Here's to the Ladies

Tony Bennett | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 1, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sbme Special Mkts.
• ASIN: B0012GMX0Q
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MiniDisc  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,366 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. People

2. I'm in Love Again

3. Over the Rainbow

4. My Love Went to London

5. Poor Butterfly

6. Sentimental Journey

7. Cloudy Morning

8. Tenderly

9. Down in the Depths

10. Moonlight in Vermont

11. Tangerine

12. God Bless the Child

13. Daybreak

14. You Showed Me the Way

15. Honeysuckle Rose

16. Maybe This Time

17. I Got Rhythm

18. My Ideal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why it means so much to me, July 9, 2006

By 

Deepanjan (India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Here's to the Ladies (Audio CD)

I'm as familiar to Willis Conover's voice as I am to Dad's. Conover's legendary Jazz Hour on VOA was a source of unfailing inspiration to people from all over the world and carried significance to East-Europeans living under oppressive Socialist dictatorship. Jazz Hour was one of the subtler weapons used by the US administration to promulgate its Capitalist vision and the famed American Dream.

I had been listening to JH probably from the day I was born! I vivid recall Dad putting on the radio at around 7:30 pm on Saturdays. We waited excitedly for the valves to get heated as the tuner gradually hummed into life. The tuner knob would have to be adjusted to the precise location to pluck the right signals from the airwaves. This was no easy task as the wavelength (I forget its exact frequency since we located by the relative position of the pointer, not the absolute frequency) was heavily congested and we had a trying time reaching the precise position. All too often we found unwanted signals intruding into our listening pleasure. We would have to constantly keep adjusting the knob. I didn't realize it then, but I now feel there was magic in this little forced ritual we had to break into every now and then!

Anyway, Dad's work would sometimes deprive him of the opportunity to listen to JH. I guess it was circa 1996 when on one such JH, Dad had to work in the evening shift. There were many more JH's he missed, but I guess this one was the costliest.

About a year prior (1995), Tony Bennett had released an album titled `Here's to the Ladies,' a compilation of 18 vocal standards dedicated to 17 legendary female vocalists. This album went on to win the Grammy, although I don't know under what category. Willis Conover dedicated the said JH to reviewing and playing selections form this album. I had never heard of Tony Bennett before, and I wasn't really much of a fan of vocal Jazz. Jazz, to me, was only supposed to be entirely instrumental; no room for the voice here, I reasoned. That's the idea Dad commonly held and I just found it convenient to imitate his!

Bennett proved me so wrong! Never had I heard vocal Jazz so mesmerizing, so paralyzing, so overwhelming, so Spartan and yet so out-of-the-world. I was held absolutely enchanted for the full hour as Conover's baritone introduced the selections. I guess it was the most unforgettable musical experience I've ever had. I deeply regretted Dad missing out on music so beautiful. I remember waiting eagerly for him to arrive late that night. The wait seemed so long and excruciating! When Dad finally returned, I told him all about what had just transpired and also promising him to buy the CD some day. Dad shared my enthusiasm. We discussed Bennett so many times after that. Dad, unlike me, was well acquainted with Bennett and I got to learn a lot more about my new Jazz guru!

Conover had said that the album was released under the Columbia records, a Sony brand. I knew the chances that I would chance upon my dream CD were very slim primary because Columbia records were rarely available in India. Adding to my woes was the fact that Indians hardly had a taste for Jazz. Marketers knew this well enough and would perhaps never bother to import the CD here. I clung on to my hope and never gave up my search.

The search lasted 10 years! I had moved heaven and earth but couldn't find my album. Even Indian shopping sites failed me, though you could find enough of the likes of Michael Jackson & Britney Spears. It was then that I decided to give up on the chase and import the CD directly via Amazon along with a few more albums. The order was placed, but soon cancelled on account of a snag.

I visited Landmark @ The Forum yesterday, accompanied with Subashish. My customary stopover at Landmark is where the Jazz and Classical CD's are kept, a place avoided by everyone else! I was browsing through the collection when I came across the section dedicated to Tony Bennett. At once my mind raced back to the incident that had happened 10 years ago. I didn't really expect to come across the album I was looking for, since I had already browsed through the section on innumerable occasions previously and hadn't met any success.

Imagine how ecstatic I was when I finally got to see what must have been a divine sight for: the album `Here's to the Ladies' neatly placed between other albums!!! There was no question what I had to do next: buy it! I could hardly wait, but wait I did since not browsing through the classical albums was unimaginable. Guess what, I now came across 2 more albums that I was looking for for years! Ended up buying all the 3 albums. Which one was the most precious? Now that's a silly question to ask!

Willis Conover passed away in '97.
Dad breathed his last in '04.
Tony Bennett is luckily still with us.

My only regret is that though I've finally kept my word, Dad has once again missed listening to the album. And no matter how long I wait for him this time, he's not coming back.
Dad, I'm so sorry for being late.

(I've been listening to the 'Here's to the Ladies' as I write this testimonial. The music doesn't fail me, though the magic does. Not a fault of the album though.)

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great tribute to the great ladies of song, December 19, 2003

By 

Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Here's to the Ladies (Audio CD)

While none of Tony's covers of these wonderful songs improve on the original versions, they are all extremely well performed and this album may be the vehicle by which some of these ladies, especially the less famous among them, may win new fans. Of course, all of them were famous at one time but many have long since been forgotten.

The ladies paid tribute to are Barbra Streisand (People), Peggy Lee (I'm in love again), Judy Garland (Somewhere over the rainbow), Blossom Dearie (My love went to London), Sarah Vaughan (Poor butterfly), Doris Day (Sentimental journey), Carmen McRae (Cloudy morning), Rosemary Clooney (Tenderly), Mabel Mercer (Down in the depths), Margaret Whiting (Moonlight in Vermont), Helen O'Connell (Tangerine), Billie Holiday (God bless the child), Dinah Washington (Daybreak), Ella Fitzgerald (You showed me the way), Lena Horne (Honeysuckle rose), Liza Minnelli (Maybe this time), Ethel Merman (I got rhythm) and Margaret Whiting again (My ideal).

It seems a little odd that Tony chose two Margaret Whiting songs, when you consider that Jo Stafford, Dinah Shore, June Christy, Jeri Southern, Helen Forrest, Julie London, Martha Tilton and many other wonderful ladies are not represented, but I suspect that he could not make up his mind between Moonlight in Vermont and My ideal, so he included both.

This is an outstanding collection that should please Tony's fans - or any fans of this type of music.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maaybe Tony's Best Ever..That's saying a LOT!!!, February 13, 2002

By 

S. Henkels (Devon, Pa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Here's to the Ladies (Audio CD)

This one must be among the very greatest single CD's out there, and the ... price is a super bargain. It's surprising there's only four other reviews here. Firstly, Tony has picked 18 songs associated with 17 lady singers, including two by Margarat Whiting. These versions are often distinctly different too from other versions I know. Starting with Streisand's PEOPLE ,Tony and the band do a nice moderate swing version, a super rendition. OVER THE RAINBOW also swings a bit and includes the very rare introduction, lyrics essential to any classic song fan.MY LOVE WENT TO LONDON, a great piece I had never heard before, and a fine version of POOR BUTTERFLY from Sarah Vaughan,even if this version is topped by one with SINATRA AND DUKE ELLINGTON. This CD has the highest recommendation possible.BTW,in the notes Tony writes about each of his 17 ladies, and his comments are obviously of real interest too