by Tony Bennett
My mother once told me that my children would bring me the greatest pleasure I would ever know in my life, and, as usual, she was right. They are all magnificent people.
After writing this book and taking it all in, I realized two things: I can’t ask for more out of life, and the more I learn the less I know. But believe me, I have plans. Life’s been good to me. I’ve been blessed to be able to do the two things I love best—sing and paint. The love and appreciation I receive from, the public has kept me going for the last fifty years, and if I’m lucky I’ll keep going for another fifty.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my family: Mary Tom, and. Nina Chiappa; John, Pat, John, Jr., Ann, Lynn, and Patti Benedetto; Joanna and Antonia; Danny Jan, Kelsey, and Rémy; Dae, Anita, Austin, and Jared; Cosmo Amedeo; Mary Lou Futia. And for all her love and support, Susan Crow.
Everyone at RPM Music Productions, including Sandi Rogers, Trish Bleier, Kerri Fersel, and with special thanks to Judy Blatt for her constant dedication. And also to Michael Lipsky of Lipsky Miller.
For their dedication: Sylvia Weiner; Ben Harrison and everyone at Project X; Debbie Silverman for all her help in Chicago.
My Columbia Records family and everyone at Sony Arnold Levine for some of my best album covers. And a special thanks to the field staff who’ve always been the greatest to me straight through the years.
Rob Heller and everyone from the William Morris Agency.
Sumner Redstone, Tom Freston, Judy McGrath, Van Toffler, Alex Coletti, and everyone at MTV.
Much appreciation to Rick Krimm, John Cannelli, Doug Herzog, Traci Jordan, and Joni Abbott.
Everyone at Automatic Productions for their great job producing Live by Request.
Elliot Hoffman; Peter Matorin; and Jeffrey Greenberg at Beldock, Levine and Hoffman.
Jay Krugman, Lee Rolontz, Ken Ehrlich, Pierre Cossette, Tisha Fein, the family of Herbert Black, Mario and Mathilda Cuomo, and Sean Kennedy at Congressman Gephardt’s office. Dayl and Marion Crow; Jim Bessman; Dr. Lou Zona; Eleanor Ettinger; Mig Atwell; Jerry Rush; Mario Sirabella; Joel Moss; Al di Scipio; and Joel Smirnoff, the first violinist of the Juilliard String Quartet.
Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Dee Anthony, Louis Bellson, Derek Boulton, Ruby Braff, Les Brown, John Bunch, Ralph Burns, Rosemary Clooney, Joe Cocuzzo, Rudy DeHarak, Gene di Novi, Gino Empry Marion Evans, Mort Farber, Bob Farnon, Fred Katz, Frank Laico, Johnny Mandel, Abby Mann, Peter Matz, James MacWhinney Mitch Miller, Glenn Osser, Arthur Penn, Jack and Jane Rollins, Annie Ross, Joe Soldo, Gary Stevens, Geri Tamburello, Roger Vorce, Stan Weiss, Jack Wilson, and Torrie Zito.
Bill Coffil, George Duley Marlin Merrill, Max Kramer, Frank Trowbridge, Jack Elliot, Charles Eichen, Dick Stott, George Masso, Janie Thompson, Lin and Janie Arison, Red Mitchell, Charlie Forsythe, and Charlie Russo.
My friends at WQEW, including Stan Martin, Jonathan Schwartz, and Bob Jones.
My friends Dick Golden, Ron and Joyce Della Chiesa, Michael Bourne of WBGO, and ChaChi LoPrete of WBCN.
My friends Frank Military Everett Kinstler, Basil Baylin, David Hockney John Cholakis, and Betty Frasier.
My quartet: Ralph Sharon, Clayton Cameron, Paul Langosch, and Gray Sargent, Also, to my production manager, Vance Anderson, and sound engineer, Tom Young.
Everyone at Pocket Books, including Gina Centrello, Emily Bestler, Donna Ruvituso, Donna O’Neill, Lisa Feuer, Linda Dingler, Twisne Fan, Joann Foster, Julie Gayle, and Al Madocs.
With special thanks and much appreciation to my editor, Jane Cavolina, as well as Danny, Kerri Fersel, and Janet La Valley for their hard work in editing and compiling this book.
