The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Saturday, June 24, 2017 is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written in 1947 by Burton Lane (music) and Yip Harburg (lyrics) for the Broadway musical Finian’s Rainbow, which also gave us “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” While Alec Wilder was no fan of “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”, in America Popular Song, he praises “Old Devil Moon” as “a well-written, wholly convincing song. It drives, and its initial intensity is sustained throughout.”

About This Version

I found myself returning to Cloud 7 for another song for Saturday.

Tony Bennett recorded “Old Devil Moon” in 1954 for his album Cloud 7. The arrangement is from Chuck Wayne, who arranged most of the album.

Old Devil Moon

Listen to Old Devil Moon on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1955


“Old Devil Moon,” as well as Cloud 7, is available from iTunes.

About Today

For our Saturday YouTube video, here’s Tony singing “Old Devil Moon” from his 1994 MTV Unplugged live televised concert. Playing with Bennett is Ralph Sharon (piano), Doug Richeson (bass) and Clayton Cameron (drums).

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Over The Rainbow

The song of the day for Monday, May 8, 2017 is “Over The Rainbow.”

About This Song

Written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg in 1939, “Over The Rainbow” is from the great Wizard Of Oz. Interestingly, the producers wanted to cut the song from the film, as they felt it slowed downed the movie. Thankfully, the preview audiences preferred the movie with the song. “Over The Rainbow” ranked as the #1 song of the 20th century per the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment of the Arts.The song has always been closely associated with Judy Garland. In a letter to Harold Arlen, Judy Garland wrote that the song “… has become part of my life. It’s so symbolic of everybody’s dreams and wishes that I’m sure that’s why some people get tears in their eyes when they hear it. I’ve sung it thousands of times and it’s still the song that’s closest to my heart.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Over The Rainbow” 1995 for the album Here’s To The Ladies. In this album, Bennett sang songs associated with the greatest female singers of the 20th century, including Margaret Whiting, Lena Horne and Billie Holiday. “Over The Rainbow” is, of course, for his friend Judy Garland.

Somewhere over the Rainbow

Listen to Somewhere over the Rainbow on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1995


“Over The Rainbow,” as well as Here’s To The Ladies, is available from iTunes.

About Today

I absolutely adore Yip Harburg. I think you will too after watching this little film:

Here’s Judy’s version from her legendary concert at Carnegie Hall in 1961:

Over The Rainbow - Live At Carnegie Hall/1961

Listen to Over The Rainbow - Live At Carnegie Hall/1961 on Spotify. Song · Judy Garland · 1961

By 2 Comments

Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Tuesday, April 18, 2017 is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written for the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow, which also gave us “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” While Alec Wilder was no fan of “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”, in America Popular Song he praises “Old Devil Moon” as “a well-written, wholly convincing song. It drives, and its initial intensity is sustained throughout.”

About This Version

Today’s recording of “Old Devil Moon” is from Tony Bennett’s first LP album: Cloud 7, released in 1955.

Cloud 7 was the album that he had wanted to make–a solid jazz long-playing album with a solid group of jazz musicians. Jazz critic Thom Jurek said that “The mood is nocturnal, elegant, amorous, hip.” As a first album by a young singer (Bennett was not even 30 when he made Cloud 7), it’s a remarkable album that defined Bennett not only as vastly popular singer, but a jazz artist with impeccable taste and true vision of his own artistry.

Old Devil Moon

Listen to Old Devil Moon on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1955


“Old Devil Moon,” as well as Cloud 7, is available from iTunes.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Saturday, February 4, 2017 is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written by Burton Lane and Yip Harburg for the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow, which also gave us “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” While Alec Wilder was no fan of “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”, in America Popular Song, he praises “Old Devil Moon” as “a well-written, wholly convincing song. It drives, and its initial intensity is sustained throughout.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded “Old Devil Moon,” starting with his 1954 version for his first jazz album, Cloud 7. Today, however, we’re featuring his 1967 version from Tony Makes It Happen!, arranged by Marion Evans, our musical collaborator of the month. One of the things I love about Evans’ arrangements is that they always grab my attention from the very first notes — they make me want to listen. The violins at the beginning of this recording are a good example of this.

Old Devil Moon

Listen to Old Devil Moon on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1967


“Old Devil Moon,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Our Saturday video features Tony singing today’s song from his award-winning 1994 MTV Unplugged televised concert.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Sunday, January 15, 2017 is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Old Devil Moon,” was written by Burton Lane and Yip Harburg for the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow, which also gave us “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” While Alec Wilder was no fan of “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”, in America Popular Song,he praises “Old Devil Moon” as “a well-written, wholly convincing song. It drives, and its initial intensity is sustained throughout.”

About This Version

I’m featuring Tony Bennett’s first recording of “Old Devil Moon” for his first jazz album, Cloud 7, released in 1955. Jazz critic Thom Jurek described the album thus: “The mood is nocturnal, elegant, amorous, hip.” It’s a great jazz vocal album that holds up 61 years after its initial release.

Old Devil Moon

Listen to Old Devil Moon on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1955


“Old Devil Moon,” as well as Cloud 7, is available from iTunes.