The most obnoxious part is that the writer never quite admits that she hasn't heard the album. (The phrase "on paper, at least" is as close as she gets.)verbal gymnastics wrote:Great review of the album
New duet with Tony Bennett
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And No Coffee Table
- Posts: 3530
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scielle
- Posts: 672
- Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2004 4:14 pm
- Location: Berkeley, CA; London, UK; Montreal QC; Toronto ON; New York
Sorry, this is now veering a bit off topic.
But come on Tony - first a duet w/ Celine and now this? How could you?
Musical Icon Tony Bennett Makes First-Ever Idol Guest Appearance on Canadian Idol, Sept. 4 & 5
They're really working hard to cash in on this one, aren't they...
http://www.robertkbrown.com/2006/08/16/ ... mpany.html
But come on Tony - first a duet w/ Celine and now this? How could you?
Musical Icon Tony Bennett Makes First-Ever Idol Guest Appearance on Canadian Idol, Sept. 4 & 5
They're really working hard to cash in on this one, aren't they...
http://www.robertkbrown.com/2006/08/16/ ... mpany.html
http://www.interbridge.com/lineups.html#LS
LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, CBS
Mo 9/25: Ray Liotta, Elvis Costello & Tony Bennett
LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, CBS
Mo 9/25: Ray Liotta, Elvis Costello & Tony Bennett
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Who Shot Sam?
- Posts: 7097
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:05 pm
- Location: Somewhere in the distance
- Contact:
http://www.musicvideocodes.biz/song_335 ... rview.html
This link has a video of Diana 'n Tony singing The Best Is Yet To Come , interspersed with footage of Diana ( sitting beside Elvis ) discussing the recording with Tony . The version heard has the singers dropping their names into the lyric now and then. That's a pity. Such additions tend to focus attention on the singer(s) and reduce the songs message , making repeated listening tiresome.
This link has a video of Diana 'n Tony singing The Best Is Yet To Come , interspersed with footage of Diana ( sitting beside Elvis ) discussing the recording with Tony . The version heard has the singers dropping their names into the lyric now and then. That's a pity. Such additions tend to focus attention on the singer(s) and reduce the songs message , making repeated listening tiresome.
-
charliestumpy
- Posts: 710
- Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 7:33 am
EC-TB
Ta for link to duet-performance. I like it as much as the one on that 1994 Tony Bennett 'Unplugged' CD I bought years ago - it is nice to hear what Mr Costello is recorded singing.
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And No Coffee Table
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scielle
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- Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2004 4:14 pm
- Location: Berkeley, CA; London, UK; Montreal QC; Toronto ON; New York
A nice mug of Elvis from Tony Bennett's Duets sessions:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44386352@N ... 290198163/
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And No Coffee Table
- Posts: 3530
- Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2003 2:57 pm
The bonus tracks are:And No Coffee Table wrote:This information is probably only useful for those in the US.
Target stores are advertising the "Target Exclusive Limited Edition" of this album with four exclusive bonus songs and a 30-minute "making of" DVD.
I doubt Elvis is on the bonus songs, but he may be on the DVD.
1. I've Got The World On A String - duet with Diana Krall (recorded 2000)
2. Steppin' Out With My Baby - duet with Michael Bublé (recorded 2006)
3. I Left My Heart In San Francisco - duet with Judy Garland (recorded 1963)
4. The Lady Is A Tramp - duet with Frank Sinatra (recorded 1988)
I can't say I was expecting appearances from Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra.
The DVD, unfortunately, includes practically no footage of Elvis. Several artists are shown singing with Tony and being interviewed or talked about. EC only appears seated next to Bono, basking in his glow. There's also a shot of EC, Tony, and Diana Krall. So far the clip shown on the Net is the only EC footage from the sessions. Whether he'll be included in the NBC special on 11/21 is iffy.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/09282006/en ... ilante.htm
CROWD LEAVES ITS HEART IN TONY
By DAN AQUILANTE
September 28, 2006 -- TONY BENNETT
SIMPLY put, Tony Bennett was charming and in excellent voice at Madison Square Garden's Theater, the latest stop on his never-ending tour through the American Songbook.
