Template:Short description Template:About other people Template:Good article Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. Bennett was named a National Endowments for the Arts Jazz Master and a Kennedy Center Honoree. He founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, New York, along with Exploring the Arts, a non-profit arts education program.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He sold more than 50 million records worldwide and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Bennett began singing at an early age. He fought in the final stages of World War II as a U.S. Army infantryman in the European Theater. Afterward, he developed his singing technique, signed with Columbia Records and had his first number-one popular song with "Because of You" in 1951. Several popular tracks such as "Rags to Riches" followed in early 1953. He then refined his approach to encompass jazz singing. He reached an artistic peak in the late 1950s with albums such as The Beat of My Heart and Basie Swings, Bennett Sings. In 1962, Bennett recorded his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco". His career and personal life experienced an extended downturn during the height of the rock music era. Bennett staged a comeback in the late 1980s and 1990s, putting out gold record albums again and expanding his reach to the MTV Generation while keeping his musical style intact.
Bennett continued to create popular and critically praised work into the 21st century. He attracted renewed acclaim late in his career for his collaboration with Lady Gaga, which began with the album Cheek to Cheek (2014); the two performers toured together to promote the album throughout 2014 and 2015. With the release of the duo's second album, Love for Sale (2021), Bennett broke the individual record for the longest run of a top-10 album on the Billboard 200 chart for any living artist; his first top-10 record was I Left My Heart in San Francisco in 1962. Bennett also broke the Guinness World Record for the oldest person to release an album of new material, at the age of 95 years and 60 days.
In February 2021, Bennett revealed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016.<ref name="alzheimer">Template:Cite news</ref> Due to the slow progression of his illness, he continued to record, tour, and perform until his retirement from concerts due to physical challenges, which was announced after his final performances on August 3 and 5, 2021, at Radio City Music Hall.<ref name="retirementbbc">Template:Cite news</ref>
Early lifeEdit
1926–1943: Family and educationEdit
Anthony Dominick Benedetto was born on August 3, 1926,<ref name=bio.com>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> at St. John's Hospital in Long Island City, Queens, in New York City.<ref>Bennett, The Good Life, p. 15.</ref> His parents were grocer John Benedetto and seamstress Anna (Suraci) Benedetto, and he was the first member of his family to be born in a hospital.<ref name="evanier-22">Evanier, All the Things You Are, pp. 19–23.</ref> In 1906, John had emigrated from Podargoni,<ref name="evanier-29">Evanier, All the Things You Are, p. 29. "Tony Bennett's paternal grandfather, Giovanni Benedetto, grew up in the village of Podargoni, above Reggio Calabria. The family were poor farmers, producing figs, olive oil, and wine grapes. His mother's family, the Suracis, also farmed in Calabria. Neither side of the family could read or write."</ref> a rural eastern district of the southern Italian city of Reggio Calabria. Anna had been born in the U.S. shortly after her parents also emigrated from the Calabria region in 1899.<ref name="evanier-22"/><ref name="evanier-29"/> Other relatives came over as well as part of the mass migration of Italians to America.<ref name="evanier-22"/><ref name="evanier-29" /> Tony grew up with an older sister, Mary, and an older brother, John Jr.<ref>Bennett, The Good Life, pp. 11, 27.</ref> With a father who was ailing and unable to work, the children grew up in poverty.<ref name="sullivan">Template:Cite news</ref> John Sr. instilled in his son a love of art and literature, and a compassion for human suffering,<ref>Evanier, All the Things You Are, pp. 24–25.</ref> but died when Tony was ten years old.<ref name="sullivan"/>
Bennett grew up listening to Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, Judy Garland, and Bing Crosby as well as jazz artists such as Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, and Joe Venuti. His uncle Dick was a tap dancer in vaudeville, giving him an early window into show business,<ref name="npr-jazz"/> and his uncle Frank was the Queens borough library commissioner.<ref name="evanier-27"/> By age 10 he was already singing, and performed at the opening of the Triborough Bridge,<ref name="amg-bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> standing next to Mayor Fiorello La Guardia who patted him on the head.<ref name="evanier-27">Evanier, All the Things You Are, p. 27.</ref> Drawing was another early passion of his;<ref name="sullivan"/> he became known as the class caricaturist at P.S. 141 and anticipated a career in commercial art.<ref name="evanier-34">Evanier, All the Things You Are, pp. 33–34.</ref> He began singing for money at age 13, performing as a singing waiter in several Italian restaurants around his native Queens.<ref name="evanier-34"/><ref name="abc092707">Template:Cite news</ref>
Bennett attended New York's School of Industrial Art where he studied painting and music<ref name="ghk0495"/> and would later appreciate their emphasis on proper technique.<ref>Evanier, All the Things You Are, pp. 35–36.</ref> But he dropped out at age 16 to help support his family.<ref name="aarp"/> He worked as a copy boy and runner for the Associated Press in Manhattan<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and in several other low-skilled, low-paying jobs.<ref name="evanier-40">Evanier, All the Things You Are, pp. 39–40.</ref> He mostly set his sights on a professional singing career, returning to performing as a singing waiter, playing and winning amateur nights all around the city, and enjoying a successful engagement at a Paramus, New Jersey, nightclub.<ref name="abc092707"/><ref name="evanier-40"/>
