Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as graced a decadeslong career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, died Friday. He was 96, just two weeks short of his birthday.
Publicist Sylvia Weiner confirmed Bennett91裸聊视频檚 death to The Associated Press, saying he died in his hometown of New York. There was no specific cause, but Bennett had been diagnosed in 2016.
The last of the great saloon singers of the mid-20th century, Bennett often said his lifelong ambition was to create 91裸聊视频渁 hit catalog rather than hit records.91裸聊视频� He released more than 70 albums, bringing him 19 competitive Grammys 91裸聊视频� all but two after he reached his 60s 91裸聊视频� and enjoyed deep and lasting affection from fans and fellow artists.
Bennett didn91裸聊视频檛 tell his own story when performing; he let the music speak instead 91裸聊视频� the Gershwins and Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern. Unlike his friend and mentor Sinatra, he would interpret a song rather than embody it. If his singing and public life lacked the high drama of Sinatra91裸聊视频檚, Bennett appealed with an easy, courtly manner and an uncommonly rich and durable voice 91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淎 tenor who sings like a baritone,91裸聊视频� he called himself 91裸聊视频� that made him a master of caressing a ballad or brightening an up-tempo number.
91裸聊视频淚 enjoy entertaining the audience, making them forget their problems,91裸聊视频� he told The Associated Press in 2006. 91裸聊视频淚 think people 91裸聊视频� are touched if they hear something that91裸聊视频檚 sincere and honest and maybe has a little sense of humor. 91裸聊视频� I just like to make people feel good when I perform.91裸聊视频�
Bennett was praised often by his peers, but never more meaningfully than by what Sinatra said in a 1965 Life magazine interview: 91裸聊视频淔or my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business. He excites me when I watch him. He moves me. He91裸聊视频檚 the singer who gets across what the composer has in mind, and probably a little more.91裸聊视频�
He not only survived the rise of rock music but endured so long and so well that he gained new fans and collaborators, some young enough to be his grandchildren. In 2014, at age 88, Bennett broke his own record as the oldest living performer with a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart his duets project with Lady Gaga. Three years earlier, he topped the charts with 91裸聊视频淒uets II,91裸聊视频� featuring such contemporary stars as Gaga, Carrie Underwood and Amy Winehouse, in her last studio recording. His rapport with Winehouse was captured in the Oscar-nominated documentary 91裸聊视频淎my,91裸聊视频� which showed Bennett patiently encouraging the insecure young singer through a performance of 91裸聊视频淏ody and Soul.91裸聊视频�
His final album, the 2021 release 91裸聊视频淟ove for Sale,91裸聊视频� featured duets with Lady Gaga on the title track, 91裸聊视频淣ight and Day91裸聊视频� and other Porter songs.
For Bennett, one of the few performers to move easily between pop and jazz, such collaborations were part of his crusade to expose new audiences to what he called the Great American Songbook.
91裸聊视频淣o country has given the world such great music,91裸聊视频� Bennett said in a 2015 interview with Downbeat Magazine. 91裸聊视频淐ole Porter, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern. Those songs will never die.91裸聊视频�
Ironically, his most famous contribution came through two unknowns, George Cory and Douglass Cross, who in the early 91裸聊视频�60s provided Bennett with his signature song at a time his career was in a lull. They gave Bennett91裸聊视频檚 musical director, pianist Ralph Sharon, some sheet music that he stuck in a dresser drawer and forgot about until he was packing for a tour that included a stop in San Francisco.
91裸聊视频淩alph saw some sheet music in his shirt drawer 91裸聊视频� and on top of the pile was a song called 91裸聊视频業 Left My Heart In San Francisco.91裸聊视频� Ralph thought it would be good material for San Francisco,91裸聊视频� Bennett said. 91裸聊视频淲e were rehearsing and the bartender in the club in Little Rock, Arkansas, said, 91裸聊视频業f you record that song, I91裸聊视频檓 going to be the first to buy it.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
Released in 1962 as the B-side of the single 91裸聊视频淥nce Upon a Time,91裸聊视频� the reflective ballad became a grassroots phenomenon staying on the charts for more than two years and earning Bennett his first two Grammys, including record of the year.