The master saloon singer was the headliner at 106.7 Lite FM's annual concert Tuesday, although the show wasn't about the radio station's usual easy-listening programming. Instead, it celebrated Bennett's 80th birthday, as well as this week's release of his new "Duets" CD.
The music in Bennett's 90-minute set highlighted every period of the singer's 60-year career, often rousing the sold-out house to standing ovations, screaming pledges of love (which made the singer blush) and an impromptu eruption of "Happy Birthday to You" late in the concert.
New York might be a tough town. But when it comes to Tony, we're softies.
Whether you're a jazz aficionado or a metalhead, it's easy to appreciate Bennett. His pipes retain most of the power and all the glory of his youth, and when a song didn't require force, he sculpted his tones with finesse.
Like his late pal Frank Sinatra, Bennett is one of the most sought-after duet partners in music. So when he introduced guest singer Elvis Presley, we all figured the King was making a comeback. Unfortunately, the maestro mixed up Presley for Costello.
Costello took the case of mistaken identity in stride and blended voices with Bennett on the standard "Are You Havin' Any Fun?" the same number they share on Bennett's disc. They were excellent - Costello looking a little scruffy, Bennett dapper as always, and both working the song with loads of attention to its swing.
Other guests included Natalie Cole, with whom Bennett performed Charlie Chaplin's song "Smile." Contemporary crooner Michael Bublé was featured on "Just in Time," where master and disciple clowned around mid-tune with a funny cheek-to-cheek two-step.
The guest appearances and Bennett's charisma made this show great, but what made it memorable was how Bennett has stopped singing in concert. When he did a tune solo, it was as if he was just speaking melodically. In a strange way, Bennett made these songs, sung thousands of times, seem as if he was putting the words together from his heart, for the first time.
It gave this performance a freshness and dynamism that only can be created by someone who understands what he's singing and who he is.
dan.aquilante@nypost.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/arts/ ... ref=slogin
September 28, 2006
Music Review
'Tony Bennett'
Still Singing, Still Swinging, Still Alive in the Moment
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
“I Got Rhythmâ€
CROWD LEAVES ITS HEART IN TONY
By DAN AQUILANTE
September 28, 2006 -- TONY BENNETT
SIMPLY put, Tony Bennett was charming and in excellent voice at Madison Square Garden's Theater, the latest stop on his never-ending tour through the American Songbook.
The master saloon singer was the headliner at 106.7 Lite FM's annual concert Tuesday, although the show wasn't about the radio station's usual easy-listening programming. Instead, it celebrated Bennett's 80th birthday, as well as this week's release of his new "Duets" CD.
The music in Bennett's 90-minute set highlighted every period of the singer's 60-year career, often rousing the sold-out house to standing ovations, screaming pledges of love (which made the singer blush) and an impromptu eruption of "Happy Birthday to You" late in the concert.
New York might be a tough town. But when it comes to Tony, we're softies.
Whether you're a jazz aficionado or a metalhead, it's easy to appreciate Bennett. His pipes retain most of the power and all the glory of his youth, and when a song didn't require force, he sculpted his tones with finesse.
Like his late pal Frank Sinatra, Bennett is one of the most sought-after duet partners in music. So when he introduced guest singer Elvis Presley, we all figured the King was making a comeback. Unfortunately, the maestro mixed up Presley for Costello.
Costello took the case of mistaken identity in stride and blended voices with Bennett on the standard "Are You Havin' Any Fun?" the same number they share on Bennett's disc. They were excellent - Costello looking a little scruffy, Bennett dapper as always, and both working the song with loads of attention to its swing.
Other guests included Natalie Cole, with whom Bennett performed Charlie Chaplin's song "Smile." Contemporary crooner Michael Bublé was featured on "Just in Time," where master and disciple clowned around mid-tune with a funny cheek-to-cheek two-step.
The guest appearances and Bennett's charisma made this show great, but what made it memorable was how Bennett has stopped singing in concert. When he did a tune solo, it was as if he was just speaking melodically. In a strange way, Bennett made these songs, sung thousands of times, seem as if he was putting the words together from his heart, for the first time.
