An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett
The playlist for the week of September 8, 2019, is Tony Sings a Hispanic Song Book.
This week, I’m featuring music written by composers from Mexico and South America and performances with musicians from those regions, as well as the Caribbean. I hope you enjoy.
The songs from this playlist can be found on:
Duets: An American Classic
Duets II
Viva Duets
Yesterday I Heard the Rain
If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set
I Wanna Be Around
The song of the day for Saturday, March 2, 2019, is “Yesterday I Heard the Rain.”
“Yesterday I Heard the Rain” was written in 1968 by Mexican composer Armando Manzanero, with English lyrics by Gene Lees. Entitled “Esta Tarde Vi Llover” in the original Spanish, is one of Manzanero’s most highly regarded songs. Born in 1935, Manzanero studied music in Mexico City and composed his first song at the age of fifteen. At the age of sixteen, he became a professional pianist. His songs, like “Yesterday I Heard The Rain” are beautiful and romantic songs. He is considered to be one of the most successful composers from Latin America.
Tony Bennett recorded “Yesterday I Heard the Rain” in 1968 for the album also titled Yesterday I Heard the Rain. Torrie Zito wrote the very fine arrangement.
Yesterday I Heard The Rain (Esta Tarde Vi Llover) – 2011 Remaster
Yesterday I Heard The Rain (Esta Tarde Vi Llover) – 2011 Remaster, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify
“Yesterday I Heard the Rain,” as well as the album of the same name, is available from iTunes.
Tony Bennett and Alejandro Sanz recorded “Yesterday I Heard the Rain” for the 2012 album Viva Duets. Here is a video of the recording of the song.
Yesterday I Heard the Rain (from Duets II: The Great Performances)
Music video by Tony Bennett & Alejandro Sanz performing Yesterday I Heard The Rain. (C) 2011 Sony Music Entertainment
The song of the day for Thursday, February 7, 2019 is “Return to Me.”
“Return to Me” was written in 1957 by Carmen Lombardo (Guy’s brother) and Danny DiMinno. This song was first recorded by Dean Martin, in January 1958 and to this day, the song remains strongly identified with Martin. “Return To Me” was featured in a 2000 film of the same name.
Tony Bennett and Vicente Fernandez recorded a multi-lingual duet of “Return to Me” or “Regresa Mi” in Spanish for the 2012 album Viva Duets, consisting of duets with Latin and Spanish artists.
Return To Me (Regresa a Mí) (with Vicente Fernández)
Return To Me (Regresa a Mí) (with Vicente Fernández), a song by Tony Bennett, Vicente Fernández on Spotify
“Return to Me (Regresa a Mi),” as well as Viva Duets, is available from iTunes.
I’m also including the lovely video made about the recording of this song.
Tony Bennett – Return To Me (Regresa a Mí) (from Viva Duets)
Music video by Tony Bennett duet with Vicente Fernández performing Return To Me (Regresa A Mí). (C) 2012 Columbia Records, a Division of Sony Music Entertainment
I’m feeling better and am thrilled to be back to blogging about the man we all love: Tony Bennett.
The song of the day for Saturday, April 28, 2018 is “Return to Me.”
“Return to Me” was written in 1957 by Carmen Lombardo and Danny DiMinno. It was first recorded by Dean Martin in January, 1958 and to this day, the song remains strongly identified with Martin. “Return To Me” was featured in a 2000 film of the same name.
Tony Bennett and Vicente Fernandez recorded this bilingual version of “Return to Me” in 2012 for Bennett’s album Viva Duets, which featured Latin singers. This duet was one of the finer songs on this album, in my opinion, due in a large part of the arrangement in the ranchera style favoured by Fernandez and the use of his band. I found the song rather poignant and touching.
Return To Me (Regresa a Mí) (with Vicente Fernández)
Listen to Return To Me (Regresa a Mí) (with Vicente Fernández) on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 2012.
This lovely video was made of Tony Bennett’s visit to Guadalajara to record today’s song.
The song of the day for Saturday, July 8, 2017 is “Blue Velvet.”
“Blue Velvet” was written in 1950 by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris.
Tony Bennett recorded “Blue Velvet” on July 17, 1951. This recording of “Blue Velvet” was the first recording of the song and was one of Bennett’s early hits for Columbia. Percy Faith did the orchestration and Mitch Miller produced the recording.
Blue Velvet
Listen to Blue Velvet on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 2011.
For our Saturday video, I have Tony Bennett and Maria Gadú singing “Blue Velvet,” from the 2012 album Viva Duets.