Song Lyric Sunday

Welcome to Song Lyric Sunday. This week we are invited to choose a song that was from the year we were born. Well I looked and looked and was tempted to tell you I was born in another year and then I found a Tony Bennett song that was a hit around that time. I went on a YouTube search for it and the version I found first was on one of his Duets Album and he had invited KD Lang to sing it with him. I really liked it so I am sharing it today. I hope you enjoy it too.

If you would like to see your life flash before your eyes in music, I have included a video of some short clips and songs for each year from 1950-2022. It’s kind of fun 🙂

The Song

The song I have chosen today was the one that made Tony Bennett a star.
Where many artists downplay their early work, he kept “Because of You,” his first hit, close to his heart.

Tony Bennett, who died in 2023 at the age of 96, reportedly sang one last song while sitting at his piano. It was “Because of You,” his first hit, released in 1951, and the single that propelled him to more than seven decades of fame, fortune, and legend. But it was always more than a stepping stone. Where many artists downplay their early work, Bennett kept “Because of You” close to his heart. There is much to remember Bennett for, from his civil-rights activism to his stewardship of classic American pop songs. Without “Because of You,” none of it might have happened.

When Bennett first recorded the song, he was a 24-year-old kid from Queens whose slim discography had yielded little success. He had fought in World War II, participating in the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. As part of the postwar occupying force, he sang in Army bands. His career began in earnest at Columbia Records (then the home of Frank Sinatra), but almost stalled out before it began. He was on the verge of being dropped by the label when, in 1951, the orchestra leader Percy Faith randomly picked “Because of You” out of a pile of sheet music for Bennett to record.

“Because of You” has an interesting provenance. It was co-written by a Hammerstein—but not Oscar, the lyricist who famously collaborated with Richard Rodgers. Instead, it was written by Oscar’s far less notable uncle, Arthur, along with his creative partner Dudley Wilkinson. At first, the song went nowhere, the Hammerstein brand notwithstanding. But Faith’s chance selection changed all that. His advice to Bennett: “Just relax. Use your natural voice and sing the song.” Better counsel was never given. Prior to that, Bennett, by his own admission, had been unsuccessfully trying out an overwrought style. “Then,” he said, “we decided I would just sing honestly and sincerely.”

Courtesy of Jason Heller, The Atlantic

The Lyrics

Because of you there's a song in my heart
Because of you my romance had its start
Because of you the sun will shine
The moon and stars will say you're mine
Forever and never to part

I only live for your love and your kiss
It's paradise to be near you like this
Because of you my life is now worth while
And I can smile
Because of you

I only live for your love and your kiss
It's paradise to be near you like this
Because of you my life is now worth while
And I can smile
Because of you

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Arthur Hammerstein / Dudley Wilkinson
Because of You lyrics © Kanjian Music, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.