BREAKING: Tony Bennett, one of the most beloved voices in the history of American music and best known for the timeless hit 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco,' has died at 96. [Photo: Getty Images]
Bennett didn’t tell his own story when performing; he let the music speak instead — 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.
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 “Duets II,” featuring such contemporary stars as Gaga, Carrie Underwood and Amy Winehouse, in her last studio recording.
“No country has given the world such great music,” Bennett said in a 2015 interview with Downbeat Magazine. “Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern. Those songs will never die.” Released in 1962 as the B-side of the single “Once Upon a Time,” 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.
Bennett would win Grammys for his tributes to female vocalists , Billie Holiday , and Duke Ellington . He also won Grammys for his collaborations with other singers: “Playin’ With My Friends — Bennett Sings the Blues,” and his Louis Armstrong tribute, “A Wonderful World” with lang, the first full album he had ever recorded with another singer. He celebrated his 80th birthday with “Duets: An American Classic,” featuring Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder among others.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96Tony Bennett, the eminent stylist and last of the great saloon singers whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as 'I Left My Heart In San Francisco' graced a decadeslong career, has died at 96.
Read more »
Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96Tony Bennett, the eminent stylist and last of the great saloon singers whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as 'I Left My Heart In San Francisco' graced a decadeslong career, has died at 96.
Read more »
Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as 'I Left My Heart In San Francisco' graced a decadeslong career, died at 96.
Read more »
Tony Bennett, who sang 'I left my heart in San Francisco,' dies at 96Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as 'I Left My Heart In San Francisco' graced a decadeslong career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, died Friday.
Read more »
Tony Bennett, Grammy-winning singer loved by generations, dies at age 96Tony Bennett's joyful and stirring renditions of such classics as 'Rags to Riches,' 'The Way You Look Tonight,' and his signature song, 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco,' made him one of the most popular interpreters of jazz, pop and Broadway standards.
Read more »
Legendary singer Tony Bennett dies at 96Singer Tony Bennett has passed away just two weeks short of his birthday. He was 96.
Read more »