It gave this performance a freshness and dynamism that only can be created by someone who understands what he's singing and who he is.
dan.aquilante@nypost.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/arts/ ... ref=slogin
September 28, 2006
Music Review
'Tony Bennett'
Still Singing, Still Swinging, Still Alive in the Moment
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
“I Got Rhythmâ€
-
verbal gymnastics
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- Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2003 6:44 am
- Location: Magic lantern land
http://www.startribune.com/457/story/708666-p2.html
Reuben Cox
Tony Bennett with Elvis Costello and Bono, two of his singing partners on "Duets"
Minneapolis Star Tribune
September 29, 2006
Tony Bennett: Doing it his way
Duet albums have become a fad for fading stars, but Tony Bennett took a special approach -- live in the studio with 18 current stars -- to breathe new life into his old songs.
Jon Bream, Star Tribune
Tony Bennett doesn't act his age -- or his stature.
It's an August morning, just hours after a radiantly satisfying concert at Mystic Lake Casino, but the 80-year-old singer is back at work.
Wearing a dark business suit and a hip blue-and-green striped dress shirt, he sits on the edge of a plush couch in the presidential suite of Minneapolis' Grand Hotel, and runs his index finger down the long list of duet partners on his new CD, "Tony Bennett: Duets/An American Classic" -- Paul McCartney, Bono, Tim McGraw and 15 other household names.
For Bennett, each one tells a story: Elton John was the most prepared. The Dixie Chicks recorded a swing tune for the first time. James Taylor, to Bennett's surprise, knew how to improvise better than any contributor except jazz queen Diana Krall.
Then there was George Michael, who recorded "How Do You Keep the Music Playing" with Bennett in London.
"That night he was busted for marijuana," said Bennett, measuring every word like a protective godfather discussing his godson in front of the whole family. "It's so funny how the papers in Britain went to work on him." The crooner said it was an emotional day for the British rocker because it was the anniversary of the death of his mother, to whom he was very close. "I felt sorry for him. He was so professional coming in and singing very, very well. He went out and got as high as he could so he could forget everything."
Barbra Streisand teamed up on "Smile."She had the recording equipment in her living room," recalled Bennett. "It was just over a cup of tea, and we just got up and sang it. That performance went right out of the ballpark."
The concept for the album, released Tuesday to heart-warming reviews -- Bennett doing his greatest hits with contemporary stars -- came from his manager and son, Danny, three years before Ray Charles swept the Grammys in 2004 with a posthumous duets disc.
Wary of how his pal and mentor Frank Sinatra had recorded duets in the 1990s with artists whom Ol' Blue Eyes never encountered in the studio, Bennett insisted that this project be done his way: Each collaborator had to record live with the crooner and his combo.
Doggedly old-school in the studio, he appreciates preparation, focus and speed. "They were all quick," he said, with twinkling blue eyes and a crinkly-faced smile like the one he flashed onstage many times the night before.
"They taught me how to be flexible with whatever comes around the corner," continued the New Yorker, who recorded this CD in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, London and New Jersey, in his studio run by his other son, Dae. "They were flattered that they were singing with me. They're saying I'm the master. Ha, ha, ha. It knocked me out. They made me feel kind of embarrassed."
It's dinnertime now, but Bennett is still working. He's at Target Center, lavishly appointed with Target-red carpeting and an elaborate video-and-light setup onstage. Bennett and his band are here to rehearse for a performance the next morning before 5,800 Target sales managers. The Minneapolis-based chain is stocking special versions of Bennett's CD with four extra duets plus a DVD about the project. It's also sponsoring a Bennett TV special Nov. 21, directed by Rob Marshall ("Chicago").
During the sales meeting, Bennett will sing with Elvis Costello, k.d. lang and Krall, who have been flown in just to perform two songs apiece. Rehearsal of the seven-song program takes about 50 minutes. Bennett likes to work fast.
For Costello, recording with Bennett was a quick thrill. "We went in and did one take for the arrangement, one was the take [for the recording] and one take for the cameras for the DVD," he said after the Target practice. "That's it -- three takes. That's the way it should be. All the musicians in the room -- no monitors, no headphones, no nothing. Just listen to each other and sing together. He's a master."
Costello and Krall, his wife, finished each of their songs in the same hour.