1944–1950: World War II and afterEdit
Benedetto was drafted into the United States Army in November 1944, during the final stages of World War II.<ref name="sullivan"/><ref>Bennett, The Good Life, p. 51.</ref> He did basic training at Fort Dix and Fort Robinson as part of becoming an infantry rifleman.<ref name="gl-52">Bennett, The Good Life, pp. 52–53.</ref> Benedetto ran afoul of a sergeant from the South who disliked the Italian from New York City; heavy doses of KP duty or BAR cleaning resulted.<ref name="gl-52"/> Processed through the huge Le Havre replacement depot, in January 1945, he was assigned as a replacement infantryman to the 255th Infantry Regiment of the 63rd Infantry Division, a unit filling in for the heavy losses suffered in the Battle of the Bulge.<ref name="gl-55">Bennett, The Good Life, pp. 54–56.</ref> He moved across France and later into Germany.<ref name="sullivan"/> As March 1945 began, he joined the front line of what he would later describe as a "front-row seat in hell".<ref name="gl-55"/>
As the German Army was pushed back to its homeland, Benedetto and his company saw bitter fighting in cold winter conditions, often hunkering down in foxholes as German 88 mm guns fired on them.<ref name="gl-57">Bennett, The Good Life, pp. 57–59.</ref> At the end of March, they crossed the Rhine and entered Germany, engaging in dangerous house-to-house, town-after-town fighting to clean out German soldiers;<ref name="gl-57"/> during the first week of April, they crossed the Kocher River, and by the end of the month reached the Danube.<ref name="gl-60">Bennett, The Good Life, pp. 60–61.</ref> During his time in combat, Benedetto narrowly escaped death several times.<ref name="sullivan"/> The experience made him a pacifist;<ref name="sullivan"/> he would later write, "Anybody who thinks that war is romantic obviously hasn't gone through one",<ref name="gl-55"/> and later say, "It was a nightmare that's permanent. I just said, 'This is not life. This is not life.Template:'"<ref name="abc-attacks"/> At the war's conclusion he was involved in the liberation of the Kaufering concentration camp, a subcamp of Dachau, near Landsberg, where some American prisoners of war from the 63rd Division had also been held.<ref name="gl-60"/> He later wrote in his autobiography that "I saw things no human being should ever have to see."<ref name="Time">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Benedetto stayed in Germany as part of the occupying force but was assigned to an informal Special Services band unit that would entertain nearby American forces.<ref name="sullivan"/> His dining with a black friend from high school—at a time when the Army was still racially segregated—led to his being demoted and reassigned to Graves Registration Service duties.<ref name="tavis-int">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Subsequently, he sang with the 314th Army Special Services Band under the stage name Joe Bari<ref name="gl-74"/> (a name he had started using before the war, chosen after the city and province in Italy, and as a partial anagram of his family origins in Calabria).<ref>Bennett, The Good Life, p. 48.</ref> He played with many musicians who would have post-war careers.<ref name="gl-74">Bennett, The Good Life, pp. 71, 74, 77.</ref>
Upon his discharge from the Army and return to the States in 1946, Benedetto studied at the American Theatre Wing on the GI Bill.<ref name="amg-bio"/> He was taught the bel canto singing discipline,<ref name="ap090507">Template:Cite news</ref> which would keep his voice in good shape for his entire career. He continued to perform wherever he could, including while waiting tables.<ref name="sullivan"/> Based upon a suggestion from a teacher at the American Theatre Wing, he developed an unusual approach that involved imitating, as he sang, the style and phrasing of other musicians—such as that of Stan Getz's saxophone and Art Tatum's piano—helping him to improvise as he interpreted a song.<ref name="aarp">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He made a few recordings as Bari in 1949 for a small outfit called Leslie Records, but they failed to sell.<ref name="cleve">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1949, Pearl Bailey recognized Benedetto's talent and asked him to open for her in Greenwich Village.<ref name="abc092707"/> She had invited Bob Hope to the show. Hope decided to take Benedetto on the road with him and shortened his name to Tony Bennett.<ref name="cleve"/> In 1950, Bennett cut a demo of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and was signed to the major label Columbia Records by Mitch Miller.<ref name="amg-bio"/>
CareerEdit
1951–1959: First successesEdit
Warned by Miller not to imitate Frank Sinatra<ref name="npr-jazz">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (who was just then leaving Columbia), Bennett began his career as a crooner of commercial pop tunes. His first big hit was "Because of You", a ballad produced by Miller with a lush orchestral arrangement from Percy Faith. It started out gaining popularity on jukeboxes, then reached number one on the pop charts in 1951 and stayed there for ten weeks,<ref name="essential">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> selling over a million copies.<ref name="cleve"/> This was followed to the top of the charts later that year<ref name="essential"/> by a similarly styled rendition of Hank Williams's "Cold, Cold Heart", which helped introduce Williams and country music in general to a wider, more national audience.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Miller and Faith tandem continued to work on all of Bennett's early hits. Bennett's recording of "Blue Velvet" was also very popular and attracted screaming teenage fans at concerts at the famed Paramount Theater in New York (Bennett did seven shows a day, starting at 10:30 am)<ref name="cnn101807">Template:Cite news</ref> and elsewhere.