SELECT DISCOGRAPHY
U.S. SINGLES
RELEASE DATE
TITLE
1947
Fascinating Rhythm (Leslie Records)
1947
Vieni Qui
1949
The Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Demo)
COLUMBIA SINGLES
4/27/50
The Boulevard of Broken Dreams
I Wanna Be Loved
6/12/50
Let’s Make Love
I Can’t Give You Anything but Love
7/26/50
Just Say I Love Her
Our Lady of Fatima
10/2/50
Sing You Sinners
Kiss You
12/4/50
Don’t Cry Baby
One Lie Leads to Another
2/6/50
Once There Lived a Fool
I Can’t Give You Anything but Love
2/19/51
Beautiful Madness
The Valentino Tango
4/30/51
I Won’t Cry Anymore
Because of You
7/2/51
Cold, Cold Heart
While We’re Young
9/21/51
Blue Velvet
Solitaire
12/28/51
Silly Dreamer
Since My Love Has Gone
3/21/52
Sleepless
Somewhere Along the Way
5/23/52
Here in My Heart
I’m Lost Again
6/13/52
Have a Good Time
Please, My Love
7/23/52
Roses of Yesterday
You Could Make Me Smile Again
8/28/52
Anywhere I Wander
Stay Where You Are
9/26/52
Congratulations to Someone
Take Me
3/3/53
I’m the King of Broken Hearts
No One Will Ever Know
5/29/53
Someone Turned the Moon Upside Down I’ll Go
8/3/53
Rags to Riches
Here Comes That Heartache Again
1/4/54
Stranger in Paradise
Why Did It Have to Be Me?
2/1/54
My Heart Won’t Say Goodbye
There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight
4/5/54
Until Yesterday Please Driver
6/28/54
Cinnamon Sinner
Take Me Back Again.
8/16/54
Madonna Madonna
Not as a Stranger
11/8/54
Funny Thing
Shoo Gah (My Pretty Sugar)
1/17/55
It’s Too Soon to Know
Close Your Eyes
4/11/55
What Will I Tell My Heart
Punch and Judy Love
5/31/55
Don’t Tell Me Why
May I Never Love Again
9/12/55
How Can I Replace You?
Tell Me That You Love Me
10/31/55
Come Next Spring
Afraid of the Dark
1/3/56
Sing You Sinners
Capri in May
3/12/56
Can You Find It in Your Heart? Forget Her
7/9/56
From the Candy Store on the Corner to the Chapel on the Hill Happiness Street (Corner Sunshine Square)
10/8/56
Just In Time
Autumn Waltz
2/11/57
Sold to the Man with the Broken Heart
One Kiss Away from Heaven
4/8/57
No Hard Feelings
One for My Baby
7/1/57
I Am
In the Middle of an Island
9/30/57
I Never Felt More Like Falling in Love
Ca, C’est L’Amour
12/16/57
Love Song from Beauty and the Beast
Weary Blues from Waitin’
2/10/58
You’re So Right for Me
Alone at Last
3/24/58
The Beat of My Heart
Crazy Rhythm
4/21/58
Young and Warm and Wonderful
N
ow I Lay Me Down to Sleep
8/11/58
Firefly
The Night That Heaven Fell
11/17/58
Love Look Away
Blue Moon
2/19/59
Being True to One Another
It’s So Peaceful in the Country
4/13/59
The Cool School
You’ll Never Get Away from Me
7/6/59
Smile
You Can’t Love ‘Em All
11/2/59
Climb Ev’ry Mountain
Ask Anyone in Love
2/29/60
Ask Me (I Know)
I’ll Bring You a Rainbow
5/23/60
Put on a Happy Face
Baby Talk to Me
8/8/60
Till
I Am
10/24/60
Marriage-Go Round
Somebody
2/1/61
Marry Young
The Best Is Yet to Come
4/24/61
Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goodbye) I’m Comin’ Virginia
10/27/61
Comes Once in a Lifetime Tender Is the Night
2/2/62
I Left My Heart in San Francisco Once Upon a Time
7/18/62
Candy Kisses
Have I Told You Lately?
11/12/62
I Will Live My Life for You
I Wanna Be Around
4/19/63
The Good Life
Spring in Manhattan
6/25/63
This Is All I Ask
True Blue Lou
9/24/63
Limehouse Blues
Don’t Wait Too Long
11/26/63
The Little Boy
The Moment of Truth
2/25/64
When Joanna Loved Me The Kid’s a Dreamer
6/15/64
It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie A Taste of Honey
9/25/64
Who Can I Turn To
Waltz for Debbie
1/25/65
The Best Thing to Be Is a Person The Brightest Smile in Town
1/25/65
If I Ruled the World
Take the Moment
6/21/65
Fly Me to the Moon
How Insensitive
10/18/65
The Shadow of Your Smile
I’ll Only Miss Her When I Think of Her
1/17/66
Baby Dream Your Dream
Maybe September (Song from “The Oscar”)
6/20/66
Georgia Rose
The Very Thought of You
8/15/66
A Time for Love
Touch the Earth
12/12/66
What Makes It Happen?
