When we lose great celebrities there are always going to be those that hit us a little harder because their work meant that little bit more to us. Needless to say, I did not want to make up this morning and have to write that Tony Bennett has passed away. He was one of the truly great singers of any generation. He had a talent that made other great singers stand up and take notice and proved it with a career that lasted until the very end, but now, the voice has gone silent.
This morning the Associated Press reported that Tony Bennett, born Anthony Dominick Benedetto, passed away at the age of 96. While no cause has been revealed, the performer had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2016. And while that may have slowed Bennett down, it never stopped him. He continued to perform and released an album as recently as 2021.
“I Left My Heart in San Francisco” was Tony Bennett’s signature song but the man had recorded all of the great pop standards, and was revered for the way the interpreted them. Bennett was never the star that contemporaries like Frank Sinatra were, but Bennett never made his performances about himself, it was always about the music.
Despite musical tastes shifting away from his sort of music in later decades, Bennett weathered the storm as he continued to record and perform. In 2006 and 2011 he recorded a pair of Duets albums that had him performing alongside current musical stars. With Duets II Bennett set a record as the oldest person to have a number-one album. He would break that record three years later with Cheek to Cheek, an album of duets with Lady Gaga.
While many musical artists, including many of Bennett’s contemporaries like SInata, used their musical fame to transition to acting, Bennett never really did. Despite studying to become an actor, the majority of his TV and movie appearances in his career had him cameo as himself.
More to come…