A third number-one came in 1953 with "Rags to Riches". Unlike Bennett's other early hits, this was an up-tempo big band number with a bold, brassy sound and a double tango in the instrumental break; it topped the charts for eight weeks.<ref name="essential"/> Later that year, the producers of the upcoming Broadway musical Kismet had Bennett record "Stranger in Paradise" as a way of promoting the show during a New York newspaper strike.<ref name="gl-124"/> The song reached the top, the show was a hit, and Bennett began a long practice of recording show tunes.<ref name="gl-124">Bennett, The Good Life, pp. 124–125.</ref> "Stranger in Paradise" was also a number-one hit in the United Kingdom a year and a half later.<ref>Template:Cite book May 8 page.</ref>
Once the rock and roll era began in 1955, the dynamic of the music industry changed and it became harder and harder for existing pop singers to do well commercially.<ref name="amg-bio"/> Nevertheless, Bennett continued to enjoy success, placing eight songs in the Billboard Template:Nowrap during the latter part of the 1950s, with "In the Middle of an Island" (which he vehemently hated) reaching the highest at number nine in 1957.<ref name="bb40">Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, p. 35.</ref>
For a month in August–September 1956, Bennett hosted an NBC Saturday night television variety show, The Tony Bennett Show, as a summer replacement for The Perry Como Show.<ref name="dir-tv">Brooks and Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, p. 1407.</ref> Patti Page and Julius La Rosa had in turn hosted the two previous months, and they all shared the same singers, dancers, and orchestra.<ref name="dir-tv"/> In 1959, Bennett would again fill in for The Perry Como Show, this time alongside Teresa Brewer and Jaye P. Morgan as co-hosts of the summer-long Perry Presents.<ref>Template:Cite book p. 653.</ref>
1954–1965: A growing artistryEdit
In 1954, the guitarist Chuck Wayne became Bennett's musical director.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bennett released his first long-playing album in 1955, Cloud 7. The album was billed as featuring Wayne and showed Bennett's leanings towards jazz. In 1957, Ralph Sharon became Bennett's pianist, arranger, and musical director,<ref name="amg-sharon">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> replacing Wayne. Sharon told Bennett that a career singing "sweet saccharine songs like 'Blue Velvet'" would not last long, and encouraged Bennett to focus even more on his jazz inclinations.<ref name="npr-jazz"/><ref name="nyt-rs-obit"/>
The result was the 1957 album The Beat of My Heart. It featured well-known jazz musicians such as Herbie Mann and Nat Adderley, with a strong emphasis on percussion from the likes of Art Blakey, Jo Jones, Latin star Candido Camero, and Chico Hamilton. The album was both popular and critically praised.<ref name="npr-jazz"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bennett followed this by working with the Count Basie Orchestra, becoming the first male pop vocalist to sing with Basie's band.<ref name="npr-jazz"/> The albums Basie Swings, Bennett Sings (1958) and In Person! (1959) were the well-regarded fruits of this collaboration, with "Chicago" being one of the standout songs.<ref name="npr-jazz"/><ref name="amg-bio"/>
Bennett also built up the quality and, therefore, the reputation of his nightclub act; in this he was following the path of Sinatra and other top jazz and standards singers of this era.<ref name="amg-bio"/> In June 1962, Bennett staged a highly promoted concert performance at Carnegie Hall, using a stellar lineup of musicians including Al Cohn, Kenny Burrell, and Candido, as well as the Ralph Sharon Trio. Carnegie Hall had not featured a male pop performer until then (only Judy Garland one year before that).<ref>Bennett and Friedwald, p. 167</ref> The concert featured 44 songs, including favorites like "I've Got the World on a String" and "The Best Is Yet To Come". It was a big success and like Garland's, the concert was recorded for posterity, further cementing Bennett's reputation as a star both at home and abroad.<ref name="npr-jazz"/><ref name="nyt-giddins"/> Bennett also appeared on television, and in October 1962 he sang on the initial broadcast of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Quote box Also in 1962, Bennett released his recording of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco", a decade-old but little-known song originally written for an opera singer.<ref name="nyt-rs-obit"/> Although this single only reached number 19 on the Template:Nowrap,<ref name="bb40"/> it spent close to a year on various other charts and increased Bennett's exposure.<ref name="amg-bio"/><ref name="nyt-giddins"/> The album of the same title was a Template:Nowrap hit and both the single and album achieved gold record status.<ref name="amg-bio"/> The song won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Male Solo Vocal Performance for Bennett. Over the years, this would become known as Bennett's signature song.<ref name="ghk0495"/><ref name="ap090507"/> In 2001, it was ranked 23rd on an RIAA/NEA list of the most historically significant Songs of the 20th Century.
