Maps of Music

Long Ago and Far Away (1958)

Where the lyrics of Long Ago and Far Away take you, and where it was really made.

The album came out under the name 'Tony Bennett with Frank DeVol and His Orchestra', so the orchestra's leader was billed next to the singer.

Key places

Recorded at Radio Recorders in Hollywood (1958)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — The album was recorded at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California, over three days from 7 to 9 April 1958. The point marks the city of Los Angeles, not the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Long Ago and Far Away: sixth studio album by American singer Tony Bennett
• Released in 1958 by Columbia Records
• A mixture of slow ballads with a few slightly jazzy songs
• Twelve tracks, including It Could Happen to You, Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread), Long Ago (and Far Away), and The Way You Look Tonight
• On November 8, 2011, Sony Music Distribution included the CD in a box set entitled The Complete Collection

Background

• The album came out under the name Tony Bennett with Frank DeVol and His Orchestra
• DeVol conducted the orchestra and wrote the arrangements
• Ralph Sharon played piano
• Herbie Mann played flute
• George Van Eps and Robert Bain played guitar
• Frank Flynn played vibes
• Catherine Gotthoffer and Dorothy Remsen played harp
• Buddy Clark played double bass

Recording

• Recorded from 7 to 9 April 1958
• Sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California
• Tracks 1, 5, and 7 were recorded on 7 April
• Tracks 2, 11, and 12 were recorded on 8 April
• Tracks 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10 were recorded on 9 April
• The string section included violinists such as Israel Baker, Sam Freed, and Eudice Shapiro

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

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

• Billboard gave the album four stars to indicate strong sales potential
• Billboard described the album as a fine mood album
• Cashbox wrote that Bennett plays a wistful tune on some of the finest wistful melodies ever written
• The reviews focus on the album's mood and melodies rather than its arrangements

Records

• In November 2011 the album's CD was included in the box set The Complete Collection, released by Sony Music Distribution
• The sources list no chart positions, sales figures, certifications, or awards for the album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The original vinyl credits list Ned Washington and Victor Young as the authors of It Could Happen to You, unlike other listings of the album.
• The album was issued under the name Tony Bennett with Frank DeVol and His Orchestra.
• Columbia Records released the album in 1958 as Bennett's sixth studio record.
• The 2011 box set The Complete Collection gave the album a later release as part of a larger collection.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

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