Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as graced a decadeslong career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, died Friday. He was 96, just two weeks short of his birthday.
Publicist Sylvia Weiner confirmed BennettB次元官网网址檚 death to The Associated Press, saying he died in his hometown of New York. There was no specific cause, but Bennett had been diagnosed in 2016.
The last of the great saloon singers of the mid-20th century, Bennett often said his lifelong ambition was to create B次元官网网址渁 hit catalog rather than hit records.B次元官网网址� He released more than 70 albums, bringing him 19 competitive Grammys B次元官网网址� all but two after he reached his 60s B次元官网网址� and enjoyed deep and lasting affection from fans and fellow artists.
Bennett didnB次元官网网址檛 tell his own story when performing; he let the music speak instead B次元官网网址� the Gershwins and Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern. Unlike his friend and mentor Sinatra, he would interpret a song rather than embody it. If his singing and public life lacked the high drama of SinatraB次元官网网址檚, Bennett appealed with an easy, courtly manner and an uncommonly rich and durable voice B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淎 tenor who sings like a baritone,B次元官网网址� he called himself B次元官网网址� that made him a master of caressing a ballad or brightening an up-tempo number.
B次元官网网址淚 enjoy entertaining the audience, making them forget their problems,B次元官网网址� he told The Associated Press in 2006. B次元官网网址淚 think people B次元官网网址� are touched if they hear something thatB次元官网网址檚 sincere and honest and maybe has a little sense of humor. B次元官网网址� I just like to make people feel good when I perform.B次元官网网址�
Bennett was praised often by his peers, but never more meaningfully than by what Sinatra said in a 1965 Life magazine interview: B次元官网网址淔or my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business. He excites me when I watch him. He moves me. HeB次元官网网址檚 the singer who gets across what the composer has in mind, and probably a little more.B次元官网网址�
He not only survived the rise of rock music but endured so long and so well that he gained new fans and collaborators, some young enough to be his grandchildren. In 2014, at age 88, Bennett broke his own record as the oldest living performer with a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart his duets project with Lady Gaga. Three years earlier, he topped the charts with B次元官网网址淒uets II,B次元官网网址� featuring such contemporary stars as Gaga, Carrie Underwood and Amy Winehouse, in her last studio recording. His rapport with Winehouse was captured in the Oscar-nominated documentary B次元官网网址淎my,B次元官网网址� which showed Bennett patiently encouraging the insecure young singer through a performance of B次元官网网址淏ody and Soul.B次元官网网址�
His final album, the 2021 release B次元官网网址淟ove for Sale,B次元官网网址� featured duets with Lady Gaga on the title track, B次元官网网址淣ight and DayB次元官网网址� and other Porter songs.
For Bennett, one of the few performers to move easily between pop and jazz, such collaborations were part of his crusade to expose new audiences to what he called the Great American Songbook.
B次元官网网址淣o country has given the world such great music,B次元官网网址� Bennett said in a 2015 interview with Downbeat Magazine. B次元官网网址淐ole Porter, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern. Those songs will never die.B次元官网网址�
Ironically, his most famous contribution came through two unknowns, George Cory and Douglass Cross, who in the early B次元官网网址�60s provided Bennett with his signature song at a time his career was in a lull. They gave BennettB次元官网网址檚 musical director, pianist Ralph Sharon, some sheet music that he stuck in a dresser drawer and forgot about until he was packing for a tour that included a stop in San Francisco.
B次元官网网址淩alph saw some sheet music in his shirt drawer B次元官网网址� and on top of the pile was a song called B次元官网网址業 Left My Heart In San Francisco.B次元官网网址� Ralph thought it would be good material for San Francisco,B次元官网网址� Bennett said. B次元官网网址淲e were rehearsing and the bartender in the club in Little Rock, Arkansas, said, B次元官网网址業f you record that song, IB次元官网网址檓 going to be the first to buy it.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Released in 1962 as the B-side of the single B次元官网网址淥nce Upon a Time,B次元官网网址� the reflective ballad became a grassroots phenomenon staying on the charts for more than two years and earning Bennett his first two Grammys, including record of the year.