Bennett's following album, I Wanna Be Around... (1963), was also a top-5 success,<ref name="amg-bio"/> with the title track and "The Good Life" each reaching the Template:Nowrap of the pop singles chart<ref name="bb40"/> along with the Template:Nowrap of the Adult Contemporary chart.<ref name="amg-singles">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The next year brought the Beatles and the British Invasion, and with them still more musical and cultural attention to rock and less to pop, standards, and jazz. Over the next couple of years, Bennett had minor hits with several albums and singles based on show tunes; his last top-40 single was the number 34 "If I Ruled the World" from the musical Pickwick in 1965,<ref name="bb40"/> but his commercial fortunes were clearly starting to decline. An attempt to break into acting with a role in the poorly received 1966 film The Oscar met with middling reviews for Bennett; he did not enjoy the experience and did not seek further roles.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Bennett, The Good Life, p. 186.</ref>
A firm believer in the Civil Rights Movement,<ref name="ap090507"/> Bennett participated in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He performed in the "Stars for Freedom" rally the night before Martin Luther King's "How Long, Not Long" speech.<ref name="Weber2023">Template:Cite news</ref> At the conclusion of the march, Bennett was driven to the airport by Viola Liuzzo, a mother of five from Detroit, who was murdered later that day by the Ku Klux Klan.<ref name="Weber2023" />
Bennett refused to perform in apartheid South Africa.<ref name="ghk0495" />
1965–1979: Years of struggleEdit
Ralph Sharon and Bennett parted ways in 1965.<ref name="amg-sharon"/> There was great pressure on singers such as Lena Horne and Barbra Streisand to record "contemporary" rock songs and, in this vein, Columbia Records' Clive Davis suggested that Bennett do the same.<ref name="amg-bio"/> Bennett was very reluctant and, when he tried, the results pleased no one. This was exemplified by Tony Sings the Great Hits of Today! (1970),<ref name="amg-bio"/> before which Bennett became physically ill at the thought of recording.<ref name="Friedwald-397"/> It featured covers of Beatles and other current songs and a psychedelic art cover.<ref name="Friedwald-397">Friedwald, Jazz Singing, p. 397.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Years later, Bennett would recall his dismay at being asked to do contemporary material, comparing it to when his mother was forced to produce a cheap dress.<ref>Bennett, The Good Life, p. 33.</ref> By 1972, he had departed Columbia for the Verve division of MGM Records (Philips in the UK) and relocated for a stint in London, where he hosted a television show from the Talk of the Town nightclub in conjunction with Thames Television, Tony Bennett at the Talk of the Town.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="jt2011"/><ref name="evanier-194">Evanier, All the Things You Are, pp. 194–195.</ref> With his new label, he tried a variety of approaches, including some more Beatles material, but found no renewed commercial success, and in a couple more years he was without a recording contract.<ref name="amg-bio"/><ref>Evanier, All the Things You Are, p. 200.</ref>
Taking matters into his own hands, Bennett started his own record company, Improv.<ref name="amg-bio"/> He recorded some songs that would later become favorites, such as "What is This Thing Called Love?", and made two well-regarded albums with jazz pianist Bill Evans, The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album (1975) and Together Again (1976),<ref name="nyt-giddins">Template:Cite news</ref> but Improv lacked a distribution arrangement with a major label and by 1977, it was out of business.<ref name="amg-bio"/><ref name="nyt050299"/>
As the decade neared its end, Bennett had no recording contract, no manager, and was not performing many concerts outside of Las Vegas.<ref name="aarp"/> He had developed a drug addiction, was living beyond his means, and had the Internal Revenue Service trying to seize his Los Angeles home.<ref name="aarp"/><ref name="nyt050299"/>
1979–1989: TurnaroundEdit
After a near-fatal cocaine overdose in 1979, Bennett called his sons Danny and Dae for help. "Look, I'm lost here", he told them. "It seems like people don't want to hear the music I make."<ref name="aarp"/>
Danny and Dae's band, Quacky Duck and His Barnyard Friends, had floundered and the former realized he was not musically talented but had a head for business. His father, on the other hand, had tremendous musical talent, but had trouble sustaining a career from it and had little financial sense. Danny signed on as his father's manager.<ref name="nyt050299">Template:Cite news</ref>
Danny got his father's expenses under control, moved him back to New York City, and began booking him in colleges and small theaters to get him away from a "Vegas" image.<ref name="aarp"/><ref name="nyt050299"/> After some effort, a successful plan to pay back the IRS debt was put into place.<ref name="nyt050299"/> The singer had also reunited with Ralph Sharon as his pianist and musical director<ref name="amg-sharon"/> (and would remain with him until Sharon's retirement in 2002).<ref name="nyt-rs-obit">Template:Cite news</ref> By 1986, Tony Bennett was re-signed to Columbia Records, this time with creative control, and released The Art of Excellence. This became his first album to reach the charts since 1972.<ref name="amg-bio"/>
Henry Mancini's theme song "Life in a Looking Glass" from the Blake Edwards motion picture That's Life (1986), sung by Bennett, received a nomination at the Oscars for Best Original Song.<ref name="Academy Awards database">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1990–2006: Established careerEdit
Danny Bennett felt that younger audiences who were unfamiliar with his father would respond to his music if given a chance.<ref name="nyt050194">Template:Cite news</ref> No changes to Tony's formal appearance, singing style, musical accompaniment (The Ralph Sharon Trio or an orchestra), or song choice (generally the Great American Songbook) were necessary or desirable.<ref name="amg-bio"/><ref name="nyt102193"/> Accordingly, Danny began regularly to book his father on Late Night with David Letterman, a show with a younger, "hip" audience.<ref name="nyt050194"/> This was subsequently followed by appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Sesame Street, The Simpsons, Muppets Tonight, and various MTV programs.<ref name="ghk0495"/><ref name="aarp"/> In 1993, Bennett played a series of benefit concerts organized by alternative rock radio stations around the country.<ref name="nyt050194"/> The plan worked; as Tony later remembered, "I realized that young people had never heard those songs. Cole Porter, Gershwin—they were like, 'Who wrote that?' To them, it was different. If you're different, you stand out."<ref name="aarp"/>
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During this time, Bennett continued to record, first putting out the acclaimed look-back Astoria: Portrait of the Artist (1990), then emphasizing themed albums such as the Sinatra homage Perfectly Frank (1992) and the Fred Astaire tribute Steppin' Out (1993). The latter two both achieved gold status and won Grammys for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance (Bennett's first Grammys since 1962) and further established Bennett as the inheritor of the mantle of a classic American great.<ref name="nyt050194"/>
As Bennett was seen at MTV Video Music Awards shows side by side with the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Flavor Flav, and as his "Steppin' Out with My Baby" video received MTV airplay,<ref name="nyt050194"/> it was clear that, as The New York Times said, "Tony Bennett has not just bridged the generation gap, he has demolished it. He has solidly connected with a younger crowd weaned on rock. And there have been no compromises."<ref name="nyt060194">Template:Cite news</ref>
