The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: More Than You Know

The song of the day for Tuesday, December 9, 2014 is “More Than You Know.”

About This Song

Today’s song was composed by Vincent Youmans with lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu. It was written in 1929 for the Broadway 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” in 1961 for his album My Heart Sings. It was arranged and conducted by Ralph Burns; the album was produced by Ernie Altschuler. One of the many reasons that I love the music of Tony Bennett is because he often sings the verse to his songs. Sometimes you’ll be listening to a song and think “this sounds familiar, but what is it?” and then the verse has ended and there’s the chorus we know so well. I love those moments.

More Than You Know

Listen to More Than You Know on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1961.


“More Than You Know,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Without a Song

The song of the day for Saturday, September 27, 2014 is “Without a Song.”

About This Song

Today’s song was composed by Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu. It was written for the 1929 musical Great Day. “Without a Song” has been recorded by artists ranging 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 language that is now found objectionable.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded “Without a Song” three times. His first recording was for the 1958 album Tony, followed by the recording with the Count Basie Orchestra for the 1959 album In Person! Today’s version is from his legendary 1962 concert at Carnegie Hall, arranged by Ralph Sharon.

About Today

The composer of “Without A Song,” Vincent Youmans was born in New York, NY on September 27, 1898. He was born to a prosperous family and grew up on Central Park West and later Larchmont. Youmans originally attended Yale with the thought of becoming an engineer, but dropped out to become a runner on Wall Street. His interest in theatre began during his service in World War I when he produced shows for the troops.

After the war, he became a song plugger and later served as a rehearsal pianist for Victor Herbert. He wrote several musicals in the 1920s, becoming most famous for No, No, Nanette, the score of which includes “Tea For Two” and “I Want To Be Happy.” He died young, at the age of 47, from tuberculosis.

Without A Song (From "Great Day!") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962

Listen to Without A Song (From "Great Day!") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962 on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1962.


“Without a Song,” as well as Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall, is available from iTunes.

And for our Saturday YouTube viewing pleasure, I’m happy to present this video of Tony Bennett singing this song on television in 1959. While the quality of the video isn’t that great, I think you’ll enjoy it quite a lot.

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Song of the Day: Sometimes I’m Happy

The song of the day for Friday, February 21, 2014 is “Sometimes I’m Happy.”

About This Song

“Sometimes I’m Happy” was composed by Vincent Youmans with lyrics by Irving Caesar. It was written for the 1927 Broadway musical Hit The Deck. The song was quite popular as soon as it was published and was widely performed and recorded in 1927. Subsequent recordings include those by Mildred Bailey, Bunny Berrigan, Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond, Nat “King” Cole, Anita O’Day, Roy Eldridge and many, many others. It’s been a standard part of the American Songbook and even though it’s nearly 90 years old, it still sounds current. But that’s the American Songbook — some of the greatest music ever written.

About This Version

Today’s song is from Tony Bennett’s legendary 1962 concert at Carnegie Hall. It’s my opinion (and I know for a fact I’m not alone in this) that this album is the finest recording of a live concert ever made. I’m also convinced that it’s one of the greatest concerts ever given by a singer.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0IGIFaLPYixie6LEsqnhoT
“Sometimes I’m Happy,” as well as the entire Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Without a Song

The song of the day for Saturday, January 4, 2013 is “Without a Song.”

About This Song

“Without a Song” was written in 1929 for the musical Great Day by Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu. It’s proven to be a popular song for singers including Perry Como, Nelson Eddy, Frank Sinatra and even opera singers such as Jan Peerce and Mario Lanza. It has also proven to be a favorite of jazz instrumentalists: Bill Evans recorded it for his album You Must Believe in Spring and other jazz recordings include those by Oscar Peterson, Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum and Art Blakey.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Without a Song” was Tony Bennett’s first recording of it, from his 1959 album with Count Basie and His Orchestra for the album In Person! He also sang it in 1962 for his Carnegie Hall concert.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6CPYvGblWfbJmd6f65mqW1
“Without a Song,” as well as the album In Person! with Count Basie and His Orchestra, is available from iTunes.

And with my grateful thanks to my good friend Nick (who sent the link to this video to me this afternoon) and because it’s YouTube Saturday, we have this 1959 video of Tony Bennett singing “Without a Song,” recorded in 1959. While the video quality isn’t great, Tony’s singing is remarkable.

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Song of the Day: Without A Song

The Song of the Day for Sunday, December 2, 2012 is Without A Song.

About Without A Song

This song was written in 1929 by Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu. It is has been recorded by popular, jazz and even opera singers, ranging from Andy Williams to Louis Armstrong to Mario Lanza.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded Without A Song in 1956, with Ray Conniff arranging and conducting. It was included on the 1957 album Tony. He also sang it at his legendary 1962 Carnegie Hall concert.

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