Tony Bennett (born August 3, 1926), sometimes known as Anthony Dominick Benedetto, is an American vocalist who specializes in traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. He is also a painter, with paintings on permanent public exhibit in a number of institutions under his birth name. In Astoria, Queens, New York, he founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts.
Tony Bennett Early Life
Bennett, a grocer’s son, grew up in Astoria, New York, where he studied singing and art. Bennett concentrated himself in instrumentalists’ music rather than vocalists’ music at the request of his vocal tutor, which provided him with a firm foundation in jazz.
He served in the army for three years during WWII before starting his singing career in 1949. Bennett got his break the next year when Bob Hope overheard him in a nightclub and encouraged him to share the stage with him at the Paramount Theatre in New York. Bennett was performing under the stage name Joe Bari at the time, which Hope thought was unmemorable.
Hope renamed the young singer Tony Bennett because his given name, Anthony Benedetto, was “too long to fit on the marquee.”
Tony Bennett Jazz Recordings
Bennett’s performance of “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” at the Paramount was particularly warmly received by the audience, and it helped him land a deal with Columbia Records. Bennett’s first successful single was “Because of You,” which was quickly followed by “Cold, Cold Heart,” “Stranger in Paradise,” “Just in Time,” and “Rags to Riches,” which became one of Bennett’s defining tunes.
Bennett recorded numerous critically acclaimed recordings in the 1950s, collaborating with jazz greats such as Count Basie, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Art Blakey, and Bobby Hackett. Bennett resisted being labelled a jazz singer, yet his collaborations with jazz musicians were always lauded.
Bennett’s biggest hit, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” returned him to the top of the singles charts in 1962, and it is the tune with which he is most known. “I Wanna Be Around,” “The Good Life,” and “Who Can I Turn To” were also big singles in the 1960s.
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During the late 1960s and early 1970s, his popularity waned, and he departed Columbia in 1972. Bennett recorded largely for his own label, Improve, during the 1970s; while he had no chart success, much of the stuff he recorded during this time—especially his collaborations with jazz performers like Ruby Braff and Bill Evans—became considered as some of his best work.
Tony Bennett Won 1st Grammy Award
Bennett’s professional lull came to an end in 1986, when he re-signed with Columbia and recorded The Art of Excellence, his most lauded album in years. Bennett’s son and personal manager, Danny Bennett, began an active drive to market his father to a larger audience from that moment forward, and the decade that followed proved to be the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed of Bennett’s career.
His albums, nearly all of which won or were nominated for Grammy Awards, sold in the millions. Bennett’s tribute albums to other musicians, including as Irving Berlin (Bennett/Berlin, 1987), Frank Sinatra (Perfectly Frank, 1992), Fred Astaire (Steppin’ Out, 1993), Billie Holiday (On Holiday, 1996), and Duke Ellington (On Holiday, 1996), are particularly noteworthy (Hot & Cool: Bennett Sings Ellington, 1999).
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga Won the Grammy Award 2022
Tony Bennett, along with Lady Gaga, became the second-oldest Grammy winner after winning the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album award at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night (April 4, 2022).
Lady Gaga sang “Love for Sale” and “Do I Love You” from her album “Love for Sale,” which she recorded with long-time friend and duet collaborator Tony Bennett, at the 64th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday.
Tony Bennett gave a filmed introduction to his duet partner, saying simply, “Hello everyone, please welcome Lady Gaga!” Gaga next wowed the crowd with a high-octane rendition of Cole Porter’s “Love for Sale,” which featured a big band arrangement. Gaga slowed things down to sing out a jazzy piano-filled rendition of “Do I Love You,” dressed in a mint strapless gown with a huge bow.
In the background, a video screen showed footage of Gaga and Bennett in the studio working on the record. Gaga’s vocal range and ability to shout out classics as well as more pop-oriented material were on full display during the performance.
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This year, Gaga and Bennett received five Grammy nominations, including album of the year and traditional pop vocal album. “I Get a Kick Out of You,” their single, was nominated for record of the year, pop duo/group performance, and music video. The album is a follow-up to the duo’s jazz album “Cheek to Cheek,” which received a Grammy in 2015 for best traditional pop vocal album.
Last year, the two sang songs from “Love for Sale” on “MTV Unplugged” and at the two-night Radio City event “One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga,” which was taped for a CBS special. The development of their album was also documented in a documentary titled “The Lady and the Legend,” which will premiere on Paramount Plus later this year.
Aside from that, due to the 95-year-old Bennett’s Alzheimer’s illness diagnosis, which was publicized in early 2021, Gaga has largely promoted the record on her own.
Tony Bennett Final album and Retirement (2021–present)
Tony Bennett‘s retirement from concerts was announced by his son and manager Danny Bennett on August 12, 2021, a week after his 95th birthday and while performing at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Danny noted that, while his father remained a capable performer, he was growing physically feeble and, if he continued touring, he risked a major fall.
On September 30, 2021, he released his final album, Love for Sale, which was another collaboration with Lady Gaga. The album garnered mostly positive reviews and debuted at number eight in the United States. In his review for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis called Bennett’s performance on the album “pretty remarkable,” despite the singer’s age and health problems.
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Bennett holds the record for the longest streak of top-10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart for a living artist, with I Left My Heart in San Francisco, which debuted in 1962. At the age of 95 years and 60 days, Bennett also set the Guinness World Record for the oldest person to release a new album.
Bennett’s final televised performance was with Lady Gaga in MTV Unplugged on December 16, 2021. The special, which included duets from Love for Sale, was filmed in front of an intimate studio audience in New York City the previous July.
Bennett continues to rehearse with his music director three times a week, despite his retirement, according to Danny Bennett.