The new audience reached its height with Bennett's appearance in 1994 on MTV Unplugged.<ref name="nyt050299"/> (He quipped on the show, "I've been unplugged my whole career.") Featuring guest appearances by rock and country stars Elvis Costello and k.d. lang (both of whom had an affinity for the standards genre), the show attracted a considerable audience and much media attention.<ref name="nyt050194"/> The resulting MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett album went platinum and, besides taking the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance Grammy award for the third straight year, also won the top Grammy prize of Album of the Year.<ref name="npr-jazz"/><ref name="ammasters"/>
Following his comeback, Bennett financially prospered; by 1999, his assets were worth $15 to 20 million. He had no intention of retiring, saying in reference to masters such as Pablo Picasso, Jack Benny, and Fred Astaire: "right up to the day they died, they were performing. If you are creative, you get busier as you get older." He continued to record and tour steadily, playing a hundred shows a year by the end of the 1990s.<ref name="nyt050299"/> In concert, he often made a point of singing one song (usually "Fly Me to the Moon") without any microphone or amplification, demonstrating his skills at vocal projection.<ref name="nyt102193">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="st090291">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> One show, Tony Bennett's Wonderful World: Live From San Francisco, was made into a PBS special. He conceptualized and starred in the first episode of the A&E Network's popular Live by Request series, for which he won an Emmy Award.<ref name="nyt050299"/><ref name="ammasters"/> He made cameo appearances as himself in films such as The Scout, Analyze This, and Bruce Almighty.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1998, Bennett performed on the final day of a mud-soaked Glastonbury Festival in an immaculate suit and tie,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> his whole set on this occasion consisting of songs about the weather. His autobiography The Good Life was also first published in 1998. A series of albums, often based on themes (such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, blues, or duets), met with largely positive reviews.<ref name="ammasters"/>
For his contribution to the recording industry, Bennett was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street.<ref name="hwof">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bennett was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997, was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, and received a lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in 2002.<ref name="ascap">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2002, Q magazine named Bennett in its list of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On December 4, 2005, Bennett was the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.<ref name="ammasters"/> Later, a theatrical musical revue of his songs, called I Left My Heart: A Salute to the Music of Tony Bennett was created and featured some of his best-known songs such as "I Left My Heart in San Francisco", "Because of You", and "Wonderful".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The following year, Bennett was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.<ref name="limhof">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Bennett frequently donated his time to charitable causes, to the extent that he was sometimes nicknamed "Tony Benefit".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In April 2002, he joined Michael Jackson, Chris Tucker, and former President Bill Clinton in a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at New York City's Apollo Theater.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also recorded public service announcements for Civitan International.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Danny Bennett continued to be Tony's manager while Dae Bennett is a recording engineer who worked on a number of Tony's projects and who opened Bennett Studios in Englewood, New Jersey in 2001, now shuttered due to the downturn of major label budgets combined with skyrocketing overhead. Tony's younger daughter Antonia is an aspiring jazz singer who opened shows for her father.<ref name="aarp"/>
2006–2021: Later years and final albumEdit
On August 3, 2006, Bennett turned 80 years old. His record label celebrated by releasing reissues, compilations, and the album Duets: An American Classic, which reached his highest chart position ever and won a Grammy Award.<ref name="amg-bio"/> Concerts were given, including a high-profile one for New York radio station WLTW/106.7; a performance was done with Christina Aguilera and a comedy sketch was made with affectionate Bennett impressionist Alec Baldwin on Saturday Night Live; a Thanksgiving-time, Rob Marshall–directed television special Tony Bennett: An American Classic on NBC, which went on to win multiple Emmy Awards;<ref name="cnn101807"/> receipt of the Billboard Century Award;<ref name="ammasters"/> and guest-mentoring on American Idol season 6 as well as performing during its finale. He received the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' Humanitarian Award.<ref name=Yahoo2023obit/> Bennett was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award in 2006.<ref name="ammasters"/>
In 2008, Bennett made two appearances with Billy Joel singing "New York State of Mind" at the final concerts given at Shea Stadium, and in October released the album A Swingin' Christmas with The Count Basie Big Band, for which he made a number of promotional appearances at holiday time.<ref name=Yahoo2023obit/><ref>{{#ifeq: | yes | https://www.allmusic.com/album/r161004{{
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}}</ref> In 2009, Bennett performed at the conclusion of the final Macworld Conference & Expo for Apple Inc., singing "The Best Is Yet to Come" and "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" to a standing ovation,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and later making his Jazz Fest debut in New Orleans.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In February 2010, Bennett was one of over 70 artists who sang on "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", a charity single in aid of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In October, he performed "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" at AT&T Park before the third inning of Game 1 of the 2010 World Series and sang "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch. Days later he sang "America the Beautiful" at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C., which he reprised ten years later in a segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In September 2011, Bennett appeared on The Howard Stern Show and named American military actions in the Middle East as the root cause of the September 11 attacks.<ref name="abc-attacks">Template:Cite news</ref> Bennett also claimed that former President George W. Bush personally told him at the Kennedy Center in December 2005 that he felt he had made a mistake invading Iraq, to which a Bush spokesperson replied, "This account is flatly wrong."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following bad press resulting from his remarks, Bennett clarified his position, writing: "There is simply no excuse for terrorism and the murder of the nearly 3,000 innocent victims of the 9/11 attacks on our country. My life experiences, ranging from the Battle of the Bulge to marching with Martin Luther King, made me a life-long humanist and pacifist, and reinforced my belief that violence begets violence and that war is the lowest form of human behavior."<ref name="Apology">Template:Cite news</ref>