"It's like a great ride you would go on where you wish you could go on longer," said Costello, who first sang with Bennett on the 1993 MTV "Unplugged" special that sparked the silver-haired crooner's comeback.
Having won 13 Grammys and sold more than 45 million albums, Bennett signed a new contract this year with Columbia Records. Meanwhile, Clint Eastwood is shooting a Bennett documentary aimed for broadcast on PBS next year. There's no retirement for this singer.
"You get in a zone where you never stop learning," he said, his little white dog by his side. "I consider that very much part of your health as you get older."
Where does the energy come from?
"I think it comes from passion," said Bennett. "The late, great singer Joe Williams, I met him on a plane one night. And he said, 'You know what it is about you, it's not that you want to sing -- you have to sing.' I said, 'Boy, you hit it on the head. I never realized that.'
"The commitment becomes more and more concentrated -- more discipline. I get a big kick out of staying in shape."
Bennett -- who did a little hoofing and some spins onstage at Mystic Lake Casino -- plays tennis three days a week, and works out at the gym ("I have to be pushed," however) three other days. He does vocal exercises daily, and he's invariably learning two or three new songs.
Hang with him and you'd never guess he's an octogenarian. He's mentally alert and sharp. Only once over the course of a couple of hours did he have to turn to his longtime companion, Susan Crow, 40-ish, for help with a name he couldn't recall. (It was his watercolor instructor in Australia; Bennett is a respected painter). Like many stars, he wears glasses offstage -- big aviator frames that land on his famously prominent nose.
Although he's the most famous of the living crooners, he's unfailingly gracious, and he relishes telling stories of days past, such as how Bob Hope christened him "Tony Bennett" (real name: Anthony Benedetto) in 1949. But he's also dedicated to the future, having founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, a public high school in New York, five years ago. His gal serves as assistant principal.
Crow also has accompanied him to what has been nearly a year's worth of tributes and birthday celebrations (Aug. 3 was the official day) -- the Kennedy Center Awards, Billboard magazine's Artist of the Century, a Jazz Master award from the National Endowment of the Arts. Plus, one of his oil paintings was accepted into the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
"It's humorous to me that everybody's been celebrating my birthday since January," said Bennett, who received a cake and a round of "Happy Birthday" the night before during his curtain call at Mystic Lake. "I usually get it once a year like everyone else. Because it's 80, everything's happening. To have just one thing in any other year, I would have said we had a great year. This year, we have about eight of them going on. It's been a fabulous year."
Jon Bream • 612-673-1719 • popmusic@startribune.com
Reuben Cox
Tony Bennett with Elvis Costello and Bono, two of his singing partners on "Duets"
Minneapolis Star Tribune
September 29, 2006
Tony Bennett: Doing it his way
Duet albums have become a fad for fading stars, but Tony Bennett took a special approach -- live in the studio with 18 current stars -- to breathe new life into his old songs.
Jon Bream, Star Tribune
Tony Bennett doesn't act his age -- or his stature.
It's an August morning, just hours after a radiantly satisfying concert at Mystic Lake Casino, but the 80-year-old singer is back at work.
Wearing a dark business suit and a hip blue-and-green striped dress shirt, he sits on the edge of a plush couch in the presidential suite of Minneapolis' Grand Hotel, and runs his index finger down the long list of duet partners on his new CD, "Tony Bennett: Duets/An American Classic" -- Paul McCartney, Bono, Tim McGraw and 15 other household names.
For Bennett, each one tells a story: Elton John was the most prepared. The Dixie Chicks recorded a swing tune for the first time. James Taylor, to Bennett's surprise, knew how to improvise better than any contributor except jazz queen Diana Krall.
Then there was George Michael, who recorded "How Do You Keep the Music Playing" with Bennett in London.
"That night he was busted for marijuana," said Bennett, measuring every word like a protective godfather discussing his godson in front of the whole family. "It's so funny how the papers in Britain went to work on him." The crooner said it was an emotional day for the British rocker because it was the anniversary of the death of his mother, to whom he was very close. "I felt sorry for him. He was so professional coming in and singing very, very well. He went out and got as high as he could so he could forget everything."
