The Good Life (1963)

Tony Bennett - The Good Life

Date: December 19, 1962
Location: CBS 30th Street Studio, New York, NY
Tony Bennett (ldr), Marty Manning (con, a), Tony Bennett (v)
Written by: Sacha Distel and Jack Reardon
Index: CO 77240
Available on CDs: Reissued on 19 different CDs including:  Sony Music CD: 63570 — The Ultimate Tony Bennett   (2000), Sony Music CD: SRCS-9093 — 16 Most Requested Songs   (2001), Columbia/Legacy CD: 86634 — The Essential Tony Bennett   (2002), Columbia/Legacy CD: C5K 92784 — Fifty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett   (2004)
Available on iTunes: Yes

As the studio album followup to Tony Bennett's 1962 breakthrough record, I Left My Heart In San Francisco,  "The Good Life"  became a Top 20 hit, showing that Bennett had somehow found a line into good new pop material. The arrangement, courtesy of Marty Manning, provided a lush backdrop of strings and winds over which Bennett caresses this Distel/Reardon gem.

Below is a lead sheet to the tune. A transcription and analysis of Bennett's 1963 version to follow.