In September 2011, Bennett released Duets II, a follow-up to his first collaboration album, in conjunction with his 85th birthday. He sang duets with seventeen prominent singers of varying techniques, including Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, Queen Latifah, and Lady Gaga.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Bennett appeared on the season 2 premiere of the television procedural Blue Bloods performing "It Had To Be You" with Carrie Underwood.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> His duet with Amy Winehouse on "Body and Soul"—reportedly the last recording she made before her death<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>—charted on the lower reaches of the Billboard Hot 100, making Bennett the oldest living artist to appear there, as well as the artist with the greatest span of appearances.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The single did well in Europe, where it reached the top 15 in several countries. The album then debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making Bennett the oldest living artist to reach that top spot, as well as marking the first time he had reached it himself.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A model of Koss headphones, the Tony Bennett Signature Edition (TBSE1), was created for this milestone<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (Bennett having been one of the early adopters of the Koss product back in the 1960s).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In November 2011, Columbia released Tony Bennett – The Complete Collection, a 73-CD plus 3-DVD set, which although not absolutely "complete", finally brought forth many albums that had not had a previous CD release, as well as some unreleased material and rarities.<ref name="jt2011">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In December 2011, Bennett appeared at the Royal Variety Performance in Salford in the presence of Princess Anne.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In the wake of the premature deaths of Winehouse and Whitney Houston, Bennett called for the legalization of drugs in February 2012.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In October 2012, Bennett released Viva Duets, an album of Latin American music duets, featuring Vicente Fernández, Juan Luis Guerra, and Vicentico among others.<ref name=vivaduet>Template:Cite news</ref> The recording and filming for the project, in Fort Lauderdale, was co-sponsored by the city.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On October 31, 2012, Bennett performed "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" in front of more than 100,000 fans at a City Hall ceremony commemorating the 2012 World Series victory by the San Francisco Giants.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He published another memoir, Life is a Gift: The Zen of Bennett, and a documentary film produced by his son Danny was released, also titled The Zen of Bennett.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In September 2014, Bennett performed for the first time in Israel, with his jazz quartet at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv, receiving a standing ovation. He also made a surprise cameo appearance on stage with Lady Gaga at Yarkon Park, Tel Aviv, the previous evening.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The performance took place days before the release that month of the two stars' much-delayed collaborative effort and resultant Grammy-winning album, Cheek to Cheek, which debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, extending the 88-year-old Bennett's record for the oldest artist to do so,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It also earned him the Guinness World Records for "oldest person to reach No.1 on the US Album Chart with a newly recorded album", at the age of 88 years and 69 days.<ref name="GWR14">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In October 2014, Bennett and Lady Gaga released the concert special Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek Live!,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and at the end of the year, they kicked off their co-headlining Cheek to Cheek Tour.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The pair also appeared in a Barnes & Noble commercial.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On September 25, 2015, he released an album of songs composed by Jerome Kern, featuring Bill Charlap on piano, called The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> On November 1, 2015, Bennett, joined by the choir from the Frank Sinatra School, sang "America the Beautiful" before Game 5 of the baseball World Series between the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets at Citi Field.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On August 19, 2016, shortly after his 90th birthday, Bennett was honored by the unveiling of an 8-foot tall statue in his likeness in front of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. With Senator Dianne Feinstein, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and several San Francisco mayors in attendance, Bennett was serenaded by a young-adult choir singing "I Left My Heart in San Francisco". Bennett had first sung the song at the hotel in 1961. That same year, he performed at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 24 and the Rockefeller Center tree lighting on November 30. On December 20, 2016, NBC televised a special concert in honor of his 90th birthday, called Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best Is Yet to Come.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In September 2018, Bennett re-recorded the George Gershwin song "Fascinating Rhythm", after 68 years and 342 days, according to the Guinness World Records adjudicator, earning the title of "longest time between the release of an original recording and a re-recording of the same single by the same artist".<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref name="guinness record">Template:Cite news</ref> The song appeared on the collaborative album Love Is Here to Stay with Diana Krall that was released on September 14.<ref name="loveis">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
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Bennett's final album, Love for Sale, another collaborative record with Lady Gaga, was released on September 30, 2021. The record received generally favorable reviews, and debuted at number eight in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite metacritic</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Alexis Petridis called Bennett's performance on the album "pretty remarkable" despite the singer's age and health condition in his review for The Guardian.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Bennett broke the individual record for the longest span of top-10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart for any living artist; his first top-10 record was I Left My Heart in San Francisco in 1962.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Bennett also broke the Guinness World Record for the oldest person to release an album of new material, at the age of 95 years and 60 days.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Bennett's final live performances were on August 3 and 5, 2021, when he presented a pair of shows with Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall. On August 12, 2021, nine days after his 95th birthday, Bennett's retirement from concerts was announced by his son and manager Danny Bennett. Danny stated that though his father remained a capable singer, he was becoming physically frail and risked a major fall if he continued touring.<ref name="retirementvariety">Template:Cite magazine</ref> A television special, One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga debuted on November 28, 2021, on CBS, which contained select performances from the two final concerts.<ref name="VarietySpecials">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Bennett's last televised performance was also with Gaga on December 16, 2021, on MTV Unplugged. The special was filmed the previous July in front of an intimate studio audience in New York City, and included duets from Love for Sale.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Despite his retirement, as of early 2022, Bennett still continued to rehearse with his music director three times a week, Danny Bennett said in an interview.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
