The legendary New York pop and jazz singer Tony Bennett died on Friday aged 96. A statement posted by his publicists on his Twitter account said, “Tony left us today but he was still singing the other day at his piano and his last song was ‘Because of You’, his first #1 hit. “Tony, because of you we have your songs in our heart forever. ❤” Hilary Clinton, Carole King, and Sir Elton John were among those celebrities who paid tribute to the acclaimed singer on social media. Bennett was known for songs such as “The Way You Look Tonight”, “Body and Soul and (I Left My Heart) In San Francisco”. The veteran singer was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.
During his career span of eight decades, he has sold millions of records and won several records and awards. As a tribute to him, let’s have a look at his life and his achievements.
The early life of Tony Bennett:
Tony Bennett was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926, in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. His parents were John Benedetto, who was a grocer by profession, and seamstress Anna (née Suraci). The singer grew up with an older brother, John Jr, and an older sister, Mary. During the final stages of World War II, in 1944 the young musician was drafted into the United States Army to fight against France and Germany. As he later recalled, the whole journey of being involved in the War was not something pleasant for him. In an interview with the Guardian in 2013, Tony expressed how he felt regarding serving in the War and he said he felt like “It’s legalised murder”.
In 1946, upon his discharge from the Army, Tony returned to the States and studied at the American Theatre Wing on the GI Bill. There he developed the usual approach and talent of imitating that involved styles and phrasing of other artists. He started working as a professional singer at a young age and sang while he waited tables. Tony also began singing professionally under the name Joe Bari. Soon after his talent was recognized by Pearl Bailey and he opened for her in Greenwich Village. It is then that his name was simplified to Tony Bennett. He was then signed to the major label Columbia Records by Mitch Miller.
Bennett’s first no. 1 hit
After signing with Columbia Records, Tony first started his career as a crooner of commercial pop tunes. In 1951, he got his first no. 1 hit, ‘Because of You‘, reached the highest spot on the charts, and stayed there for a whole 10 weeks while selling over a million copies. Then the artist went on to deliver several groundbreaking hits like ‘Blue Velvet’, ‘Rags to Riches’, ‘Stranger in Paradise’, ‘In the Middle of an Island’, and many more.
Bennett’s musical style
In an interview in 2010, regarding his musical style Bennett said, “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.” He also claimed that his success came from being true to his audience as a performer, he simply delivered what his audience wanted.
Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra
For his whole life, Tony was a big fan of Frank Sinatra, so much so that Mitch Miller of Columbia Records told him not to imitate Frank in his professional music career. In 1992, Tony paid tribute to the legendary singer with ‘Perfectly Frank’. The track upon release topped the Billboard US jazz chart.
Bennett’s personal Life and marriage
In 1952, Tony married his first wife Patricia Beech, which was not a happy incident for his female fans. Two thousand female fans of the singer wore all black to “mourn” his wedding, as they claimed they were crazily in love with the superstar and gathered outside of his wedding venue at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, New York. Their marriage ended in 1971 when the divorce was finalized after being separated in 1965.
He was involved with aspiring actress Sandra Grant and the couple lived together for several years before tying the knot in 1971. They had two daughters together, Joanna and Antonia, and the pair departed in 1983.
In the late 80s, Tony got involved in a relationship with former New York City school teacher Susan Crow and the two tied the knot on June 21, 2007, in a private civil ceremony in New York. The couple founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens.
Life as a painter
Apart from his singing career, Tony was also a successful painter which he did under his real name of Anthony Benedetto, or just Benedetto. He took his childhood interest and took professional classes to become a professional painter. Some of his art is on display at the Butler Institute of American Art and the Smithsonian Institution.
Collaboration with Lady Gaga and the final record
As an older artist, he never shied away from collaborating with much younger artists. Tony collaborated with Lady Gaga on his jazz album titled ‘Cheek to Cheek’ and released it in 2014. The album reached no 1 spot in the US and Tony made history as the oldest living artist to reach the top spot. He released his final album in 2021, titled ‘Love for Sale’ which also featured Gaga on the title track ‘Night and Day’. This year his retirement from concerts was also announced by his son and manager Danny Bennett.
On July 21, 2023, Tony Bennett died at his home in New York City, just two weeks before his 97th birthday.
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