Tony Bennett, Legendary Pop and Jazz Vocalist, Dies at 96
As the New York Times puts it, Tony Bennett was a champion of the Great American Songbook. His renditions of jazz and pop standards across a whopping 61 studio albums helped shape the landscape of American music. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2016, but kept happily singing to audiences and alongside Lady Gaga. Now, on July 21, 2023, Bennett has finally passed on. According to the crooner's publicist, Bennett died in his New York hometown. He was 96 years old.
Anthony Dominick Benedetto was born and raised in Queens, the son of Italian immigrants. The lifelong New Yorker served as a foot soldier in the army in World War II, performing with military bands in Europe. He played his first night club gig in 1946, and in 1949, was discovered by Bob Hope. Hope gave him a job and dubbed him “Tony Bennett.” Bennett scored the first number one song of his decades-long career in 1951, with “Because of You.” He released an album with the same title the following year.
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From there, Bennett released dozens of studio albums and spent much of his life on the road. His signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” came out in 1962. He made albums with Bill Evans in the ’70s. Then in 1994, he had a career resurgence with his MTV Unplugged special. Its accompanying album, one of the biggest sellers of his career, won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Bennett was a committed humanitarian. He also became a best-selling author, Kennedy Center Honoree, recipient of the United Nations' Citizen of the World award, and an NEA Jazz Master. He co-founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York. His paintings are part of the Smithsonian Museum's permanent collection. “My whole life has been singing and painting,” he said in a 2015 interview. “I just do those two things. Every day feels like just starting out, because I still have so much more to learn.”
And of course, you can't talk about Tony Bennett without mentioning the other great names he rubbed shoulders with. Bennett sang duets with Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, and the late Amy Winehouse (he was on her final recording, "Body and Soul"). He also marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from Selma to Montgomery.
In his final years, Bennett collaborated heavily with pop songstress Lady Gaga. In 2014, they released the duets album Cheek to Cheek. Then in 2021, they dropped Bennett's final record Love For Sale and performed their last Radio City Music Hall shows together. CBS News reports that Gaga even credited Bennett with "saving" her music career, as there was a time when she was considering quitting.
Bennett's massive acclaim and commercial success included 50 million albums worldwide album sales and 20 Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. He is survived by his third wife, Susan Crow, whom he married in 2007 after a long relationship; two sons from his first marriage, Danny Bennett and Daegal Bennett; two daughters from his second marriage, Joanna Bennett and Antonia Bennett; and nine grandchildren.
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Article Image: Tony Bennett smiling during a red carpet event in 2011. (s_bukley via DepositPhotos.)