Tony Bennett, best known for singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” passed away on Friday (21), according to his representative. He was 96 years old.
In an eight-decade career, Bennett, among many achievements, performed live on MTV, made a guest appearance on “The Simpsons,” recorded two duet albums with Lady Gaga, and won 19 Grammy Awards throughout a long journey of success.
In 2021, Tony Bennett and his family spoke about the singer being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Bennett was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016, but the public was unaware of his declining health as he continued to perform.
No matter how many awards he won, how many exhausting hours he spent on tour, or how many times he sang his most famous song, Bennett often said he had never worked a day in his life – because he loved performing.
Career Path
Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto to an Italian immigrant family, Bennett was only 10 years old when his father died, plunging the family into poverty.
As a teenager, he became a singing waiter before enrolling to study music and painting at the New York School of Industrial Art.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944 to fight in France and Germany at the end of World War II. “It’s legalized murder,” he said about the experience in an interview with The Guardian in 2013.
After returning home, his singing career continued – first under the name Joe Bari. He was discovered in 1951 with the song “Because of You.” Bennett soon became a teenage icon, releasing his first album in 1952.
He remained on the charts in the United States in virtually every subsequent decade of his life, building a reputation for making timeless hits – such as “Blue Velvet” and “Rags to Riches.”
His 1962 version of a song from the previous decade, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” launched his star into an even greater orbit and earned him two Grammys.
Bennett also supported the civil rights movement and participated in the marches from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, while refusing to perform in apartheid-era South Africa.
However, with the arrival of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the United States, his relevance diminished.
Personal problems followed, including the end of two marriages and drug addiction.
After hiring his son Danny to become his manager and reuniting with his pianist and musical director Ralph Sharon, his fortune began to change.
He enjoyed a renaissance in the 1980s and 1990s, when Grammy awards flooded the star’s home, then already in his sixties.
His 1986 comeback album, “The Art of Excellence,” put the singer back in the spotlight.
He stayed at the top of the charts with “Perfectly Frank,” a tribute to his musical hero Frank Sinatra.
In an interview with the Independent in 2008, Bennett said he was not surprised by his renewed success.
“Good music is good music,” he said. “I’m not worried if someone listening to me is old or young. In fact, in many ways, I’m not even a little bit interested in the young.
“I’m interested in age. People learn to live properly when they reach adulthood, you know?”
“Music has no category; it’s either good or it’s not, and I sing good songs, great songs, written by the best composers. It’s that kind of quality that makes them last. Believe me, people will sing these songs forever.”
Bennett remained long enough to win legions of fans of all ages.
He collaborated with a number of younger artists – who adored him – including Amy Winehouse, Queen Latifah, and Carrie Underwood, as well as Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, and George Michael.
In 2014, his album with Lady Gaga, “Cheek to Cheek,” made him the oldest living artist to reach the top of the American charts at 88 years old, breaking his own previous record.
Shortly after his 90th birthday, he told the New York Times: “I could have retired 16 years ago, but I just love what I’m doing.”
In 2021, five years after his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2016, Bennett performed his last shows alongside Gaga.
He posted on social media at the time: “Life is a gift – even with Alzheimer’s.”
Away from music, as an enthusiastic painter, Bennett had his works exhibited in galleries. He also founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in his hometown, Queens, New York.
He leaves behind four children: Danny, Dae, Joanna, and Antonia, along with his wife Susan Crow.
Source: CNN and BBC