By his early 40s, he was seemingly out of fashion. But after turning 60, an age when even the most popular artists often settle for just pleasing their older fans, Bennett and his son and manager, Danny, found creative ways to market the singer to the MTV Generation. He made guest appearances on 91裸聊视频淟ate Night with David Letterman91裸聊视频� and became a celebrity guest artist on 91裸聊视频淭he Simpsons.91裸聊视频� He wore a black T-shirt and sunglasses as a presenter with the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the 1993 MTV Music Video Awards, and his own video of 91裸聊视频淪teppin91裸聊视频� Out With My Baby91裸聊视频� from his Grammy-winning Fred Astaire tribute album ended up on MTV91裸聊视频檚 hip 91裸聊视频淏uzz Bin.91裸聊视频�
That led to an offer in 1994 to do an episode of 91裸聊视频淢TV Unplugged91裸聊视频� with special guests Elvis Costello and k.d. lang. The evening91裸聊视频檚 performance resulted in the album, 91裸聊视频淭ony Bennett: MTV Unplugged,91裸聊视频� which won two Grammys, including album of the year.
Bennett would win Grammys for his tributes to female vocalists (91裸聊视频淗ere91裸聊视频檚 to the Ladies91裸聊视频�), Billie Holiday (91裸聊视频淭ony Bennett on Holiday91裸聊视频�), and Duke Ellington (91裸聊视频淏ennett Sings Ellington 91裸聊视频� Hot & Cool91裸聊视频�). He also won Grammys for his collaborations with other singers: 91裸聊视频淧layin91裸聊视频� With My Friends 91裸聊视频� Bennett Sings the Blues,91裸聊视频� and his Louis Armstrong tribute, 91裸聊视频淎 Wonderful World91裸聊视频� with lang, the first full album he had ever recorded with another singer. He celebrated his 80th birthday with 91裸聊视频淒uets: An American Classic,91裸聊视频� featuring Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder among others.
91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檙e all giants in the industry, and all of a sudden they91裸聊视频檙e saying to me 91裸聊视频榊ou91裸聊视频檙e the master,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� Bennett told the AP in 2006.
Long associated with San Francisco, Bennett would note that his true home was Astoria, the working-class community in the New York City borough of Queens, where he grew up during the Great Depression. The singer chose his old neighborhood as the site for the 91裸聊视频淔ame91裸聊视频�-style public high school, the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, that he and his third wife, Susan Crow Benedetto, a former teacher, helped found in 2001.
The school is not far from the birthplace of the man who was once Anthony Dominick Benedetto. His father was an Italian immigrant who inspired his love of singing, but he died when Anthony was 10. Bennett credited his mother, Anna, with teaching him a valuable lesson as he watched her working at home, supporting her three children as a seamstress doing piecework after his father died.
91裸聊视频淲e were very impoverished,91裸聊视频� Bennett said in a 2016 AP interview. 91裸聊视频淚 saw her working and every once in a while she91裸聊视频檇 take a dress and throw it over her shoulder and she91裸聊视频檇 say, 91裸聊视频楧on91裸聊视频檛 have me work on a bad dress. I91裸聊视频檒l only work on good dresses.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
He studied commercial art in high school, but had to drop out to help support his family. The teenager got a job as a copy boy for the AP, performed as a singing waiter and competed in amateur shows. A combat infantryman during World War II, he served as a librarian for the Armed Forces Network after the war and sang with an army big band in occupied Germany. His earliest recording is a 1946 air check from Armed Forces Radio of the blues 91裸聊视频淪t. James Infirmary.91裸聊视频�
Bennett took advantage of the GI Bill to attend the American Theater Wing, which later became The Actors Studio. His acting lessons helped him develop his phrasing and learn how to tell a story. He learned the more intimate Bel Canto vocal technique which helped him sustain and extend the expressive range of his voice. And he took to heart the advice of his vocal coach, Miriam Spier.
91裸聊视频淪he said please don91裸聊视频檛 imitate other singers because you91裸聊视频檒l just be one of the chorus whoever you imitate whether it91裸聊视频檚 Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra and won91裸聊视频檛 develop an original sound,91裸聊视频� Bennett recalled in the 2006 AP interview. 91裸聊视频淪he said imitate musicians that you like, find out how they phrase. I was particularly influenced by the jazz musicians like (pianist) Art Tatum and (saxophonists) Lester Young and Stan Getz.91裸聊视频�
In 1947, Bennett made his first recording, the Gershwins91裸聊视频� standard 91裸聊视频淔ascinatin91裸聊视频� Rhythm91裸聊视频� for a small label under the stage name Joe Bari. The following year he gained notice when he finished behind Rosemary Clooney on the radio show 91裸聊视频淎rthur Godfrey91裸聊视频檚 Talent Scouts.91裸聊视频� Bennett91裸聊视频檚 big break came in 1949 when singer Pearl Bailey invited him to join her revue at a Greenwich Village club. Bob Hope dropped by one night and was so impressed that he offered the young singer a spot opening his shows at the famed Paramount Theater, where teens had swooned for Sinatra. But the comedian didn91裸聊视频檛 care for his stage name and thought his real name was too long for the marquee.
