Legendary singer Tony Bennett dies at age 96

By Fred Shuster

Tony Bennett, whose death was announced Friday, gave Los Angeles something to remember in 2015 when he and Lady Gaga soft-shoed through a set of standards, bringing down the house at the Hollywood Bowl for an audience of all ages.

Bennett, who released more than 70 albums over a music career that spanned decades, died in his hometown of New York, his publicist said. The 96-year-old was less than two weeks away from his birthday. No specific cause of death was given, but Bennett revealed in 2021 he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Bennett will always be known for his signature song, “I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” but the saloon singer who earned the admiration of generations of performers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse was a true citizen of the world, an interpreter of the Great American Songbook for fans around the globe.

Along with his music, Bennett spent a lifetime painting, signing his pieces with his given name of Anthony Benedetto. He penned “The Good Life: The Autobiography of Tony Bennett” in 1998, and starred in a documentary, “The Zen of Bennett,” in 2012.

Bennett was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2005 and a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2006.

Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on Aug. 3, 1926, in Queens, New York, Bennett came from humble beginnings. His immigrant father died when the singer-to-be was 10 and his mother worked as a seamstress to support Bennett and his two siblings.

Bennett attended the High School of Industrial Arts in New York City, but dropped out to help the family finances and worked as a singing waiter. While serving in the Army infantry during World War II, Bennett went to Europe in March 1945, and saw battle in France and Germany, rising to the rank of corporal based on his experience with close combat fighting.

Taking advantage of the G.I. Bill, Bennett studied singing at the American Theatre Wing, where his vocal coach offered some advice he took to heart: “Don’t imitate other singers; emulate instrumentalists instead.”

Performing under the name Joe Bari, Bennett was discovered in 1949 by Pearl Bailey, who asked him to open for her show in Greenwich Village. He subsequently caught the attention of Toluca Lake resident Bob Hope, who advised him to take the name Tony Bennett and gave him a spot in his popular road show. Bennett told Billboard in 1997, “I’ve been on the road ever since.”

Signing with Columbia Records in 1950 — the label to which he would remain loyal for most of his career — Bennett’s early pop hits included “Because of You” and “Cold, Cold Heart.” By the late 1950s, Bennett’s album “Basie Swings, Bennett Sings” was a precursor to future jazz-based work.

But it was the 1962 debut of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” that brought Bennett national attention. The song led to Bennett’s first Grammy Award for Best Record of the Year and Best Solo Vocal Performance. To date, Bennett has won 20 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and two Emmys in his singing career.

Bennett left Columbia in the 1970s when the label reportedly tried to steer him in a more contemporary direction. However, with eldest son Danny handling management duties, Bennett made a comeback in 1986 with “The Art of Excellence,” his first studio album in nearly 10 years.

That was the start of a remarkable return to the popular scene. Bennett appeared on talk shows with David Letterman and Jay Leno, made an animated appearance on “The Simpsons” and delivered an acclaimed performance on “MTV Unplugged,” which led to a pair of Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.

In the late 1990s, Bennett found himself part of the frenzy for all things swing that surrounded the cult film “Swingers.” Appearing on the film’s soundtrack album alongside Dean Martin and Bobby Darin, Bennett won a new, young audience.

Then came a series of tribute albums, including a disc devoted to Bennett’s childhood idol Frank Sinatra, and records in honor of Fred Astaire and Billie Holiday.

In 2002, Bennett teamed up with k.d. Lang to record “A Wonderful World,” which brought Bennett a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, and started a string of collaborations that were in tune with the era’s craze for duet recordings.

For his 80th birthday in 2006, the singer issued the chart-topping “Duets: An American Classic,” co-starring a collection of stars that included Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Sting, and Michael Bublé. A sequel saw performances from Aretha Franklin, Carrie Underwood, Willie Nelson, Lady Gaga, and a reading of “Body and Soul” that turned out to be the late Winehouse’s final recording.

The following March, Bennett took home a Grammy for the duo with Winehouse, as well as for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. “Duets II” also hit the top of the Billboard 200 — when Bennett was 85 years old — marking his first No. 1 album. Also in 2012, the documentary film “The Zen of Bennett” showed the making of “Duets II.”

In February 2021, Bennett revealed that he had Alzheimer’s disease. He had been diagnosed five years earlier. Later in the year, he released his final album, “Love For Sale,” and performed his final concert “One Last Time” alongside Lady Gaga. The first of two nights at Radio City Hall in New York City coincided with Bennett’s 95th birthday.

He is survived by his wife Susan, daughters Johanna and Antonia, sons Danny and Dae and nine grandchildren.

Updated July 22, 2023, 11:12 a.m.

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