By his early 40s, he was seemingly out of fashion. But after turning 60, an age when even the most popular artists often settle for just pleasing their older fans, Bennett and his son and manager, Danny, found creative ways to market the singer to the MTV Generation. He made guest appearances on B次元官网网址淟ate Night with David LettermanB次元官网网址� and became a celebrity guest artist on B次元官网网址淭he Simpsons.B次元官网网址� He wore a black T-shirt and sunglasses as a presenter with the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the 1993 MTV Music B次元官网网址 Awards, and his own video of B次元官网网址淪teppinB次元官网网址� Out With My BabyB次元官网网址� from his Grammy-winning Fred Astaire tribute album ended up on MTVB次元官网网址檚 hip B次元官网网址淏uzz Bin.B次元官网网址�
That led to an offer in 1994 to do an episode of B次元官网网址淢TV UnpluggedB次元官网网址� with special guests Elvis Costello and k.d. lang. The eveningB次元官网网址檚 performance resulted in the album, B次元官网网址淭ony Bennett: MTV Unplugged,B次元官网网址� which won two Grammys, including album of the year.
Bennett would win Grammys for his tributes to female vocalists (B次元官网网址淗ereB次元官网网址檚 to the LadiesB次元官网网址�), Billie Holiday (B次元官网网址淭ony Bennett on HolidayB次元官网网址�), and Duke Ellington (B次元官网网址淏ennett Sings Ellington B次元官网网址� Hot & CoolB次元官网网址�). He also won Grammys for his collaborations with other singers: B次元官网网址淧layinB次元官网网址� With My Friends B次元官网网址� Bennett Sings the Blues,B次元官网网址� and his Louis Armstrong tribute, B次元官网网址淎 Wonderful WorldB次元官网网址� with lang, the first full album he had ever recorded with another singer. He celebrated his 80th birthday with B次元官网网址淒uets: An American Classic,B次元官网网址� featuring Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder among others.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e all giants in the industry, and all of a sudden theyB次元官网网址檙e saying to me B次元官网网址榊ouB次元官网网址檙e the master,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Bennett told the AP in 2006.
Long associated with San Francisco, Bennett would note that his true home was Astoria, the working-class community in the New York City borough of Queens, where he grew up during the Great Depression. The singer chose his old neighborhood as the site for the B次元官网网址淔ameB次元官网网址�-style public high school, the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, that he and his third wife, Susan Crow Benedetto, a former teacher, helped found in 2001.
The school is not far from the birthplace of the man who was once Anthony Dominick Benedetto. His father was an Italian immigrant who inspired his love of singing, but he died when Anthony was 10. Bennett credited his mother, Anna, with teaching him a valuable lesson as he watched her working at home, supporting her three children as a seamstress doing piecework after his father died.
B次元官网网址淲e were very impoverished,B次元官网网址� Bennett said in a 2016 AP interview. B次元官网网址淚 saw her working and every once in a while sheB次元官网网址檇 take a dress and throw it over her shoulder and sheB次元官网网址檇 say, B次元官网网址楧onB次元官网网址檛 have me work on a bad dress. IB次元官网网址檒l only work on good dresses.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
He studied commercial art in high school, but had to drop out to help support his family. The teenager got a job as a copy boy for the AP, performed as a singing waiter and competed in amateur shows. A combat infantryman during World War II, he served as a librarian for the Armed Forces Network after the war and sang with an army big band in occupied Germany. His earliest recording is a 1946 air check from Armed Forces Radio of the blues B次元官网网址淪t. James Infirmary.B次元官网网址�
Bennett took advantage of the GI Bill to attend the American Theater Wing, which later became The Actors Studio. His acting lessons helped him develop his phrasing and learn how to tell a story. He learned the more intimate Bel Canto vocal technique which helped him sustain and extend the expressive range of his voice. And he took to heart the advice of his vocal coach, Miriam Spier.
B次元官网网址淪he said please donB次元官网网址檛 imitate other singers because youB次元官网网址檒l just be one of the chorus whoever you imitate whether itB次元官网网址檚 Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra and wonB次元官网网址檛 develop an original sound,B次元官网网址� Bennett recalled in the 2006 AP interview. B次元官网网址淪he said imitate musicians that you like, find out how they phrase. I was particularly influenced by the jazz musicians like (pianist) Art Tatum and (saxophonists) Lester Young and Stan Getz.B次元官网网址�
In 1947, Bennett made his first recording, the GershwinsB次元官网网址� standard B次元官网网址淔ascinatinB次元官网网址� RhythmB次元官网网址� for a small label under the stage name Joe Bari. The following year he gained notice when he finished behind Rosemary Clooney on the radio show B次元官网网址淎rthur GodfreyB次元官网网址檚 Talent Scouts.B次元官网网址� BennettB次元官网网址檚 big break came in 1949 when singer Pearl Bailey invited him to join her revue at a Greenwich Village club. Bob Hope dropped by one night and was so impressed that he offered the young singer a spot opening his shows at the famed Paramount Theater, where teens had swooned for Sinatra. But the comedian didnB次元官网网址檛 care for his stage name and thought his real name was too long for the marquee.