ArtistryEdit
PaintingEdit
Bennett also had success as a painter, done under his real name of Anthony Benedetto, or just Benedetto.<ref name="kc-bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He followed up his childhood interest with professional training, work, and museum visits throughout his life. He sketched or painted every day, often of views out of hotel windows when he was on tour.<ref name="ammasters">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
He exhibited his work in numerous galleries around the world.<ref name="ammasters"/> He was chosen as the official artist for the 2001 Kentucky Derby, and was commissioned by the United Nations to do two paintings, including one for its fiftieth anniversary.<ref name="ammasters"/> His painting Homage to Hockney (for his friend David Hockney, painted after Hockney drew him) is on permanent display at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio.<ref name="kc-bio"/> His Boy on Sailboat, Sydney Bay is in the permanent collection at the National Arts Club on Gramercy Park in New York City, as is his Central Park at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.<ref name="ammasters"/> His paintings and drawings have been featured in ARTnews and other magazines, and have sold for as much as $80,000 a piece.<ref name="ghk0495"/><ref name="nyt050299"/> Many of his works were published in the art book Tony Bennett: What My Heart Has Seen in 1996. In 2007, another book involving his paintings, Tony Bennett in the Studio: A Life of Art & Music, became a bestseller among art books.<ref name="cnn101807"/>
Musical styleEdit
Regarding his choices in music, Bennett reiterated his artistic stance in a 2010 interview:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
I'm not staying contemporary for the big record companies, I don't follow the latest fashions. I never sing a song that's badly written. In the 1920s and '30s, there was a renaissance in music that was the equivalent of the artistic Renaissance. Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer and others just created the best songs that had ever been written. These are classics, and finally they're not being treated as light entertainment. This is classical music.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries}}
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Awards and legacyEdit
Bennett won 20 Grammy Awards (including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Search database for "Tony Bennett".</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Gives Lifetime Achievement Award, not included in searchable database.</ref> as follows (years shown are the year in which the ceremony was held and the award was given, not the year in which the recording was released):
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Bennett gained other recognition:
| Recognition | Year | Results | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York City's Bronze Medallion | 1969 | Template:Honored | ||
| Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame | Template:Honored | <ref name="hwof"/> | ||
| Induction into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame | 1997 | Template:Honored | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award | 2000 | Template:Honored | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers | 2002 | Template:Honored | <ref name="ascap"/> | |
| Kennedy Center Honoree | 2005 | Template:Honored | <ref name="ammasters"/> | |
| Induction into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame | Template:Honored | <ref name="limhof"/> | ||
| United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Humanitarian Award | 2006 | Template:Honored | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award | 2006 | Template:Honored | <ref name="ammasters"/> | |
| Induction into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame | 2007 | Template:Honored | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Recipient of the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member John Lewis | 2009 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |
| Induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame | 2011 | Template:Honored | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Induction into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame | 2015 | Template:Honored | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Library of Congress Gershwin Prize | 2017 | Template:Honored | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Honorary doctorates from the Berklee College of Music | 1974 | Template:Honored,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Art Institute of Boston (1994),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Roosevelt University's Chicago Musical College (1995),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> George Washington University (2001),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cleveland Institute of Music (2010),<ref name="hon-2010"/> the Juilliard School (2010),<ref name="hon-2010">Template:Cite news</ref> and Fordham University (2012).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| A statue of Bennett was unveiled outside the Fairmont Hotel in honor of his 90th birthday, and his first performance of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" there in 1961. | August 16, 2016 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |
| A Guinness World Record for "oldest person to reach No.1 on the US Album Chart with a newly recorded album", at the age of 88 years 69 days, for Cheek to Cheek | 2014 | Template:Honored | <ref name="GWR14" /> | |
| A Guinness World Record for "the longest time between the release of an original recording and a re-recording of the same single by the same artist" for re-recording "Fascinating Rhythm" 68 years and 342 days after the original recording. | Template:Honored | <ref name="guinness record" /> | ||
| With the release of Love for Sale, Bennett broke a Guinness World Records title for being the oldest person to release an album of new material at the age of 95 years and 60 days. On April 3, 2022, he became the second-oldest person to win a Grammy Award, when he shared the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Grammy with Lady Gaga for Love for Sale, aged 95 years, 8 months, and 1 day. | Template:Honored | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
WorksEdit
DiscographyEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
Bennett released over 70 albums during his career, almost all for Columbia Records. The biggest selling of these in the U.S. were I Left My Heart in San Francisco, MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett, and Duets: An American Classic, all of which went platinum for shipping one million copies.<ref name="riaa-search">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> Eight other albums of his went gold in the U.S., including several compilations.<ref name="riaa-search"/> Bennett also charted over 30 singles during his career, with his biggest hits all occurring during the early 1950s, and none charting between 1968 and 2010.