Country Girl
5/15/67
Days of Love
Keep Smiling at Trouble
8/24/67
For Once in My Life
Something in Your Smile
2/14/68
A Fool of Fools
The Glory of Love
4/1/68
Yesterday I Heard the Rain
Sweet Georgie Fame
6/21/68
Hushabye Mountain
Hi-Ho
11/22/68
My Favorite Things
Where Is Love?
1/21/69
People
They All Laughed
3/25/69
Whoever You Are, I Love You
Over the Sun
4/15/69
Play It Again, Sam
What the World Needs Now Is Love
7/10/69
I’ve Gotta Be Me A Lonely Place
10/28/69
Mac Arthur Park
Before We Say Goodbye
12/22/69
Coco
Little Green Apples
2/16/70
Something
Eleanor Rigby
4/20/70
Think How It’s Gonna Be Everybody’s Talkin’
7/17/70
Something
Think How It’s Gonna Be
10/13/70
I’ll Begin Again
I Do Not Know a Day I Did Not Love You
1/13/71
Where Do I Begin (Theme from “Love Story”) I’ll Begin Again
4/15/71
Tea for Two
I Want to Be Happy
6/2/71
I’m Losing My Mind
More and More
8/19/71
Walkabout
How Beautiful Is Night (With You)
10/21/71
The Riviera
Remind Me
11/23/71
The Summer Knows
Somewhere Along the Line
3/17/72
Twilight World
Easy Come, Easy Go
5/5/72
Maybe This Time
Love
VERVE SINGLES
7/73
Living Together, Growing Together
The Good Things in Life
8/73
Tell Her That it’s Snowing
If I Could Go Back
9/73
My Love
O Sole Mio
PHILIPS SINGLES
1972
Living Together, Growing Together
The Good Things in Life
1972
The Good Things in Life
Love Is the Thing
1972
My Love
Give Me Love, Give Me Peace
1972
All That Love Went to Waste
Some of These Days
1972
All That Love Went to Waste [for Brut]
Some of These Days
IMPROV SINGLES
1975
Life Is Beautiful
There’ll Be Some Changes Made
1975
There’s Always Tomorrow
I Wish I Were in Love Again
1975
One
Mr. Magic
U.S. ALBUMS
COLUMBIA ALBUMS
9/5/52
BECAUSE OF YOU (10”)
Because of You
The Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Once There Lived a Fool
Cold, Cold Heart
While We’re Young
The Valentino Tango
I Wanna Be Loved
I Won’t Cry Anymore
2/7/55
CLOUD 7
I Fall in Love Too Easily
My Baby Just Cares for Me
My Heart Tells Me
Old Devil Moon
Love Letters
My Reverie
Give Me the Simple Life
10/3/55
ALONE AT LAST WITH TONY BENNETT
Sing You Sinners
Somewhere Along the Way
Since My Love Has Gone
Stranger in Paradise
Here in My Heart
Please Driver
1/14/57
TONY
It Had to Be You
You Can Depend on Me
I’m Just a Lucky So and So
Taking a Chance on Love
These Foolish Things
I Can’t Give You Anything but Love
The Boulevard of Broken Dreams
I’ll Be Seeing You
Always
Love Walked In Lost in the Stars Without a Song
12/9/57
THE BEAT OF MY HEART
Let’s Begin
Lullaby of Broadway
Let There Be Love
Love for Sale
Army Air Corps Song
Crazy Rhythm
The Beat of My Heart
So Beats My Heart for You
Blues in the Night
Lazy Afternoon
Let’s Face the Music and Dance
Just One of Those Things
1997
> “Tony Bennett Master Series”
CD Reissue Only
[It’s So Peaceful in the Country]
[In Sandy’s Eyes]
[I Get a Kick out of You]
[You Go to My Head]
[I Only Have Eyes for You]
[Begin the Beguine]
4/14/58
BLUE VELVET
Blue Velvet
I Won’t Cry Anymore
Have a Good Time
Congratulations to Someone
Here Comes That Heartache Again
While We’re Young
Solitaire
My Heart Won’t Say Goodbye
Until Yesterday
Funny Thing
May I Never Love Again
It’s So Peaceful in the Country
7/28/58
LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY
It Could Happen to You
Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye
Long Ago and Far Away
It Amazes Me
The Way You Look Tonight
Be Careful It’s My Heart
My Foolish Heart
Fools Rush In