Barbra Streisand teamed up on "Smile."She had the recording equipment in her living room," recalled Bennett. "It was just over a cup of tea, and we just got up and sang it. That performance went right out of the ballpark."
The concept for the album, released Tuesday to heart-warming reviews -- Bennett doing his greatest hits with contemporary stars -- came from his manager and son, Danny, three years before Ray Charles swept the Grammys in 2004 with a posthumous duets disc.
Wary of how his pal and mentor Frank Sinatra had recorded duets in the 1990s with artists whom Ol' Blue Eyes never encountered in the studio, Bennett insisted that this project be done his way: Each collaborator had to record live with the crooner and his combo.
Doggedly old-school in the studio, he appreciates preparation, focus and speed. "They were all quick," he said, with twinkling blue eyes and a crinkly-faced smile like the one he flashed onstage many times the night before.
"They taught me how to be flexible with whatever comes around the corner," continued the New Yorker, who recorded this CD in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, London and New Jersey, in his studio run by his other son, Dae. "They were flattered that they were singing with me. They're saying I'm the master. Ha, ha, ha. It knocked me out. They made me feel kind of embarrassed."
It's dinnertime now, but Bennett is still working. He's at Target Center, lavishly appointed with Target-red carpeting and an elaborate video-and-light setup onstage. Bennett and his band are here to rehearse for a performance the next morning before 5,800 Target sales managers. The Minneapolis-based chain is stocking special versions of Bennett's CD with four extra duets plus a DVD about the project. It's also sponsoring a Bennett TV special Nov. 21, directed by Rob Marshall ("Chicago").
During the sales meeting, Bennett will sing with Elvis Costello, k.d. lang and Krall, who have been flown in just to perform two songs apiece. Rehearsal of the seven-song program takes about 50 minutes. Bennett likes to work fast.
For Costello, recording with Bennett was a quick thrill. "We went in and did one take for the arrangement, one was the take [for the recording] and one take for the cameras for the DVD," he said after the Target practice. "That's it -- three takes. That's the way it should be. All the musicians in the room -- no monitors, no headphones, no nothing. Just listen to each other and sing together. He's a master."
Costello and Krall, his wife, finished each of their songs in the same hour.
"It's like a great ride you would go on where you wish you could go on longer," said Costello, who first sang with Bennett on the 1993 MTV "Unplugged" special that sparked the silver-haired crooner's comeback.
Having won 13 Grammys and sold more than 45 million albums, Bennett signed a new contract this year with Columbia Records. Meanwhile, Clint Eastwood is shooting a Bennett documentary aimed for broadcast on PBS next year. There's no retirement for this singer.
"You get in a zone where you never stop learning," he said, his little white dog by his side. "I consider that very much part of your health as you get older."
Where does the energy come from?
"I think it comes from passion," said Bennett. "The late, great singer Joe Williams, I met him on a plane one night. And he said, 'You know what it is about you, it's not that you want to sing -- you have to sing.' I said, 'Boy, you hit it on the head. I never realized that.'
"The commitment becomes more and more concentrated -- more discipline. I get a big kick out of staying in shape."
Bennett -- who did a little hoofing and some spins onstage at Mystic Lake Casino -- plays tennis three days a week, and works out at the gym ("I have to be pushed," however) three other days. He does vocal exercises daily, and he's invariably learning two or three new songs.
Hang with him and you'd never guess he's an octogenarian. He's mentally alert and sharp. Only once over the course of a couple of hours did he have to turn to his longtime companion, Susan Crow, 40-ish, for help with a name he couldn't recall. (It was his watercolor instructor in Australia; Bennett is a respected painter). Like many stars, he wears glasses offstage -- big aviator frames that land on his famously prominent nose.
Although he's the most famous of the living crooners, he's unfailingly gracious, and he relishes telling stories of days past, such as how Bob Hope christened him "Tony Bennett" (real name: Anthony Benedetto) in 1949. But he's also dedicated to the future, having founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, a public high school in New York, five years ago. His gal serves as assistant principal.
