

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Playlist of the Week: Tony Sings Johnny Mercer

The playlist of the week for May 26, 2019, is Tony Sings Johnny Mercer.

Some of Tony’s finest recordings have been of songs with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Here are a few of my favorites:

Tony Sings Johnny Mercer

Tony Bennett has always admired lyrics written by Johnny Mercer.

To learn more about one of these songs, click on its link.

Day In, Day Out, composed by Rube Bloom
Skylark, composed by Hoagy Carmichael
I Thought About You, composed by Jimmy Van Heusen
Laura, composed by David Raksin
I Remember You, composed by Victor Schertzinger
One For My Baby (and One More For the Road), composed by Harold Arlen
That Old Black Magic, composed by Harold Arlen
I Wanna Be Around, addtional lyrics by Sadie Vimmerstedt, composed by Johnny Mercer
Trav’lin’ Light, composed by Trummy Young and Jimmy Mundy

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Song of the Day: Trav’lin’ Light

The song of the day for Sunday, April 7, 2019, is “Trav’lin’ Light.”

About This 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, Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Horn, and Sonny Rollins.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Trav’lin’ Light” in 1996 for his album of songs associated with Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett On Holiday, released in 1997. Jorge Calendrelli did the very effective arrangement.

Trav’lin’ Light

Trav’lin’ Light, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

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

About Today

The great Billie Holiday was born on April 7, 1915. Nicknamed Lady Day by her friend Lester Young, she had a profound effect on jazz, which is still seen today with jazz singers. She modeled her singing on the instrumentalists, which gave her a deeper feeling for tempo and phrasing.

In honor of Lady Day, here’s her recording of “Trav’lin’ Light” with Paul Whiteman.

Trav’lin Light

Trav’lin Light, a song by Billie Holiday on Spotify

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Song of the Day: Trav’lin’ Light

The song of the day for Sunday, July 8, 2018 is “Trav’lin’ Light.”

About This Song

“Trav’lin’ Light” was composed in 1942 by Trummy Young and Jimmy Mundy, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The 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 1996 for his album of songs sung by Billie Holiday: Tony Bennett On Holiday. Mr. Bennett painted the portrait of Billie Holiday that appears on the album cover.

A reader on our sister site, The Interactive Tony Discography, sent me this comment, which I think of often:

I was surprised to discover that Tony Bennett’s tribute to Lady Day rang truer than all of the other attempts to politicize her, racialize her, or use her as a self-promotional “career stepping stone.” Tony captures the Lady of the Gardenias that struck Sinatra to the core when he first heard her in the late ’30s, causing him to list her as chief among all his inspirations and influences.

Trav"lin" Light

Tony Bennett · Tony Bennett On Holiday: A Tribute To Billie Holiday · Song · 1997


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

Billie Holiday’s 1942 version from with Paul Whitman is just wonderful.

Trav"lin" Light

Listen to Trav"lin" Light on Spotify. Song · Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra, Billie Holiday · 1988

Yes, I absolutely adore this song. I may be one of the few people who has a Trav’lin’ Light playlist in iTunes, with a dozen or so different recordings. But Tony’s and Billie’s 1942 version are my touchstones.

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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

Tony Bennett · Tony Bennett On Holiday: A Tribute To Billie Holiday · 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