R.I.P. Tony Bennett
Popular across numerous generations and a singer of the American Songbook for the ages, Tony Bennett died on Friday at his home in Manhattan at the age of 96, his publicist, Sylvia Weiner, confirmed.
Bennett was in declining health in recent years, learning he had Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, but continued to perform and record despite his illness; singing publicly live for a final time in August 2021, with Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall for the concert special “One Last Time.”
Anthony Dominick Benedetto was born on Aug. 3, 1926, in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. His parents’ marriage was arranged- father, Giovanni, had emigrated from Calabria, Italy, at 11, just before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in April 1906 and his mother, Anna, was born in NYC in 1899, having made the journey in her own mother’s womb.
“My father inspired my love for music,” Bennett wrote in his autobiography, but his father would die when Bennett was only ten. In addition to singing, he also gravitated toward art and painting at an early age, a second passion he would also pursue throughout his life.
Bennett attended the High School for Industrial Arts in Manhattan, but he never graduated, dropping out to work as a copy boy for the AP, in a laundry, and also as an elevator operator before being drafted in World War II to serve in Germany towards the end of the war.
He returned to New York in mid-1946 to begin a career as a musician, taking classes at the American Theater Wing via the GI Bill and sang in nightclubs in Manhattan and Queens under the early name of Joe Bari.
It was Bob Hope that gave him his famous stage name, catching Bari and Pearl Bailey, then asking him to open but under a different but also short name that would fit on a marquee,.
Signing to Columbia Records, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” was his first single in 1950 and audiences appreciated the warmth of his vocal delivery and related to his friendly, honest, and heartfelt stage demeanor.
Collaborations and hits followed in the 1960’s, winning his first two Grammy Awards in 1963, for his trademark song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” (his last Grammy win was just last year, for the album “Love for Sale,” with Lady Gaga). He would win twenty including a lifetime achievement award from the academy in 2001. and sold more than 60 million records including three Platinum albums, eight Gold, and 30 chart singles.
Musical trends would change during the 1970’s and 80’s but Bennett’s vision remained steadfast and unwavering to bend to trends of the day (other than a few covers of more contemporary songs), relying on his previous fan base to sustain his career through the rougher patches.
Leaving Columbia, he formed Improv Records, he recorded an acclaimed duet album with jazz pianist Bill Evans, but the label would soon fold and Bennett leaned more on his Vegas residencies for income. He returned to Columbia in the mid-80s as fans re-bought older albums on CD and was introduced to a newer generation by appearing on the 1993 MTV VMAs, which would lead to his MTV Unplugged special.
He would go on to collaborate on standards with the likes of kd lang, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Aretha Franklin, Amy Winehouse, Willie Nelson, and countless others, culminating in his most recent vocal partnership with Lady Gaga who paired on two studio albums and hit live performances.
Bennett is survived by wife Susan; sons Danny and Dae; daughters Johanna and Antonia Bennett; and nine grandchildren.
| John C ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
Comments