The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Friday, January 9, 2015 is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written by Burton Lane (music) and Yip Harburg (lyrics) 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

“Old Devil Moon” is the fourth song on our album of the month, Cloud 7. This is the first song on the album that really swings and it’s a lot of fun. Bennett is having great time with the Harburg lyrics and the accompaniment is wonderful, featuring some nice guitar work from Chuck Wayne.

About Today

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.

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Song of the Day: Over The Rainbow

The song of the day for Saturday, December 20, 2014 is “Over the Rainbow.”

About This Song

“Over The Rainbow” is, of course, written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg in 1939 for The Wizard of Oz. As beloved as this song is, it was cut during previews by studio executives who felt that it slowed down the movie and was out of character for the role played by Judy Garland. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the song was put back into the film before its official opening.

The song is ranked first on the “Songs of the Century” list compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. The American Film Institute also ranked “Over the Rainbow” the greatest movie song of all time on the list of “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs.” Judy Garland sang it in all of her concerts.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Over the Rainbow” in 1995 for his album Here’s to the Ladies. In this album, he sings the great standards associated with America’s finest female singers. This song, of course, is for 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.

As a bit of an early Christmas present, we have two videos. The first is from Tony Bennett and the second is from the song’s lyricist, Yip Harburg.

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Song of the Day: Last Night When We Were Young

The song of the day for Sunday, August 24, 2014 is “Last Night When We Were Young.”

About This Song

Today’s song is a true American masterpiece, with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E. Y. (Yip) Harburg in 1935. Arlen considered it one of his personal favorites of his own compositions (the other being “One For My Baby”). In his book Harold Arlen: Rhythm, Rainbows, and Blues, Edward Jablonski writes that Arlen played the melody for both George Gershwin and Jerome Kern; Gershwin felt it was too complicated and Kern felt it was too esoteric. It was a year later that Yip Harburg wrote the lyrics. While this song may not have been a major hit in the Arlen catalogue, it is to many (including this author) a masterpiece.

Frank Sinatra included the song for his 1954 In The Wee Small Hours. The song was also a favorite of Judy Garland.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded Last Night When We Were Young twice: in 1959 for To My Wonderful One and in 1992 for Perfectly Frank. Today we present the 1992 version.

Last Night When We Were Young

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

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

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Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Saturday, July 26, 2014 is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written by Burton Lane (music) and Yip Harburg (lyrics) for the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow. It’s far and away the most popular song from the score, though “How Are Things in Gloccamora?” has also found a home in popular music.

The song has been widely recorded. Significant recordings include those by Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, Anita O’Day, Len Horne and trombone player J.J. Johnson.

About This Version

Sometimes your author gets hooked on one of Tony Bennett’s albums; when that happens, you’ll see a lot of songs from the same album in a relatively short period of time. Right now, that album is Tony Makes It Happen! Released in 1967, it’s a powerfully sung album with great arrangements of outstanding material. But how can you possibly go wrong with Marion Evans arranging your album? The album deserves a listen if you haven’t thought about it for a while.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4t3I5khZ6TCaoSYYW1cKms
“Old Devil Moon,” as well as the album Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

For our YouTube Saturday offering, here is Tony Bennett singing today’s song at his legendary 1994 MTV Unplugged television performance. He opened the show with “Old Devil Moon.”

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Song of the Day: Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe

The song of the day for Friday, June 27, 2014 is “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe.”

About This Song

“Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe” was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg for the 1943 film version of Cabin In The Sky, starring Ethel Waters, Eddie Anderson and Lena Horne. Ethel Waters introduced the song in the film. Interestingly, the song was not part of the original 1940 stage version of Cabin In The Sky. The song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, but lost to “You’ll Never Know” by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon; other songs nominated that year include “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To” (Cole Porter), “That Old Black Magic” (Arlen and Johnny Mercer) and “My Shining Hour” (also by Arlen and Mercer). I only mention these in admiration of the incredible quality of songwriting for the movies in those years.

Notable recordings of “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe” include this fine one by Tony Bennett, Ethel Waters, Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee and Abbey Lincoln.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe” in 1959 for the album Tony Sings For Two, released in 1961. As with all of the songs on this album, it’s just Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon on piano. I know I say this about many of Tony Bennett’s albums, but this one really is one of my favorites.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2wkWjp5DhCqTkGuw2Fi9a0
“Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe,” as well as the album Tony Sings For Two, is available from iTunes.