TONY BENNETT,
1926-2023
Tony Bennett, a champion of the Great American Songbook whose career stretched for more than 70 years and included one of pop music’s most enduring comebacks, died Friday (7/21) in New York City. He was 96.
Bennett learned he had Alzheimer’s disease in 2016 and continued to perform and record for another five years. His final public performance—with Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall—became a CBS special and a well-documented send-off for a career that began in the 1940s after World War II.
Bennett was one of the last singers to make his mark in the Great American Songbook era, his signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” being one of that era’s last standards. A hit and a Grammy winner in 1962, it was one of several Top 40 hits he had in the 1960s as rock & roll took over the airwaves; “I Wanna Be Around,” “Who Can I Turn To” and “The Good Life” were among the last hits of an era that included the singers who influenced him: Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong among them. Decades later, their songs would be key to his comeback.
Bennett got his big showbiz break in 1949, when he was using the name Joe Bari and performing in small clubs in the neighborhood where he grew up, Astoria, Queens. He was invited to open for Pearl Bailey at a club in Manhattan.
“She had heard me sing and must have liked what she heard, because she went to the boss at the club and said, ‘I don’t work here unless this boy is on my show’,” Bennett told Michael Sigman in HITS’ HISTORY OF THE MUSIC BIZ 2. "The boss said, ‘Are you serious? We’re only booking you, and that’s costing us a fortune.’ She said, ‘If I can’t present him to the audience, I’m not performing here.’”
Bob Hope went to one of the shows and afterward, Bennett said, “he came over to me and said, ‘You’re coming with me. I’m taking you to the Paramount and on tour with me.’ I couldn’t believe it. This was Bob Hope!”
He made more than 70 studio albums, beginning with 1952’s Because of You, the title track of which was his first #1 single. Bennett would record more than 30 albums during his initial 22-year run with Columbia Records, including two sets with Count Basie and His Orchestra. In his later years, his collaborators would hail from much younger generations, among them k.d. lang, Diana Krall, Amy Winehouse and Stevie Wonder.
Bennett covered a variety of styles in his early years, scoring a #1 hit with his version of Hank Williams’ “Cold, Cold Heart” and recording songs from Broadway shows such as “Stranger in Paradise” from Kismet and “Just in Time” from Bells Are Ringing. He was the first to record “Blue Velvet” and “Rags to Riches.”
Bennett, a jazz enthusiast, started heading in that direction with 1957’s The Beat of My Heart that featured jazz musicians Art Blakey, Nat Adderly and Herbie Mann. A year later he recorded with Count Basie and his touring shows for decades would be heavily jazz-influenced.
When he left Columbia, Bennett formed the jazz label Improv and released two albums with the pianist Bill Evans that were among the most critically lauded records of his career. Improv went out of business in the mid-1970s and Bennett went more than a decade without recording any music.
After years of troubles, Bennett asked his son Danny Bennett to help him get his affairs in order and his career back on track. Danny reconnected his father with his former pianist Ralph Sharon, who would be his musical director for more than 20 years. Danny Bennett put his father on a path to reach younger audiences via appearance on Late Night With David Letterman, The Simpson and MTV shows, eventually booking him on multi-act bills promoted by alternative rock stations around the country.
He reunited with Columbia Records for 1986’s The Art of Excellence, which received airplay on Boston's WBCN and other alternative stations. It started a string of albums that paid tribute to songwriters and singers of the pre-rock & roll era. Steppin’ Out, his 1993 tip of the hat to Fred Astaire, introduced him to the MTV audience that Bennett would capitalize on for decades. His 1994 set MTV Unplugged won the Album of the Year Grammy.
To celebrate Bennett’s 80th birthday in 2006, his Duets: An American Classic was released to great fanfare. His set stood out for the recording process: Bennett and his partners—Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, Elton John, etc.—were physically present and singing with Bennett in the studio. The album went double platinum, peaked at #3 and led to the follow-ups Duets II, a #1 album in 2011; Viva Duets in 2012; 2014’s Cheek to Cheek and 2021’s Love for Sale with Lady Gaga; and Love is Here to Stay with Krall in 2018.
“There are few people in life who could surpass the achievements of the legendary artist Tony Bennett,” Sony Music Group Chairman Rob Stringer said. “His biography reads like an inspiring and principled socio-cultural history of nearly a century. His artistry in recording and performing will be admired forever. Everyone at Sony Music worldwide loved him and we are now honored to represent his legacy.”
Bennett won 19 Grammy Awards in competitive categories, most recently the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Love for Sale. His first was a Record of the Year award for “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” He received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2001 and was the MusiCares Person of the Year in 1995.
He also won two Emmy Awards, received a Kennedy Center Honor and was named an NEA Jazz Master.
Through his foundation, Exploring the Arts, which supports arts education, he funded New York City’s Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in his native Queens.
The great Tony Bennett sings "Everybody Has The Blues." RIP, Tony. pic.twitter.com/lPhpTPy3kI
— David Letterman (@Letterman) July 21, 2023
May you Rest in Peace, Tony Bennett!
— Keith Richards (@officialKeef) July 21, 2023
Photo from 2015
Photo: J. Bouquet pic.twitter.com/ZYVlktk8tz
Goodnight, #TonyBennett.
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) July 21, 2023
Thank you for your commitment to love, civil rights, and a better world. pic.twitter.com/RzWoQyrvN3
Tony Bennett.
— Vernon Reid (@vurnt22) July 21, 2023
That’s how you do it. Life As Lyric.
Music & Art FULLY Realized. So Hip. So Real. So ALIVE as Long As He Lived. Before orchestras. Before trios. Before the blank canvas.
G.O.A.T. with few peers.
🌹🌹🌹
Sesame Workshop mourns the passing of Tony Bennett, who brought joy and music to millions of people around the world. Mr. Bennett joined us on Sesame Street in 1998 to turn a classic of his into a new favorite of ours. pic.twitter.com/dsExI2hg6W
— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) July 21, 2023
Tony was one of the most splendid people who ever lived. Kind, loving, talented and generous, he never let us down.
— Nancy Sinatra (@NancySinatra) July 21, 2023
Sending my love to Susan, Danny and their family and friends. Tony was a true champion.💙#TonyBennett pic.twitter.com/aLWnj0VOlF
Sunday Morning Passage
— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) July 21, 2023
Singer Tony Bennett has died, He was 96.
In 2014, Tony Bennett visited The MET in NYC, where he told @AnthonyMasonCBS about how - as a young student studying both art and music - it was his art teacher who had encouraged him to become a singer. pic.twitter.com/jqcqQQxkj9
The #SFGiants are saddened to hear of the loss of Tony Bennett, a true legend whose music will live on at Oracle Park. We cherish the memories of his friendship & many visits. We will remember him for leaving his heart in San Francisco. Our deepest condolences to his family. pic.twitter.com/tYzAsuEc5F
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 21, 2023
Tony Bennett was the one of the most important interpreters of American popular song during the mid to late 20th century. He championed songwriters who might otherwise have remained unknown to many millions of music fans. pic.twitter.com/IsopRo8jQ8
— Billy Joel (@billyjoel) July 21, 2023
Very sad to hear about Tony Bennett’s passing. Rest in Peace pic.twitter.com/Q0OTK5OJfC
— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) July 21, 2023
