Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist, died Friday. He created new standards such as 'I Left My Heart In San Francisco' during his decadeslong career.
NEW YORK — Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs, died Friday. He had a knack for creating new standards such as "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" during a decadeslong career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga. He was 96, just two weeks short of his birthday.
"I enjoy entertaining the audience, making them forget their problems," he told the Associated Press in 2006. "I think people ... are touched if they hear something that's sincere and honest and maybe has a little sense of humor. ... I just like to make people feel good when I perform." His final album, the 2021 release "Love for Sale," featured duets with Lady Gaga on the title track, "Night and Day" and other Porter songs.
Ironically, his most famous contribution came through two unknowns, George Cory and Douglass Cross, who in the early '60s provided Bennett with his signature song at a time his career was in a lull. They gave Bennett's musical director, pianist Ralph Sharon, some sheet music that he stuck in a dresser drawer and forgot about until he was packing for a tour that included a stop in San Francisco.
That led to an offer in 1994 to do an episode of "MTV Unplugged" with special guests Elvis Costello and k.d. lang. The evening's performance resulted in the album, "Tony Bennett: MTV Unplugged," which won two Grammys, including album of the year. Tony Bennett gives a thumbs up as members San Francisco Boys and Girls Chorus and city and state Chief of Protocol Charlotte Shultz, left, look on, after Bennett's statue was unveiled outside the Fairmont Hotel Aug. 19, 2016, atop Nob Hill in San Francisco. Bennett died Friday. He was 96.
I think people ... are touched if they hear something that's sincere and honest and maybe has a little sense of humor. ... I just like to make people feel good when I perform.Bennett took advantage of the GI Bill to attend the American Theater Wing, which later became The Actors Studio. His acting lessons helped him develop his phrasing and learn how to tell a story. He learned the more intimate Bel Canto vocal technique which helped him sustain and extend the expressive range of his voice.
"He thought for a moment, then he said, 'We'll call you Tony Bennett,'" the singer wrote in his autobiography, "The Good Life," published in 1998. Bennett's friendship with Black musicians and his disgust at the racial prejudice he encountered in the Army led him to become an active supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. He answered Harry Belafonte's call to join Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march and perform for the protesters.
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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.
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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, 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 decades-long career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, died Friday at the age of 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, died Friday. He was 96, just two weeks short of his birthday.
Read more »