The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: My Foolish Heart

The song of the day for Monday, August 17, 2020, is “My Foolish Heart.”

About This Week

Every one of the songs that Bill Evans and Tony Bennett recorded is wonderful. For the rest of the week and in honor of the birthday of Evans, I’ll be featuring more songs that they recorded.

About This Song

“My Foolish Heart” was written in 1949 by Victor Young and Ned Washington for a widely-panned film of the same name, based on a J.D. Salinger short story. Time Magazine excoriated the score: “nothing offsets the blight of such tear-splashed excesses as the bloop-bleep-bloop of a sentimental ballad on the soundtrack.”

About This Version

Bill Evans and Tony Bennett recorded “My Foolish Heart” in 1975 for The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album.

“My Foolish Heart,” as well as The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album, is available from Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Stella By Starlight

The song of the day for Tuesday, August 11,2020, is “Stella By Starlight.”

About This Song

“Stella By Starlight” was written in 1944 by Victor Young; the lyrics by Ned Washington were added in 1946. This song was introduced in the 1944 film The Uninvited. The song was recorded in 1947 by Harry James and Frank Sinatra; it has been frequently recorded ever since. It found its way as a jazz standard in the early 1950s, with recordings by Stan Getz, Bud Powell, and Stan Kenton. It ranks as the 10th most important jazz title at jazzstandards.com.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Stella By Starlight” in 1961 for the album My Heart Sings. Ralph Burns arranged and conducted this song, as well as the entire album.

“Stella By Starlight,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available from Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Love Letters

The song of the day for Friday, March 27, 2020, is “Love Letters.”

About This Song

“Love Letters: was written in 1945 by Victor Young and Edward Heyman for a film of the same name. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. It has been recorded by Nat King Cole, Dick Haymes, and Elvis Presley, among others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Love Letters” in 1954 for his first full-length LP, Cloud 7, released in 1955. “Love Letters” was arranged by Chuck Young.

“Love Letters,” as well as Cloud 7, is available from iTunes.

A Note to Readers

You may have noticed that I have not been posting every day. I’m fighting psoriatic arthritis, which has affected my hands, which sometimes hurt bad enough that I can’t type. The good news is that I’ll be starting a new medicine for this and hope to back to normal soon. Thank you for understanding.

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Song of the Day: My Foolish Heart

The song of the day for Tuesday, March 3, 2020, is “My Foolish Heart.”

About This Song

“My Foolish Heart” was written in 1949 by Victor Young and Ned Washington for a widely-panned film of the same name, based on a J.D. Salinger short story. Time magazine excoriated the score: “nothing offsets the blight of such tear-splashed excesses as the bloop-bleep-bloop of a sentimental ballad on the soundtrack.” The song was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song but lost to Frank Loesser’s “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “My Foolish Heart” in 1975 for their first album: The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album.

“My Foolish Heart,” as well as The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Street of Dreams

The song of the day for Thursday, October 10, 2019, is “Street of Dreams.”

About This Song

“Street of Dreams” was written in 1932 by Victor Young and Sam M. Lewis. The song has a classic depression-era sense, where love is one of the few things that may be impossible for those with money, but “no one is poor as long as love is sure.” Bing Crosby was the first singer to record “Street of Dreams”; the Russ Columbo recording was also popular.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon recorded “Street of Dreams” on October 28, 1959, at the famous CBS 30th Street Studio. On that day, Bennett and Sharon came in with nothing but a briefcase full of sheet music and recorded sixteen songs, twelve of which were released on Tony Sings For Two, which wasn’t released until 1961.

Tony remembers the session in his autobiography The Good Life:

We booked time in the studio and pored through music books, trying one tune after another. The arrangements were spontaneous, and we finished each song in one or more takes. … Mitch Miller showed up at the start of the session, furious that I was going through with it. When he saw there was no dissauding me, he turned to Frank Laico and said, “I’m leaving. I can’t support this.” Tony Sings For Two turned out to be one of my finest records ever.

“Street of Dreams,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available from iTunes.

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