Legendary master of jazz, standards, big band, show tunes, pop, and beyond, Tony Bennett died on Friday (July 21). He was 96. His death was confirmed by publicist Sylvia Weiner, who said he died in his hometown of New York City. A cause of death was not revealed, but Bennett had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.
Videos by American Songwriter
Bennett was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926, in Queens, New York, to father John, who worked as a grocer, and mother, Anna, a seamstress.
Already gravitating toward singing and painting at a young age, after the death of his father when Bennett was just 10, it wasn’t long before he began singing and waiting tables to help his family survive.
When Bennett turned 18 in 1944, he was drafted into the U.S. Army during WWII. After serving for three years, Bennett returned and focused on his singing career in 1949. A year later, he got his first big break when Bob Hope heard him performing at a nightclub and asked him to join him at an upcoming performance at the Paramount Theatre. At the time, Bennett was performing under the name Joe Bari, which he thought would be shorter than his surname Benedetto. Hope thought the name was unforgettable and suggested another moniker for the young singer: Tony Bennett.
Bennett’s performance of the 1933 Al Dubin-penned “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” at the Paramount was such a success that it led to a recording contract at Columbia. By 1951, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” was Bennett’s first recording hit and was followed by other standards over the next few years, including“Stranger in Paradise,” “Just in Time,” “Rags to Riches,” “Because of You,” and “Cold, Cold Heart,” among others.
Throughout the 1950s, Bennett was performing with jazz greats like Art Blakey, Count Basie, Stan Getz, and Zoot Sims. His success continued into the 1960s with one of his signature hits, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” along with other songs like “Who Can I Turn To,” “The Good Life,” and “I Wanna Be Around.”
By the 1970s there was a lull in Bennett’s career, but he had a strong comeback in 1986 after re-signing to Columbia and his son and manager, Danny, worked to bring his father to a wider audience. Some of Bennett’s most regarded albums, include his succinct tributes, including Bennett/Berlin in 1987 (Irving Berlin), Perfectly Frank in 1992 for Frank Sinatra, his Billie Holiday album, On Holiday, released in 1996, and Hot & Cool: Bennett Sings Ellington, a 1999 album tribute to Duke Ellington.
In 2021, Bennett announced that he was retiring from performing after more than 70 years. On August 5, 2021, Tony Bennett stepped out for an encore performance in his hometown of New York City at Radio City Music Hall. His second night of performances with Lady Gaga, following a 26-song set by the pair, Bennett graced the stage once again to sing one of his classics, the 1962 hit “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” as his final performance.
Earlier that same year, Bennett, at the age of 95, made Grammy history as the second-oldest artist to win the award. He picked up his 20th Grammy Award along with Lady Gaga for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for the duo’s 2021 release Love for Sale, a collection of Cole Porter standards, a follow-up to their 2014 collaborative album Cheek to Cheek. Love for Sale was also Bennett’s first top 10 album since I Left My Heart in San Francisco in 1962.
Throughout his career, Bennett released more than 70 albums, sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, and won 20 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
Bennett is survived by his four children Danny, Dae, Joanna, and Antonia, and his wife Susan Crow.
Photo by Mark Seliger