91裸聊视频淗e thought for a moment, then he said, 91裸聊视频榃e91裸聊视频檒l call you Tony Bennett,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� the singer wrote in his autobiography, 91裸聊视频淭he Good Life,91裸聊视频� published in 1998.
In 1950, Mitch Miller, the head of Columbia Records91裸聊视频� pop singles division, signed Bennett and released the single, 91裸聊视频淭he Boulevard of Broken Dreams,91裸聊视频� a semi-hit. Bennett was on the verge of being dropped from the label in 1951 when he had his first No. 1 on the pop charts with 91裸聊视频淏ecause of You.91裸聊视频� More hits followed, including 91裸聊视频淩ags to Riches,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淏lue Velvet,91裸聊视频� and Hank Williams91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淐old, Cold Heart,91裸聊视频� the first country song to become an international pop hit.
Bennett found himself frequently clashing with Miller, who pushed him to sing Sinatra-style ballads and gimmicky novelty songs. But Bennett took advantage of the young LP album format, starting in 1955 with 91裸聊视频淐loud 7,91裸聊视频� featuring a small jazz combo led by guitarist Chuck Wayne. Bennett reached out to the jazz audience with such innovative albums as the 1957 91裸聊视频淭he Beat of My Heart,91裸聊视频� an album of standards that paired him with such jazz percussion masters as Chico Hamilton, and Art Blakey. He also became the first white male singer to record with the Count Basie Orchestra, releasing two albums in 1958. Sinatra would later do the same.
Bennett91裸聊视频檚 friendship with Black musicians and his disgust at the racial prejudice he encountered in the Army led him to become an active supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. He answered to join Martin Luther King Jr.91裸聊视频檚 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march and
Bennett91裸聊视频檚 early career peaked in the 1960s as he topped the charts with 91裸聊视频淪an Francisco91裸聊视频� and became the first male pop solo performer to headline at Carnegie Hall, releasing a live album of the 1962 concert.
In 1966, he released 91裸聊视频淭he Movie Song Album,91裸聊视频� a personal favorite which featured Johnny Mandel91裸聊视频檚 Oscar-winning song 91裸聊视频淭he Shadow of Your Smile91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淢aybe September,91裸聊视频� the theme from the epic flop 91裸聊视频淭he Oscar,91裸聊视频� noteworthy because it marked Bennett91裸聊视频檚 first and only big-screen acting role.
But as rock continued to overtake traditional pop, he clashed with Columbia label head Clive Davis, who insisted that the singer do the 1970 album 91裸聊视频淭ony Sings the Great Hits of Today,91裸聊视频� with such songs as 91裸聊视频淢acArthur Park91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淟ittle Green Apples.91裸聊视频� Bennett left Columbia in 1972, and went on to form his own record label, Improv, which in 1975-76 produced two duet albums with the impressionistic pianist Bill Evans now considered jazz classics.
Despite artistic successes, Improv proved a financial disaster for Bennett, who also faced difficulties in his personal life. His marriage to artist Patricia Beech collapsed in 1971. He wed actress Sandra Grant the same year, but that marriage ended in 1984. With no recording deals, his debts brought him close to bankruptcy and the IRS was trying to seize his house in Los Angeles. After a near-fatal drug overdose in 1979, he turned to his son, Danny, who eventually signed on as his manager. Bennett kicked his drug habit and got his finances in order, moved back to New York and resumed doing more than 200 shows a year.
He is survived by his wife Susan, daughters Johanna and Antonia, sons Danny and Dae and nine grandchildren.
Bennett was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2005 and a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2006. He also won two Emmy Awards 91裸聊视频� for 91裸聊视频淭ony Bennett Live By Request: A Valentine Special91裸聊视频� (1996) and 91裸聊视频淭ony Bennett: An American Classic91裸聊视频� (2007).
Besides singing, Bennett pursued his lifelong passion for painting by taking art lessons and bringing his sketchbook on the road. His paintings, signed with his family name Benedetto 91裸聊视频� including portraits of his musician friends and Central Park landscapes 91裸聊视频� were displayed in public and private collections, including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.
91裸聊视频淚 love to paint as much as I love to sing,91裸聊视频� Bennett told the AP in 2006. 91裸聊视频淚t worked out to be such a blessing in my life because if I started getting burnt-out singing 91裸聊视频� I would go to my painting and that91裸聊视频檚 a big lift. 91裸聊视频� So I stay in this creative zone all the time.91裸聊视频�
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AP National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this story.
Charles J. Gans, The Associated Press
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