B次元官网网址淗e thought for a moment, then he said, B次元官网网址榃eB次元官网网址檒l call you Tony Bennett,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� the singer wrote in his autobiography, B次元官网网址淭he Good Life,B次元官网网址� published in 1998.
In 1950, Mitch Miller, the head of Columbia RecordsB次元官网网址� pop singles division, signed Bennett and released the single, B次元官网网址淭he Boulevard of Broken Dreams,B次元官网网址� a semi-hit. Bennett was on the verge of being dropped from the label in 1951 when he had his first No. 1 on the pop charts with B次元官网网址淏ecause of You.B次元官网网址� More hits followed, including B次元官网网址淩ags to Riches,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淏lue Velvet,B次元官网网址� and Hank WilliamsB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淐old, Cold Heart,B次元官网网址� the first country song to become an international pop hit.
Bennett found himself frequently clashing with Miller, who pushed him to sing Sinatra-style ballads and gimmicky novelty songs. But Bennett took advantage of the young LP album format, starting in 1955 with B次元官网网址淐loud 7,B次元官网网址� featuring a small jazz combo led by guitarist Chuck Wayne. Bennett reached out to the jazz audience with such innovative albums as the 1957 B次元官网网址淭he Beat of My Heart,B次元官网网址� an album of standards that paired him with such jazz percussion masters as Chico Hamilton, and Art Blakey. He also became the first white male singer to record with the Count Basie Orchestra, releasing two albums in 1958. Sinatra would later do the same.
BennettB次元官网网址檚 friendship with Black musicians and his disgust at the racial prejudice he encountered in the Army led him to become an active supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. He answered to join Martin Luther King Jr.B次元官网网址檚 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march and
BennettB次元官网网址檚 early career peaked in the 1960s as he topped the charts with B次元官网网址淪an FranciscoB次元官网网址� and became the first male pop solo performer to headline at Carnegie Hall, releasing a live album of the 1962 concert.
In 1966, he released B次元官网网址淭he Movie Song Album,B次元官网网址� a personal favorite which featured Johnny MandelB次元官网网址檚 Oscar-winning song B次元官网网址淭he Shadow of Your SmileB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淢aybe September,B次元官网网址� the theme from the epic flop B次元官网网址淭he Oscar,B次元官网网址� noteworthy because it marked BennettB次元官网网址檚 first and only big-screen acting role.
But as rock continued to overtake traditional pop, he clashed with Columbia label head Clive Davis, who insisted that the singer do the 1970 album B次元官网网址淭ony Sings the Great Hits of Today,B次元官网网址� with such songs as B次元官网网址淢acArthur ParkB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淟ittle Green Apples.B次元官网网址� Bennett left Columbia in 1972, and went on to form his own record label, Improv, which in 1975-76 produced two duet albums with the impressionistic pianist Bill Evans now considered jazz classics.
Despite artistic successes, Improv proved a financial disaster for Bennett, who also faced difficulties in his personal life. His marriage to artist Patricia Beech collapsed in 1971. He wed actress Sandra Grant the same year, but that marriage ended in 1984. With no recording deals, his debts brought him close to bankruptcy and the IRS was trying to seize his house in Los Angeles. After a near-fatal drug overdose in 1979, he turned to his son, Danny, who eventually signed on as his manager. Bennett kicked his drug habit and got his finances in order, moved back to New York and resumed doing more than 200 shows a year.
He is survived by his wife Susan, daughters Johanna and Antonia, sons Danny and Dae and nine grandchildren.
Bennett was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2005 and a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2006. He also won two Emmy Awards B次元官网网址� for B次元官网网址淭ony Bennett Live By Request: A Valentine SpecialB次元官网网址� (1996) and B次元官网网址淭ony Bennett: An American ClassicB次元官网网址� (2007).
Besides singing, Bennett pursued his lifelong passion for painting by taking art lessons and bringing his sketchbook on the road. His paintings, signed with his family name Benedetto B次元官网网址� including portraits of his musician friends and Central Park landscapes B次元官网网址� were displayed in public and private collections, including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.
B次元官网网址淚 love to paint as much as I love to sing,B次元官网网址� Bennett told the AP in 2006. B次元官网网址淚t worked out to be such a blessing in my life because if I started getting burnt-out singing B次元官网网址� I would go to my painting and thatB次元官网网址檚 a big lift. B次元官网网址� So I stay in this creative zone all the time.B次元官网网址�
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AP National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this story.
Charles J. Gans, The Associated Press
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