BooksEdit
Personal lifeEdit
On February 12, 1952,<ref>Evanier, All the Things You Are, p. 92.</ref> Bennett married Ohio art student and jazz fan Patricia Beech, whom he had met the previous year after a nightclub performance in Cleveland.<ref name="cleve"/> Two thousand female fans dressed in black gathered outside the ceremony at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, New York, in mock mourning.<ref name="ghk0495">Template:Cite news</ref> The couple had two sons, D'Andrea (Danny, b. 1954) and Daegal (Dae, b. 1955).<ref>Evanier, All the Things You Are, p. 97.</ref> Bennett and his wife Patricia separated in 1965, their marriage a victim of Bennett's spending too much time on the road, among other factors.<ref name="ghk0495"/> In 1969, Patricia sued him for divorce on grounds of adultery.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1971, their divorce became official.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
Bennett had become involved with aspiring actress Sandra Grant while filming The Oscar in 1965. The couple lived together for several years and on December 29, 1971, they quietly married in New York.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They had two daughters, Joanna (b. 1970) whom he named after the 1964 song When Joanna Loved Me and Antonia (b. 1974),<ref>Evanier, All the Things You Are, pp. 182, 225.</ref> and moved to Los Angeles.<ref name="peo112398">Template:Cite news</ref> The two were married until 1983.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In the late 1980s, Bennett entered into a long-term romantic relationship with Susan Crow, a former New York City schoolteacher.<ref name="dt-young">Template:Cite news</ref>
Bennett and Crow founded Exploring the Arts, a charitable organization dedicated to creating, promoting, and supporting arts education. At the same time, they founded (and named after Bennett's friend) the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens, a public high school dedicated to teaching the performing arts. The school opened in 2001 and has a very high graduation rate.<ref name="sullivan"/> On June 21, 2007, Bennett married Crow in a private civil ceremony in New York that was witnessed by Mario Cuomo, the former governor of New York.<ref name="peo062907">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
PoliticsEdit
The experience of growing up in the Great Depression and a distaste for the effects of the presidency of Herbert Hoover would make Bennett a lifelong Democrat.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Illness and deathEdit
In February 2021, an article in AARP Magazine revealed that Bennett had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016, though he continued to perform and record until the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.<ref name=BBCAlz/> He briefly resumed performing in 2021 for his farewell performances. Bennett's twice-weekly singing practices are thought to have kept his brain stimulated and spared him from symptoms such as disorientation, depression, and a detachment from reality.<ref name=BBCAlz/> His neurologist told AARP that, prior to the pandemic, the singer's touring schedule "kept him on his toes and also stimulated his brain in a significant way".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> Bennett recorded tracks with Lady Gaga from 2018 until early 2020 for their 2021 album Love for Sale, despite at times being "lost and bewildered" during recording sessions.<ref name=BBCAlz>Template:Cite news</ref>
In announcing Bennett's retirement in August 2021, Danny Bennett stated that the Alzheimer's was mainly affecting his father's short-term memory and that he would often forget he had just performed after a concert; his long-term memory remained intact and he could still remember all the lyrics to his repertoire when performing.<ref name="retirementvariety"/>
Bennett died at his home in New York City on July 21, 2023, following a seven-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. His family said he kept singing to the end, lastly "Because of You".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Weber2023"/> He was hailed as the "champion" and "legendary interpreter" of the Great American Songbook.<ref name="Weber2023"/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Bennett was interred alongside his parents at Calvary Cemetery, Queens.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
ReferencesEdit
BibliographyEdit
Further readingEdit
- Willis Conover. "20 Years with Tony". Billboard. November 30, 1968. pp. T1-T40.
- Dorothy Andries. "Tony Bennett; 'Life's Been Good to Me'". The Milwaukee Sentinel. November 14, 1980. p. 3.
- Peter B. King. "Tony Bennett; 'I just have to paint, and I have to sing'". The Pittsburgh Press. February 10, 1986. p. C6.
- "Tony Bennett: Half a Century and Looking Forward". Billboard. December 20, 1997. pp. 37–65. Pullout section includes multiple articles, including:
- Irv Lichtman. "Tony Bennett: The Billboard Interview". pp. 38–39, 52 and 56.
- Tom Vickers. "Tony and Columbia". pp. 40 and 58.
- Don Waller. "When It Comes to Good Works, Bennett Does a Great Job". pp. 42 and 54.
- Paul Sexton. "Bennett Over There". p. 44.
- Mark Rowland. "Essential Bennett". pp. 46 and 48.
- Richard Henderson. "Bennett Brushes Up". p. 50.
- "Backbeat: "Happy 80th, Tony Bennett!". Billboard. August 19, 2006. p. 61.
- Jim Bessman. "Tony's Long Haul: Strategic Partnerships Fuel Big Sales for Bennett's 'Duets' Album". Billboard. November 11, 2006. p. 24.
External linksEdit
Template:Sister project Template:Sister project Template:Portal
- Template:Official website
- Tony Bennett Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (1986)
- Template:Allmusic
- {{#if:170754|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs|{{#if:Template:Wikidata|Template:Wikidata Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at DiscogsTemplate:EditAtWikidata|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs}}}}
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