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Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96

frankberry

frankberry

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NEW YORK (AP) — Tony 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. He was 96, just two weeks short of his birthday.

apnews.com

Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96

Tony 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.
apnews.com apnews.com
 
So sorry to hear. His struggles with memory loss, etc. have been well-publicized for a few years now. I always admired Bennett because, while many crooners from his era seemingly went away or "fell out of style", somehow Bennett always managed to remain relevant. He kept performing in front of younger audiences, somewhat recently performed with Lady Gaga, etc.

One of my favorite memories of him was when he appeared as himself on Saturday Night Live. Alec Baldwin had been parodying Bennett in a series of sketches on that show, often over-exaggerating some of Bennett's mannerisms. During one of the Baldwin sketches, Bennett himself appeared as a "guest" and the two sat down together while "Tony Bennett" (Baldwin) interviewed supposed knockoff and copy cat "Antonio Benedetto" (Bennett's real name), then they sang a tune together. Funny stuff, and obviously it shows a bit of humility and the ability to laugh at oneself when a celebrity is willing to appear in a sketch like that where they, for all intents and purposes, are the brunt of the joke.
 
Not just a performer, an artist. One of the few of his generation, who, when he realized his talent was being misdirected with MOR cover versions of Top 40 hits, walked away from his Columbia Records contract and for the next 14 years recorded what he felt was the right material for smaller labels (MGM, Improv, Fantasy) until Columbia brought him back.

His return album? The Art of Excellence.

Rest in peace, Tony.
 
Former mayor Willie Brown, himself a local legend, was on KCBS this morning reminiscing about Tony, and referred to "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" as "the national anthem of San Francisco". Indeed it was.

There's a statue of Tony at the Fairmont Hotel, Mason and California streets. I bet a lot of people will climb the hill or take the California Street cable car today to remember.
 
Bennett was a legend, his songs will always be remembered. He also performed with newer artists, like Lady Gaga, in his final years, he wasn't afraid to do so! Condolences to his family, friends, and generations of fans.
The Lord has gained an incredible soul this morning. RIP Tony :cry:
 
crainbebo said:
Bennett was a legend, his songs will always be remembered. He also performed with newer artists, like Lady Gaga, in his final years, he wasn't afraid to do so! Condolences to his family, friends, and generations of fans.
The Lord has gained an incredible soul this morning. RIP Tony :cry:
Click to expand...
Tony always played the hits, but re-imagined them every generation. What a legend! He was even on the Simpsons
 
Some may not know that one of Bennett's earliest hits was a country song written by Hank Williams. Cold, Cold Heart was Tony Bennett's 2nd #1 in 1951, while Williams was still alive. Hank's original was released first, and Tony's came about 6 months later. Of course Tony's version is very different from the original.


He later redid the song as a duet with Tim McGraw.
 
And in addition to everything else, he became popular on MTV doing the kind of music he had always done.

Though he dressed as a punk rocker and presented a an award with Red Hot Chili Peppers saying "Give it away! Give it away!" One of the rockers sang "I Left My Heart in San Francisco".
 
TheBigA said:
The Sirius channel 40s Junction will spotlight Tony Bennett. Ironically, Tony's first hit was in 1951. But I guess they feel the sound of his music fits better in the 1940s.

radioinsight.com

SiriusXM’s 40’s Junction To Go All-Tony Bennett This Weekend

SiriusXM's "40's Junction" (channel 71) will pay tribute to Tony Bennett this weekend by playing his music non-stop as "Totally
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com
Click to expand...
I would have thought Siriusly Sinatra. But I guess you can't do it on a Sinatra channel.
 
The great Frank Sinatra has often been called "The Chairman of the Board", and he certainly was, but without Tony Bennett, the Board wouldn't have existed. It's amazing how these two great artists produced so many wonderful recordings that don't sound dated. Tony Bennett was still performing to enthusiastic College crowds in recent years, attesting to his ability to inspire one generation after another. There will never be another like him...may he RIP.
 
As far as I could tell today, there was very little on radio in San Francisco about Tony Bennett or commemorating him. The closest was a rerun on KCSM of NPR Jazz Profiles featuring him. That was a two-hour program. KCBS, of course, covered his death as a news story, and KQED-FM probably did, too, but I didn't catch anything else.

It may seem odd, but if you know Bay Area radio, you might have thought that KITS would have at least played "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" at a signature time like 12 noon, but that wasn't the case. Tony Bennett was a featured performer at Live 105's "Green Christmas" in 1993 and I believe he had other appearances on the station. If KFOG were still around, I'm sure there would have been a special "10 @ 10", but that wasn't to be. Yes, I readily concede that playing that iconic song would have been breaking format except for KCSM but it has a unique connection to San Francisco and the Bay Area. It's a shame that most broadcasters here didn't offer at least a little tribute to Tony.
 
KQED did cover it as a brief story in at least one of their news segments (between 8 am and 9 am), and NPR had it in their hourly newscasts as well as a piece that ran in the 8:35 am segment of Morning Edition, done by Scott Simon, who apparently had become friends with Tony Bennett. I also heard news blurbs about his death on the BBC World Service (via KALW) newscast at 10 am.
 
Although I expected this news for some time......it still hit me like a thunderbolt when I heard it....
Bennett was, indeed, one of a kind.....
if you haven't caught it....find the "long" version of "I Left My Heart In San Francisco"....in the opening, with a background piano riff, he tells how the song got its start......at a bar in .....of ALL places --- Hot Springs, Arkansas!!!
Mr. B. will have a huge welcoming committee at the Pearly Gates.....RIP.....:(
 
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