''Strike Up the Band'' is a 1959 studio album by

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

with the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

. The album was released at first with the title ''Basie Swings, Bennett Sings'' as SR-25072, featuring a different cover and track order. William Ruhlmann of Allmusic wrote "The band raves through tunes like "With Plenty of Money and You," and Bennett matches them, drawing strength from the bravura arrangements, while band and singer achieve a knowing tenderness on "Growing Pains."" Bennett and Basie recorded two albums together in 1959. The other one, '' In Person!'', was released by Bennett's record label, Columbia, while this album was released by Roulette, Basie's label.

Track listing

;Side one #" Strike Up the Band" (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

, Ira Gershwin) – 1:33 #" I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" (

Howard Dietz Howard Dietz (September 8, 1896 – July 30, 1983) was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist, best remembered for his songwriting collaboration with Arthur Schwartz. Biography Dietz was born in New York City. He attended Columbia Colle ...

Arthur Schwartz Arthur Schwartz (November 25, 1900 – September 3, 1984) was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz. Biography Early life Schwartz was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on Nov ...

) – 1:44 #"

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

" ( Fred Fisher) – 2:07 #"With Plenty of Money and You" ( Al Dubin, Harry Warren) – 1:33 #"

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...

" ( Cole Porter) – 2:20 #"Life Is a Song" ( Fred E. Ahlert, Joe Young) – 2:49 ;Side two #" I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" ( Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) – 3:02 #" Jeepers Creepers" ( Johnny Mercer, Warren) – 2:08 #"Growing Pains" (

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...

, Schwartz) – 3:33 #"Poor Little Rich Girl" ( Noël Coward) – 3:30 #" Are You Havin' Any Fun?" ( Sammy Fain,

Jack Yellen Jack Selig Yellen (Jacek Jeleń; July 6, 1892 – April 17, 1991) was an American lyricist and screenwriter. He is best remembered for writing the lyrics to the songs " Happy Days Are Here Again", which was used by Franklin Roosevelt as the th ...

) – 2:42 ''The 1990 compact disc reissue included the ballad "After Supper"''

Personnel

*Tony Bennett - vocals * Ralph Sharon - piano and arranger The

: *Count Basie - piano *

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...

Snooky Young Eugene Edward "Snooky" Young (February 3, 1919 – May 11, 2011) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he was able to create a wide range of sounds. Biography Young was lead trumpeter of t ...

, Wendell Culley & Joe Newman - trumpet * Benny Powell,

Henry Coker Henry Coker (December 24, 1919 – November 23, 1979) was an American jazz trombonist. Biography Coker was born in Dallas, Texas, United States. He made his professional debut with John White in 1935. From 1937 to 1939 he played with Nat Towles' ...

Al Grey Al Grey (June 6, 1925 – March 24, 2000) was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra. He was known for his plunger mute technique and wrote an instructional book in 1987 called ''Plunger Techniques''. Care ...

- trombone * Marshal Royal & Frank Wess - alto saxophone * Frank Foster &

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...

- tenor saxophone * Charlie Fowlkes - baritone saxophone *

Freddie Green Frederick William Green (March 31, 1911 – March 1, 1987) was an American swing jazz guitarist who played rhythm guitar with the Count Basie Orchestra for almost fifty years. Early life and education Green was born in Charleston, South Car ...

- guitar * Eddie Jones - bass * Sonny Payne - drums

References

{{Authority control 1959 albums Tony Bennett albums Count Basie Orchestra albums Roulette Records albums Albums conducted by Count Basie Albums arranged by Ralph Sharon