The last of the great American singers to disappear, Tony Bennett died at the age of 97 in his hometown of New York. He was born on August 3, 1926. The news of his death was confirmed to the American press by his press secretary, Sylvia Weiner. The cause of death has not been released, but Bennett battled Alzheimer’s for years, was misdiagnosed in 2016 but only made public in 2021. After the deaths of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Perry Como, Bennett was the last survivor of a generation of singers capable of interpreting songs to convey emotion and leave the viewer in a state of absolute nonchalance.
As he himself said in a 2006 interview with the Associated Press: “I like to entertain the audience, make them forget about their problems.” In a nearly 70-year career and over 100 albums to his credit, Bennett has received 20 Grammy Awards (Oscars of Music) and two Emmy Awards, television’s highest honor. He has sold 50 million records. In 2005, he was honored by the Kennedy Center for his contributions to the arts and culture. Not only was he able to survive the rise of rock music, but he was also able to captivate fans of all ages. In 2014, the 88-year-old artist made history as the oldest artist to hit number one on the Billboard 200 with Cheek to Cheek, a duet with Lady Gaga. His latest album Love for Sale (2021) is still a duet with Lady Gaga.
The latter, during the first album, recognized the singer for saving her at the moment when she wanted to give up music. “Six months ago,” Gaga told People magazine in 2014, “I didn’t even want to sing anymore.” “Do you know what Duke Ellington said? Bennett asked her. First of all, don’t give up. Two, listen to one.” In 2021, the couple gave a memorable performance at Radio City Hall in New York. Often associated with the city of San Francisco due to the 1962 song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” Bennett, born Anthony Dominic Benedetto, has always considered Astoria (a neighborhood in New York City’s Queens) his true home. The son of an Italian immigrant of Calabrian origin, he inherited his passion for singing from his father, who died when he was only ten years old. After the death of his father, the family fell into poverty, and young Anthony was also forced to leave his studies to help his mother and brothers.
After the end of World War II, he was able to return to school, studying acting and bel canto. In 1949, jazz performer and Broadway actress Pearl Bailey noticed him and invited him to sing at the opening of one of her performances in Greenwich Village. Comedian Bob Hope also interferes with the show, advising host Anthony Benedetto to change his name to Tony Bennett. The first recording took place in 1950 with Columbia Records, which is about to terminate the contract with Frank Sinatra. As advice, he was advised not to imitate the singer nicknamed The Voice.
His first commercial success was Because of You, which stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks in 1951, selling over a million copies. In life, he also had problems with drug addiction. In 1979, he risked his life for a cocaine overdose. The revival is in the 90s and duets with singers and bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Elvis Costello and Placido Domingo.
In August 2006, on the occasion of his 80th birthday, the entire entertainment world paid tribute to his memory. In the same year, he performed in a duet with Christina Aguilera on Saturday Night Live and released the album Duets: An American Classic, which won two Grammy awards, and Duets II (2011), where he sings, among other things, with Aretha Franklin, Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Stevie Wonder, Judy Garland, Michael Bubble, Elton John, Celine Dion. In 2012 he also performed with Georgia at the Lucca Summer Festival. He also had a brace as an actor playing himself in Jim Carrey’s Bruce Almighty and in Therapy and Bullets with Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal. At the news of his death, many publish tributes, starting with Elton John.