A key figure in twentieth-century American music, artist Tony Bennett has died at the age of 96. According to several American media outlets, the artist was found dead this Friday morning, July 21, 2023, at his home in New York.
Considered one of America's most iconic crooners, Tony Bennett was one of those rare artists with an impressive track record, selling over 50 million records worldwide!
Tony Bennett, whose real name was Anthony Dominick Benedetto, was born in Queens, New York, on August 3, 1926. This Italian-born grocer's son soon developed a passion for music and painting.
After enlisting in the Second World War in Europe, he returned to New York in 1946. And it was in 1950 that Anthony Dominick Benedetto, then renamed Tony Bennett, signed with Colombia. From then on, success followed success for the artist, with his first real hit " Because of You " in 1951, followed by the Hank Williams cover " Cold Cold Heart ", but also " Rags to Riches " and " Stranger in Paradise ", not forgetting " There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight " and " Cinnamon Sinner ".
Despite the passing years, Tony Bennett continued to ride the wave of success, combining jazz and pop influences. In 1962, Tony Bennett gave birth to " I Left My Heart in San Francisco", a ballad that earned the American crooner two Grammy Awards.
Further albums and singles, acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, followed with " Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) " and " If I Ruled the World ", taken from musicals. In the mid-60s, however, the artist hit a low point, particularly when the rock wave hit.
After a successful comeback in the 1980s and 1990s, Tony Bennett remained a much-loved artist in the 2000s, to the point of multiplying his collaborations.
He unveiled two albums of duets,"Duets: An American Classic" in 2006 and"Duets II" in 2011, featuring Willie Nelson, Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones, Amy Winehouse, k.d. lang, Andrea Bocelli, Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban and Lady Gaga. He reunited with the American artist three years later for the opus"Cheek to Cheek", an album composed entirely of standards by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. In 2021, Tony Bennett repeated the experience with Lady Gaga on the album"Love For Sale".
Although concerts have been fewer and farther between in recent years, Tony Bennett still celebrated his 90th birthday on stage at New York's Radio City Music Hall, in the company of such prestigious artists as Michael Bublé, Diana Krall, Andrea Bocelli, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Rufus Wainwright, k.d. lang and Billy Joel.
In 2016, Tony Bennett revealed that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
