“Days of Wine and Roses“ is a popular song from the 1962 movie of the same name…..which was written by Henry Mancini….with lyrics by Johnny Mercer….as they received the Academy Award for Best Original Song for their work….as well as the 1964 Grammy Award for Best Song of the Year. In 2004 the song finished at # 39 in AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. The song is composed of two sentences, one for each stanza. They are each sung as three lines.
The best-known recordings of the song were by Billy Eckstine in 1961….and then by Andy Williams in 1963….but several other recording artists have also recorded the song….which includes Bill Evans, Dick and Dee Dee, Shirley Bassey, Frank Sinatra, Julie London, Perry Como, Wes Montgomery (1963: Boss Guitar) and Lenny Breau….as Tony Bennett sang his interpretation on his prestigious The Movie Song Album in 1966….while Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass recorded their version of this song on their Pablo Records album Easy Living. The song has become a jazz standard.
Williams’ version was recorded for Columbia Records…..which after being released….the song reached # 9 on the adult contemporary chart….and # 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart….and was the featured track of an album by Williams of the same name….which peaked at # 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. In this video seen herewith….legendary celebrity impersonator and singer Bob Anderson performs the song on Rich Little’s television special in 1979.
Anderson’s career was started in 1973….when he was in Las Vegas….and got a chance to watch a Nancy Sinatra rehearsal….when Nancy got into an argument with The Everly Brothers….and went off stage….when later she contacted performers….but on the suggestion of entertainment journalist Mark Tan….as Anderson got an opportunity to perform with Nancy on stage after his successful audition.
Anderson’s first appearance on national television was with Nancy Sinatra on The Merv Griffin Show….of which he got a standing ovation….when Merv Griffin later wrote an act for him and introduced Anderson to the world in Caesars Palace…..as the impersonator has mastered the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr…..plus his Frank The Man The Music show at the South Point was backed by a 32-piece orchestra in which he looks, sounds and moves like the late musical icon for 90 minutes….which according to BroadwayWorld was voted “Best Live Show”, “Best Headliner” and “Best Live Performance” at the annual Las Vegas Best of the Best Entertainment Awards in 2015. Anderson spent hours watching videos of Frank and mimicking them and turned to Hollywood makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji.
Anderson focuses on legendary Vegas entertainers like the Rat Pack, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles and Bobby Darin. People Magazine has called Anderson as “America’s Greatest SingingImpressionist”….as evidenced by this video perfromance from Rich Little’s televised special in 1979.