Crow also has accompanied him to what has been nearly a year's worth of tributes and birthday celebrations (Aug. 3 was the official day) -- the Kennedy Center Awards, Billboard magazine's Artist of the Century, a Jazz Master award from the National Endowment of the Arts. Plus, one of his oil paintings was accepted into the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
"It's humorous to me that everybody's been celebrating my birthday since January," said Bennett, who received a cake and a round of "Happy Birthday" the night before during his curtain call at Mystic Lake. "I usually get it once a year like everyone else. Because it's 80, everything's happening. To have just one thing in any other year, I would have said we had a great year. This year, we have about eight of them going on. It's been a fabulous year."
Jon Bream • 612-673-1719 • popmusic@startribune.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stori ... 019&EDATE=
TONY BENNETT: DUETS/An American Classic Enters Billboard Top 200 at #3
Legendary Singer Celebrates His 80th Birthday With His Highest-Debuting and Highest-Peaking Album
( extract)
NEW YORK, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Tony Bennett fans have given the
legendary performer his biggest 80th birthday present to-date as the
singer's new album, TONY BENNETT: DUETS/An American Classic, enters the Billboard Top 200 album chart at #3, with first week's sales of 201,536.
Tony's recent debut in the Top 5 marks the singer's highest-debuting and
highest-peaking album in the history of the Billboard Top 200.
In addition, the TONY BENNETT: DUETS/An American Classic CD held #1
positioning at Target, Starbucks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders and
was #3 on iTunes.
Released on September 26, TONY BENNETT: DUETS/An American Classic (RPM
Records/Columbia Records) reprises some of the best-loved songs in Tony's
repertoire as duets performed with some of the top names in contemporary
music: Bono, Michael Buble, Elvis Costello, Celine Dion, Dixie Chicks,
Billy Joel, Elton John, Juanes, Diana Krall, k.d. lang, John Legend, Paul
McCartney, Tim McGraw, George Michael, Sting, Barbra Streisand, James
Taylor and Stevie Wonder.
"For Tony Bennett to have his highest charting debut ever is an
incredible tribute to an incomparable American singer on his 80th
birthday," said Steve Barnett, Chairman, Columbia Records. "Columbia
Records is honored to be part of Tony Bennett's music and enduring artistic
legacy."
Danny Bennett, Tony's son and manager, commented, "This overwhelming
response is something that Tony and I both view as confirmation that the
music of the Great American Songbook -- which Tony has championed with such
passion and dedication throughout his career -- has a far-reaching and
enthusiastic audience. The fact that Tony recorded the songs live with such
an incredible array of artists created a unique focus for this fantastic
project."
TONY BENNETT: DUETS/An American Classic Enters Billboard Top 200 at #3
Legendary Singer Celebrates His 80th Birthday With His Highest-Debuting and Highest-Peaking Album
( extract)
NEW YORK, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Tony Bennett fans have given the
legendary performer his biggest 80th birthday present to-date as the
singer's new album, TONY BENNETT: DUETS/An American Classic, enters the Billboard Top 200 album chart at #3, with first week's sales of 201,536.
Tony's recent debut in the Top 5 marks the singer's highest-debuting and
highest-peaking album in the history of the Billboard Top 200.
In addition, the TONY BENNETT: DUETS/An American Classic CD held #1
positioning at Target, Starbucks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders and
was #3 on iTunes.
Released on September 26, TONY BENNETT: DUETS/An American Classic (RPM
Records/Columbia Records) reprises some of the best-loved songs in Tony's
repertoire as duets performed with some of the top names in contemporary
music: Bono, Michael Buble, Elvis Costello, Celine Dion, Dixie Chicks,
Billy Joel, Elton John, Juanes, Diana Krall, k.d. lang, John Legend, Paul
McCartney, Tim McGraw, George Michael, Sting, Barbra Streisand, James
Taylor and Stevie Wonder.
"For Tony Bennett to have his highest charting debut ever is an
incredible tribute to an incomparable American singer on his 80th
birthday," said Steve Barnett, Chairman, Columbia Records. "Columbia
Records is honored to be part of Tony Bennett's music and enduring artistic
legacy."
