The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Sometimes I’m Happy

The song of the day for Thursday, October 9, 2025, “Sometimes I’m Happy.”

About This Song

“Sometimes I’m Happy” was written by Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar for the 1927 musical Hit The Deck. It found early favor as a popular song with numerous recordings in 1927. It has also proven a durable standard, with recordings by Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond, Betty Carter, Bing Crosby, and Billie Holiday, among many others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Sometimes I’m Happy” live at Carnegie Hall on June 9, 1962. The album Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall was released in August 1962. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

“Sometimes I’m Happy,” as well as Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall/em>, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Tea For Two

The song of the day for Tuesday, September 2, 2025, is “Tea For Two.”

About This Song

“Tea For Two” was written by Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar for the very popular 1925 musical No, No Nanette. The musical had a very successful revival on Broadway in 1971, which helped to make “Tea For Two” even more popular. The song has been widely recorded by artists including Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie, Blossom Dearie, and Anita O’Day. More modern recordings include those by John Pizzarelli and Pink Martini.

About This Version

Tony Bennett, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, recorded “Tea For Two” live at Royal Hall on January 31, 1971. The orchestra was conducted by Robert Farnon. The resulting album, Get Happy with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, was released in September 1971. Ralph Burns wrote the arrangement for “Tea For Two.”

“Tea For Two,” as well as Get Happy , is available on Apple Music.

In doing the research for today’s song, I found this on Wikipedia:

In 1927, Dmitri Shostakovich arranged “Tea for Two”, known in the Soviet Union as Tahiti Trot, from memory after conductor Nicolai Malko bet him he could not do it in under an hour. He completed the orchestration in 45 minutes.

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Song of the Day: More Than You Know

The song of the day for Tuesday, August 12, 2025, is “More Than You Know.”

About This Song

“More Than You Know” was written by Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu, for the 1929 musical Great Day, which only ran for 36 performances. In spite of its poor run on Broadway, the score was considered very good, and so it got sold to Hollywood, where it was to be a starring vehicle for Joan Crawford. Eight weeks into production, the film was shut down and was never released. Thankfully, this song remained popular, in many ways thanks to Fanny Brice, who was married to Billy Rose, and sang the song in her performances with the Ziegfeld Follies. It has been widely recorded by jazz and popular artists since it was written.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “More Than You Know” on April 4, 1961, for My Heart Sings. Ralph Burns wrote the arrangement and conducted the band.

“More Than You Know,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Sometimes I’m Happy

The song of the day for Sunday, March 16, 2025, is “Sometimes I’m Happy.”

About This Song

“Sometimes I’m Happy” was written by Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Leo Robin, Clifford Grey, and Irving Caesar for the 1927 Broadway musical Hit The Deck. It found early favor as a popular song with numerous recordings in 1927. It has also proven a durable standard, with recordings by Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond, Betty Carter, Bing Crosby, and Billie Holiday, among many others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Sometimes I’m Happy” nn September 1, 1967, for his album For Once In My Life. Marion Evans wrote the arrangement and arranged the orchestra. The orchestra consisted of some of the top jazz musicians at the time, including Milt Hinton on bass and Bucky Pizzarelli on guitar.

“Sometimes I’m Happy,” as well as For Once In My Life, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Without A Song

The song of the day for Thursday, December 5, 2024, is “Without A Song.”

About This Song

“Without A Song” was written in 1926 by Vincent Youmans (music) and Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu (lyrics). It was written for the 1929 musical Great Day. It has been recorded by artists from Perry Como to Mario Lanza to Frank Sinatra. Great Day was set in 19th-century Louisiana; as a result, some of the lyrics have been changed over time to remove currently objectionable language.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Without A Song” on September 12, 1956, for Bennett’s second album Tony, released in 1957.

“Without A Song,” as well as Tony, is available on Apple Music.