The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Last Night When We Were Young

The song of the day for Thursday, January 12, 2017 is “Last Night When We Were Young.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Last Night When We Were Young,” was written in 1935 by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg. Arlen considered “Last Night When We Were Young” to be one of his favorite songs. In American Popular Song, Alec Wilder calls it a “most remarkable and beautiful song … (that) goes far beyond the boundaries of popular music.” Yip Harburg has said that he doesn’t know exactly where the title came from but that “the juxtaposition of those two phrases is almost a whole world of philosophy.” All in all, it’s a very beautiful and introspective song that is much beloved by singers. Frank Sinatra included on his wonderful album In The Wee Small Hours. It has also been recorded by Judy Garland, Mel Tormé, Carmen McRae and Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Last Night When We Were Young” in 1992 for his Grammy award winning album Perfectly Frank. The arrangement is by Ralph Sharon, who leads the Ralph Sharon Trio, featuring Paul Langosch on bass and Joe LaBarbara on drums.

Last Night When We Were Young

Listen to Last Night When We Were Young on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1992


“Last Night When We Were Young,” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Saturday, November 12, 2016 is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written by Burton Lane, with lyrics by 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 felt the need for a Yip Harburg song today and “Old Devil Moon” is a great song. I picked Bennett’s version from 1967 for the album Tony Makes It Happen! The excellent arrangement is by the excellent Marion Evans, who still arranges for Tony Bennett, lately on Cheek To Cheek.

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 video this Saturday is Tony Bennett singing today’s song from his 1995 MTV Unplugged concert. The album from show won the Grammy’s coveted award for Album of the Year. You’ll get no argument from me on this.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Last Night When We Were Young

The song of the day for Wednesday, October 5, 2016 is “Last Night When We Were Young.”

About This Song

“Last Night The We Were Young” was written in 1935 by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg. Arlen considered “Last Night When We Were Young” to be one of his favorite songs. In American Popular Song, Alec Wilder calls it a “most remarkable and beautiful song … (that) goes far beyond the boundaries of popular music.”

Yip Harburg has said that he doesn’t know exactly where the title came from but that “the juxtaposition of those two phrases is almost a whole world of philosophy.” All in all, it’s a very beautiful and introspective song that is much beloved by singers. Frank Sinatra included on his wonderful album In The Wee Small Hours. It has also been recorded by Judy Garland, Mel Tormé, Carmen McRae and Tony Bennett.

About This Version

This beautiful version of “Last Night The We Were Young” was recorded in 1992 for the album Perfectly Frank. The lovely arrangement is by Ralph Sharon.

Last Night When We Were Young

Listen to Last Night When We Were Young on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1992


“Last Night The We Were Young,” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Monday, August 8, 2016 is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written for the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow by Burton Lane and Yip Harburg, 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 recorded this version of “Old Devil Moon” in 1967 for the album Tony Makes It Happen! This recording has a lot going for it: Bennett is in great voice, Marion Evans’ arrangement is perfect and the band sounds great. I was thinking about Yip Harburg a lot today and this is one of my favorite of his songs. Happy Monday, all!

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.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Over The Rainbow

The song of the day for Friday, April 8, 2016 is “Over The Rainbow.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Over The Rainbow,” was written in 1939 by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Yip Harburg. Probably the most widely known of all Arlen’s and Harburg’s songs, “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 has recorded today’s song twice. Today, we feature his 1995 version from Here’s To The Ladies, where Bennett sings the songs most associated with the great female vocalists who sing from the American songbook. “Over The Rainbow” is, of course, for Jdy Garland. If you haven’t listened to this album lately, I heartily recommend it.

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

The lyricist of today’s song, Yip Harburg, was born on April 8, 1896 in New York. I strongly assert that he is one of America’s greatest lyricists. Even though he was born 120 years ago, his lyrics are as fresh and meaningly now as they were early in the 20th century. He is truly one of America’s finest talents.

I know that I’ve featured this video many times, but I love it so much I give it to you again.