Danny Bennett, Tony's son and manager, commented, "This overwhelming
response is something that Tony and I both view as confirmation that the
music of the Great American Songbook -- which Tony has championed with such
passion and dedication throughout his career -- has a far-reaching and
enthusiastic audience. The fact that Tony recorded the songs live with such
an incredible array of artists created a unique focus for this fantastic
project."
-
Otis Westinghouse
- Posts: 8856
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:32 pm
- Location: The theatre of dreams
I was staying two minutes from the theater where tey record Letterman. Was in a meeting when they recorded, so no hope of getting in, but did wander past at 7.30 to see if Elv just happened to be on the street. Settled down to watch the show at 11.30, heard 'and on tonight's show' and saw a half second clip when my brain suddenly told my body that togehter they it was 4.30 am and shutdown ensued till 1.00. Damn, all these Letterman performances and I get that close to watching one of them air!
There's more to life than books, you know, but not much more
http://www.sootoday.com/content/arts/de ... sp?c=15625
Tony Bennett turns 80, tops the charts
By Mr. Ed
SooToday.com
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
( extract)
NEWS RELEASE
SONY BMG MUSIC (CANADA) INC
*************************
Tony Bennett: Duets/An American Classic debuts at No.1 In Canada
Legendary singer celebrates his 80th birthday with his highest-debut and highest-peaking album
Enters the US Billboard TOP 200 at No.3
TORONTO, Oct. 4 - Tony Bennett fans have given the legendary performer his biggest 80th birthday present to-date as the singer's new album, Tony Bennett: Duets/An American Classic, enters Nielsen's Soundscan in the No.1 position.
This marks the singer's first No.1 in the history of the chart.
Tony Bennett turns 80, tops the charts
By Mr. Ed
SooToday.com
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
( extract)
NEWS RELEASE
SONY BMG MUSIC (CANADA) INC
*************************
Tony Bennett: Duets/An American Classic debuts at No.1 In Canada
Legendary singer celebrates his 80th birthday with his highest-debut and highest-peaking album
Enters the US Billboard TOP 200 at No.3
TORONTO, Oct. 4 - Tony Bennett fans have given the legendary performer his biggest 80th birthday present to-date as the singer's new album, Tony Bennett: Duets/An American Classic, enters Nielsen's Soundscan in the No.1 position.
This marks the singer's first No.1 in the history of the chart.
-
LessThanZero
- Posts: 1119
- Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 10:26 pm
- Location: Kalamazoo
- Contact:
http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing ... 1=1&VwMd=i
Target Presents "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" World Premiere
November 15, 2006 - Ziegfeld Theatre
New York City, New York United States
Elvis Costello and Diana Krall
Target Presents "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" World Premiere
November 15, 2006 - Ziegfeld Theatre
New York City, New York United States
Elvis Costello and Diana Krall
From earlier in this thread -
I was wrong. This clarifies things -
http://news.independent.co.uk/people/ob ... 802597.ece
Ron Miller
Ballad writer
Published: 26 July 2007
Ronald Norman Miller, songwriter: born Chicago 1933; married, two sons, four daughters; died Santa Monica 23 July 2007.
The song "For Once in My Life" is one of the great ballads of our time. But it had a very chequered career before it met with success for its composers, Ron Miller and Orlando Murden.
Ron Miller was born in Chicago in 1933 and wrote his first song about his baseball team, the Chicago Cubs, a devotion that never left him. After serving in the marines, he was selling washing machines and performing in a bar for a living.
Berry Gordy, the founder of the Tamla-Motown labels, saw him, recognised his talent and invited him to join him in Detroit and write for his artists.
Miller quickly aligned himself to Stevie Wonder and considering he was only 15, Wonder turned in a remarkably assured performance on "A Place In The Sun" (1966). One of Miller's best songs was his seasonal song for Wonder, "Someday At Christmas" (1966), with a lyric that obliquely referred to Vietnam: "Someday at Christmas men won't be boys, / Playing with bombs like kids play with toys."
"For Once in My Life" had been written for the birth of Miller's daughter and it was first recorded by the Temptations for their album In a Mellow Mood (1967). Stevie Wonder had also recorded the song as a disco ballad but Berry Gordy felt that it was too sophisticated for Wonder's audience and held back its release. "For Once in My Life" was then released by Jean DuShon as a single for a rival label, Chess. The singer Carmen McRae recommended the song to her friend Tony Bennett, and his single, recorded without a trace of disco, entered the US Top 100.
