Maps of Music
Alone Together (1960)
Where the lyrics of Alone Together take you, and where it was really made.
This Tony Bennett album is among his most obscure recordings, and its only CD release so far came from Japan.
View on the mapKey places
Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City (1960)
Recording site Columbia 30th Street Studio — The album was recorded over three sessions in February and March 1960, and this studio is listed as the recording site. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: See the map for directions.
Album story
Overview
- Alone Together: album by American singer Tony Bennett
- Originally released in 1961 on Columbia as CL 1471
- Almost exclusively string arrangements of standards
- Choir, harp accompaniment and sparse percussion appear in places
- Twelve tracks in the track listing
- Among the most obscure Bennett recordings
- So far released on CD only in Japan by Sony/CBS
- Italian Wikipedia gives the release date as 11 July 1961
Background
- Standards include Gordon Jenkins's This Is All I Ask and Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Lady
- Frank DeVol conducts and arranges the album
- An unspecified string section accompanies Bennett
- Bennett is the only credited vocalist
- On 8 November 2011 Sony Music Distribution included the CD in the box set The Complete Collection
Recording
- Recorded in February and March 1960 across three sessions
- Studio: Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org
Tracklist
| 1 | Alone Together | |
| 2 | This Is All I Ask | |
| 3 | Out of This World | |
| 4 | Walk in the Country | |
| 5 | I’m Always Chasing Rainbows | |
| 6 | Poor Butterfly | |
| 7 | After You’ve Gone | |
| 8 | Gone With the Wind | |
| 9 | It’s Magic | |
| 10 | How Long Has This Been Going On | |
| 11 | Sophisticated Lady | |
| 12 | For Heaven’s Sake |
Sources: musicbrainz.org
Artist
Early life
- Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926, in Long Island City, Queens, New York City.
- Grew up in poverty after his father, a grocer, became unable to work and died when Tony was ten.
- Sang for money from age 13 as a singing waiter in Italian restaurants in Queens.
- Attended New York's School of Industrial Art but dropped out at 16 to help support his family.
Military service
- Drafted into the U.S. Army in November 1944 and fought as an infantryman in the final stages of World War II.
- Stayed in Germany with the occupying force and sang with an Army Special Services band under the name Joe Bari.
Career
- Studied bel canto at the American Theatre Wing on the GI Bill; Pearl Bailey and Bob Hope helped launch him, and Hope shortened his name to Tony Bennett.
- Signed with Columbia Records in 1950; first number-one hit "Because of You" in 1951.
- Shifted toward jazz singing in the late 1950s; "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (1962) became his signature song.
- Declined commercially during the rock era and struggled with addiction and debt until a comeback in the late 1980s, managed by his son Danny.
- The 1994 MTV Unplugged album won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Later career
- Collaborated with Lady Gaga from Cheek to Cheek (2014) through Love for Sale (2021).
- Won 20 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and sold more than 50 million records worldwide.
- Received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2005 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Co-founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens with Susan Crow.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reception
At release
- Released in 1961 on Columbia as CL 1471
- Italian Wikipedia dates the release to 11 July 1961
- Mostly string arrangements of standards, with choir and harp in places
- Frank DeVol conducted and arranged the recordings
Reappraisal
- Wikipedia describes it as among the most obscure Bennett recordings
- The only CD release so far came from Japan, issued by Sony/CBS
- Sony Music Distribution included the CD in The Complete Collection box set on 8 November 2011
Records
- Catalog number: Columbia CL 1471
- Twelve tracks recorded across three sessions in February and March 1960
- Session dates: 28 February, 29 February and 1 March 1960
- Opening track: Alone Together by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- So far the album has been released on CD only in Japan, by Sony/CBS.
- Sony Music Distribution placed the CD in the box set The Complete Collection in 2011.
- Recording was split: some tracks on 28 February, others on 29 February and 1 March 1960.
- Italian Wikipedia gives an 11 July 1961 release date, while the English page says 1961 on Columbia as CL 1471.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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