Tony Bennett has died at 96. A globally-beloved vocalist known for his strong, clear, tone, affable on-stage persona and accessible takes on classics from the Great American Songbook originally penned by everyone from Duke Ellington to Cole Porter, Bennett enjoyed a seven-decade-long career, and didn’t let his advanced age or the onset of Alzheimer’s disease slow him down: even after he was diagnosed with the disease in 2016 he continued to record and perform — even appearing onstage at Radio City Music Hall with Lady Gaga in August 2021 to perform tracks from their Love For Sale duets album in a show titled “One Last Time.”
Bennett was born in Long Island City, Queens on August 3, 1926, and grew up in Astoria, Queens. He began performing in clubs after returning from service in World War II, and came to prominence as a jazz vocalist in the 1950’s while performing at the Paramount in Times Square. He first achieved superstardom in 1962 with a legendary concert at Carnegie Hall, plus the release of “I Left My Heart in San Fransisco,” widely considered his signature song. As popular music moved towards rock ‘n’ roll in the ’60s and ’70s, Bennett refused to change his signature vocal style, and, though he went through a difficult period during those decades that included a divorce, drug addiction and waning popularity, his firm dedication to his vision paid off through continued relevance from the ’80s to today.
The New York Times notes that Bennett sang on both The Ed Sullivan Show and David Letterman, sang with Rosemary Clooney when she was in her 20s and Celine Dion when she was in her 20s, and performed “I Left My Heart in San Fransisco” for almost half a decade, leading many to think he was from the city, though he remained a died-in-the-wool New Yorker (“I Left My Heart in San Fransisco” is still played after San Fransisco Giants games today). Other #1 singles from Bennett include “Because of You” and “Cold, Cold Heart.” He won 20 Grammy Awards, first for “I Left My Heart in San Fransisco” in 1963 and last for Love For Sale with Lady Gaga in 2022, plus a lifetime achievement award in 2001, and, over the course of his career, sold more than 60 million records. “For my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business,” Frank Sinatra told Life in 1965. “He excites me when I watch him. He moves me. He’s the singer who gets across what the composer has in mind, and probably a little more.”
Bennett was also an actor and an activist. His Hollywood debut came all the way back in 1966 via “The Oscar,” a film about a man betrayed by an old friend that was critically panned. Though Bennett never fully pursued an acting career, he played himself in Robert Di Niro and Billy Crystal’s Analyze This and Jim Carrey’s Bruce Almighty. He appeared in cartoon form on The Simpsons and, at 82 years of age, even made a cameo in Entourage to perform “The Good Life.” He participated in the famous Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march of 1965, and, the day before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “How Long? Not Long” speech, performed at a “Stars for Freedom” rally in Montgomery with Sammy Davis Jr. and Harry Belafonte.
“I love entertaining people; I strive to make them feel good, and they make me feel wonderful,” Bennett once said. “To explain it simply, I like what I do, and my ambition is to get better as I get older. That’s really what I’m all about.”
Tony Bennett is survived by Susan Crow, his third wife and caretaker, his daughters Johanna and Antonia, his sons Danny and Dae, and nine grandchildren.