Gordy swung into action and released Wonder's version as a single in October 1968, but another singer, Jackie Wilson, released his version at the same time. In the end, Tony Bennett made No 91, Jackie Wilson 70 and Stevie Wonder No 2. Wonder also had a Top 3 hit in the UK in January 1969.
Miller wrote two more of Wonder's biggest hits, "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" (1969) and the socio-economic "Heaven Help Us All" (1970). He also wrote the torch ballad "Touch Me in the Morning" (a ballad success for Diana Ross, 1974) and produced and wrote "I've Never Been to Me", a No 1 for Charlene in 1982. Charlene had made her record five years earlier and left the label in frustration: when its potential was recognised, she was working in a sweet shop in Ilford, Essex.
Miller hoped to write a successful musical. His musical based on the book Daddy Goodness, starring Freda Payne in 1979, closed before it reached Broadway. Another unlucky musical, Cheery (1973), was based on the Marilyn Monroe film Bus Stop and it included "I've Never Been A Woman Before" which Barbra Streisand recorded.
Spencer Leigh
Quote:
Is Stevie Wonder doing his own song? If so it's a bit unambitious and disappointing.
I responded -
For Once In My Life was written by Ron Miller ; Tony's 1967 recording pre-dated Stevie's 1968 version.
I was wrong. This clarifies things -
http://news.independent.co.uk/people/ob ... 802597.ece
Ron Miller
Ballad writer
Published: 26 July 2007
Ronald Norman Miller, songwriter: born Chicago 1933; married, two sons, four daughters; died Santa Monica 23 July 2007.
The song "For Once in My Life" is one of the great ballads of our time. But it had a very chequered career before it met with success for its composers, Ron Miller and Orlando Murden.
Ron Miller was born in Chicago in 1933 and wrote his first song about his baseball team, the Chicago Cubs, a devotion that never left him. After serving in the marines, he was selling washing machines and performing in a bar for a living.
Berry Gordy, the founder of the Tamla-Motown labels, saw him, recognised his talent and invited him to join him in Detroit and write for his artists.
Miller quickly aligned himself to Stevie Wonder and considering he was only 15, Wonder turned in a remarkably assured performance on "A Place In The Sun" (1966). One of Miller's best songs was his seasonal song for Wonder, "Someday At Christmas" (1966), with a lyric that obliquely referred to Vietnam: "Someday at Christmas men won't be boys, / Playing with bombs like kids play with toys."
"For Once in My Life" had been written for the birth of Miller's daughter and it was first recorded by the Temptations for their album In a Mellow Mood (1967). Stevie Wonder had also recorded the song as a disco ballad but Berry Gordy felt that it was too sophisticated for Wonder's audience and held back its release. "For Once in My Life" was then released by Jean DuShon as a single for a rival label, Chess. The singer Carmen McRae recommended the song to her friend Tony Bennett, and his single, recorded without a trace of disco, entered the US Top 100.
Gordy swung into action and released Wonder's version as a single in October 1968, but another singer, Jackie Wilson, released his version at the same time. In the end, Tony Bennett made No 91, Jackie Wilson 70 and Stevie Wonder No 2. Wonder also had a Top 3 hit in the UK in January 1969.
Miller wrote two more of Wonder's biggest hits, "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" (1969) and the socio-economic "Heaven Help Us All" (1970). He also wrote the torch ballad "Touch Me in the Morning" (a ballad success for Diana Ross, 1974) and produced and wrote "I've Never Been to Me", a No 1 for Charlene in 1982. Charlene had made her record five years earlier and left the label in frustration: when its potential was recognised, she was working in a sweet shop in Ilford, Essex.
Miller hoped to write a successful musical. His musical based on the book Daddy Goodness, starring Freda Payne in 1979, closed before it reached Broadway. Another unlucky musical, Cheery (1973), was based on the Marilyn Monroe film Bus Stop and it included "I've Never Been A Woman Before" which Barbra Streisand recorded.
Spencer Leigh