Friday, 21 July 2023

Tony Bennett: Legendary New York crooner dies aged 96

BBC 


Tony Bennett, the legendary New York pop and jazz singer, has died aged 96.

Bennett was known for songs such as The Way You Look Tonight, Body and Soul and (I Left My Heart) In San Francisco.

He also collaborated with star performers from Lady Gaga to Aretha Franklin and Frank Sinatra, who called him "the best singer in the business".

During a career that spanned eight decades, the crooner sold millions of records and won 20 Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award. 

Elton John, who also duetted with the star, led the tributes, posting: "So sad to hear of Tony's passing. Without doubt the classiest Legendary US singer Tony Bennett dies aged 96singer, man, and performer you will ever see.

"He's irreplaceable. I loved and adored him." 

His death was confirmed by his publicist Sylvia Weiner in a statement to the Associated Press.

She said he died in his hometown of New York. There was no specific cause of death, but Bennett had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016.

Singer Paul Young was among those paying tribute on Twitter, writing: "Ahhh, RIP Tony Bennett, truly one of the greats. An incredible singer live, saw him many times.

Star Trek actor George Takei posted: "Tony Bennett was the last of his kind, a master of the American songbook. 

"He may have left his Heart in San Francisco, but he won all of our hearts, from Sinatra to Lady Gaga. Be at peace, and sing to us now from the stars, Tony."

Musician Nile Rogers added: "My most heartfelt condolences go out to Tony Bennett's family and friends."

Former US first lady Hillary Clinton described Bennett as a "true talent, a true gentleman, and a true friend". She tweeted: "We'll miss you, Tony, and thanks for all the memories."

File photo dated 23/02/03 of Tony Bennett with the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album award at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden in New York, US, as the American singer has died aged 96. Issue date: Friday July 21, 2023.IMAGE SOURCE, PA MEDIA
Image caption, 
Bennett (pictured in 2003) won 19 competitive Grammys as well as an additional lifetime achievement award

Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto, to a family of Italian immigrants, Bennett was just 10 years old when his father died, plunging the family into poverty.

As a teenager he became a singing waiter before enrolling to study music and painting at New York's School of Industrial Art.

He was drafted into the US army in 1944 to fight in France and Germany towards the end of World War Two. "It's legalised murder," he said of the scarring experience in an interview with the Guardian in 2013.

After returning home, his singing career continued - first under the name Joe Bari - and his breakthrough came in 1951 the song Because of You, which gave him first number one.

Bennett soon became a teenage icon, releasing his first album in 1952. The same year his wedding was besieged by female fans in mourning.

He went on to chart in the US in every subsequent decade of his life, building a reputation for making timeless swinging pop hits - like Blue Velvet and Rags to Riches - and, later, show tunes and big band numbers.

Singers K.D. Lang (R) and Tony Bennett perform at "A Night At The Apollo", a Democratic National Committee fundraiser at New York City's landmark Apollo Theater in the Harlem section of Manhattan April 24, 2002. The star-studded event, which was attended by former PresidentIMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS
Image caption, 
Bennet pictured performing with singer KD Lang in New York in 2002

His 1962 version of a song from the previous decade, I Left My Heart in San Francisco, sent his star into an even bigger orbit, winning him two Grammys.

Bennett was also a supporter of the civil rights movement and took part in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches while also refusing to perform in apartheid-era South Africa.

However, with the arrival of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones into the US, as the decade rolled on his relevance faded.

Personal problems followed, including the end of two marriages and drug addiction.

He performed through the pain, recording two records with pianist Bill Evans.

After hiring his son Danny to become his manager and reuniting with his pianist and musical director Ralph Sharon, his fortunes began to change.

He enjoyed a revival in the 1980s and 1990s, when Grammy awards flooded in for the star, then in his sixties.

His 1986 comeback album, The Art of Excellence, got the ball rolling again for the star who had returned to New York from Las Vegas. 

Singer Tony Bennett appearing on Breakfast, 30/06/2010
Image caption, 
Bennett, pictured on the BBC Breakfast show in 2010, became the torchbearer for the Great American Songbook, releasing more than 70 albums in total

He followed it with the chart-topping Perfectly Frank, a tribute to his musical hero Sinatra, before 1994's MTV Unplugged saw Bennett win the Grammy for album of the year. 

In an interview with the Independent in 2008, Bennett said he had not been surprised by his renewed success.

"Good music is good music," he said. "I'm not concerned with whether someone who listens to me is old or young. In fact, in many ways, I'm not interested in the young at all.

"I'm interested in age. People learn to live properly when they get of an age, you know? The late Duke Ellington once said to me that he was really offended by the word category.

"Music has no category; it's either good or it isn't, and I sing good songs, great songs, written by the best songwriters. It's that kind of quality that makes them last. Trust me, people will be singing these songs forever."

Bennett remained perpetually cool enough to win over new legions of fans.

No comments:

Post a Comment