Bob Dylan pays tribute to Tony Bennett

Watch Bob Dylan's performance for Tony Bennett's 90th birthday, filmed at WorkPlay in Birmingham »


Bob Dylan filmed a video for Tony Bennett's 90th birthday at the WorkPlay theater in Birmingham.
The clip was included in an NBC TV special, "Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best is Yet to Come."
It aired Dec. 20 at 8 p.m. CT. (NBC screenshot)


By Mary Colurso | [email protected]
on December 21, 2016 at 1:50 PM, updated December 21, 2016 at 1:51 PM

Did you see Bob Dylan's performance Tuesday night on the NBC special, "Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best Is Yet to Come"?

If not, we can fix that. The entire special is available for streaming on the NBC website, and you'll find Dylan's appearance at the 1:05:35 mark. The artist, 75, sings "Once Upon a Time," a song from the 1962 musical "All American."

Celebrities ranging from Lady Gaga to Stevie Wonder paid tribute to Bennett at an event that was filmed Sept. 15 at Radio City Music Hall. However, Dylan's performance was filmed Oct. 28 at the WorkPlay theater in Birmingham.

Dylan couldn't attend the celebration in New York, but he wanted to mark Bennett's birthday with a song, according to WorkPlay owner Tom Williams. Hence, a video shoot was planned at the entertainment complex, 500 23rd St. South.


[ Why did Bob Dylan pay a visit to Birmingham's WorkPlay on Friday? » ]

At the time, Dylan was on tour in the South, traveling to an Oct. 29 concert in Huntsville. Also, the artist's team has a connection to WorkPlay's sound engineer and production manager, Davy Moire.

The recording session here was cloaked in secrecy for the notoriously private star, but Williams said he watched Dylan's sound check that day and exchanged a few words with the legendary singer-songwriter.

"He was super-nice," Williams said. "They had one rule: No cell phones, no cameras in the air while he's in the building. They just said, 'Give him his space and no cameras.'"

Dylan's performance for Bennett, which lasts about three minutes, was integrated into footage for Tuesday's two-hour TV special, which aired at 8 p.m. CT. The WorkPlay stage received some atmospheric lighting for the occasion, and Dylan is front and center at the microphone.

The song Dylan chose, "Once Upon a Time," is a mournful chestnut written by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams. Bennett has performed the song often over the years, and included a notable rendition on his 1962 album, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."


Bob Dylan and his band performed "Once Upon a Time" for a video celebrating Tony Bennett's 90th birthday. The wistful ballad originally was written for a 1962 musical, "All American." (NBC screenshot)

 

Thanks, that would be nice.

 

Watched the Dylan portion last night, really nice. Just for a second I thought he might go all Daltrey with the mic stand

 

I was really waiting to see Bob on Tony's 90th.
I had heard so much about the performance prior to the show.
I live in Bham, AL and Bob chose "Work Play" downtown to record the song.
It was at least a month before the gigs here, he played Huntsville Oct 30th
and Birmingham Nov 15th... but the song was recorded back in September.

It's a really nice venue... wonder how he heard about it...
Well, I did see Jakob Dylan there I think twice.
He loved the place. Maybe he will come back and do a small intimate gig sometime...
Dream on. I heard nothing about it till after he was here and gone.
Great performance.

 

According to the article I posted just above, the WorkPlay theater performance was filmed October 28th.

(That's what prompted the opening post in this thread.)

 

Well Bob F.... You are right, I am wrong.
A couple weeks makes a huge difference, didn't have the exact date in front of me at the time.

 

It's criminal the gazillion commercials 0ne must go thru on that NBC site to get to view the clip!!!! I gave up on it.

 

Thanks for the warning.

 

I was thinking Montgomery Gentry!

 

Bennett's vocal has more urgency.
Bob is at least intelligible (mostly) (and I'm a big fan) but I wouldn't single his performance out for praise.
Any resemblance to one version over the other would have to do with vocal limitations, imo.
That's not to say that Bennett is automatically better----I prefer Sinatra in general----depends upon the tune.
And Dylan in the mid 60s (and off and on until the late 70s before the conversion) was one of the most effective singers ever.

 

And that's why I prefer Sinatra's version. The song is a wistful reflection on old age and lost youth. Listen to the lyrics. It's not meant to be belted out. Dylan reads it exactly like Sinatra does. (That's not meant as praise for his voice.) More to the point: Bob's instrumental backing matches the Gordon Jenkins chart Frank used.

 

Who knew?

That Dylan videos would be my Christmas/Holiday "16" go to videos.

From the sublime (Once Upon A TIme) to silly (Must Be Santa), Zimmy delivered the goods!

Nobel Winner Bob Dylan Once Made The Weirdest Christmas Video Ever | The Huffington Post »

 

Yeah, but it's not much different than the actual broadcast. Sans commercials, the NBC video clocks in at 1:25. You had to endure 35 minutes of commercials out of two hours, to watch it in real time when it aired. Thank goodness for DVRs and the ability to fast forward over the ads.

 

watch the one I posted on page 1

 

Yes and in Bennet's hands it's an impassioned reflection on lost youth----not at odds with the lyrics at all.
I don't dispute that Dylan's version may be based on the Sinatra version----but that by no means validates Sinatra's version over Bennet's for me.
All a matter of taste.

 

Tony's version, like many of his recordings, is too short....only one chorus. When asked about this once by Jonathan Schwartz he replied that one chorus said all he had to say. Another theory was that he knew the radio liked short songs. Still I feel shortchanged by his "one chorus" recordings....like when I listen to Sinatra's Reprise version of "Stardust".

 

^^^ I feel shortchanged when artists (especially Sinatra) drop the verse. (Subject for a different thread.)

 

Thanks for pointing that out. It was easy to find....unfortunately not very easy to listen to.

 

interesting, aside from the rough video at the start, I found it to be a fantastic performance

 

Better quality video capture now posted. While it lasts:

 

I thought he was great!
Loved the song very cool.

 

That performance was very David Lynch, as if Dylan were performing at the Black Lodge.