Legendary crooner Tony Bennett dies at the age of 96
Legendary pop and jazz singer Tony Bennett has died at the age of 96.
Bennett, known for his performances with singers as diverse as Frank Sinatra and Lady Gaga, sold millions of records around the world throughout his career and won 20 Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award.
One of the last of America’s great crooners, Bennett released his first album in 1952 when he was in his mid-20s and went on to chart in the US in every subsequent decade of his life.
Bennett picked up his first Grammy for his signature 1962 song, I Left My Heart In San Francisco.
He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016 and went public five years later.
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Bennett performs ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ with Lady Gaga. Credit: Tony Bennett / Sony Entertainment and Interscope Records.
His positivity was clear from a reworking of one of his famous quotes shared on his social media accounts: “Life is a gift – even with Alzheimer’s.”
In 2022, Bennett went on to perform his final shows, alongside Lady Gaga, who he shared his 20th Grammy Award with – at the tender age of 95.
Tony Bennett with Lady Gaga in 2014
Tony Bennett and Tom Cruise pictured in 2004
Sinatra himself once described Bennett as “the best singer in the business” in an interview in 1965.
The legendary singer always called Bennett “kid”, even into old age.
With more than 70 albums to his name, Bennett is perhaps the only artist ever to have had new albums charting in the US in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.
In 2014, he broke his own record as the oldest living artist to hit the top of the weekly Billboard 200 album chart.
Performing well into his 90s, even after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, Bennett was an entertainer beloved by all generations; Gaga was just one of the modern-day artists he collaborated with in later years.
Paul McCartney, John Legend, Christina Aguilera and Michael Bublé, as well as Sinatra, all feature on the long list of stars he worked with.
His 2011 duet with Amy Winehouse, Body And Soul, was the last song she recorded before her death.
Read more:
How a compliment from his idol Sinatra changed Bennett’s career
Tony Bennett poses with his Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2003
Bennett performs with Lady Gaga
A star is born
Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on 3 August 1926, in Queens in New York City, to parents John and Anna, the young Tony and his older brother and sister, John and Mary, were raised by their mother following his father’s death when he was aged just 10.
As a child, he loved to sing and paint, and his passions were nurtured at the High School of Industrial Arts in Manhattan.
As he grew older, he developed a love of music listening to artists such as Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong and James ‘Jimmy’ Durante on the radio.
During his teenage years, Bennett sang while waiting tables, before enlisting in the army during the Second World War.
Singer Tony Bennett is shown singing on June 23, 1960
Pic:AP
Frank Sinatra poses with Tony Bennett
He served in the Battle of the Bulge – the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front, launched in 1944 through the forested Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg – and participated in the liberation of a concentration camp, according to his official website biography.
Breakthrough in music
During his time in Europe, he performed with military bands and, following his return to America, he went on to have vocal studies at the American Theatre Wing School in New York.
The singer’s first nightclub performance came in 1946, alongside trombonist Tyree Glenn at the Shangri-La in Queens’ Astoria neighbourhood.
Actress-singer Anita Gillette, left, musician Chuck Berry, singer Tony Bennett and jazz musician Lionel Hampton in 1981.
Pic:AP
Ray Charles, left, and Tony Bennett are shown at the Larabee Studios in Los Angeles Jan. 4, 1986
Pic:AP
Three years later came his big break, when comedian Bob Hope noticed him working with actress and singer Pearl Bailey in Greenwich Village. At the time, he was performing under the stage name of Joe Bari.
Bennett’s first singles came in the 1950s, including chart-toppers Because Of You, Rags To Riches, and a remake of Hank Williams’ Cold, Cold Heart.
Dozens more singles followed and his voice took him around the world, selling millions of records and performing to sold-out venues – as well as for numerous stars and presidents.
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Life away from the stage
A father of four, Bennett was married three times.
At his wedding to first wife Patricia Beech in 1952, some two thousand female fans reportedly gathered outside the ceremony, dressed in black in mock mourning.
Singer Tony Bennett and his wife Susan Crow, pictured in 2013
The couple went on to have two sons, Danny and Dae, before they separated.
Bennett went on to marry actress Sandra Grant, with whom he had daughters Joanna and Antonia, and in 2007 married long-term partner Susan Crow, now Susan Benedetto.
Among his many gongs for his music, Bennett was also honoured with the Martin Luther King Center’s “salute to greatness” award for his efforts in fighting racial discrimination, after joining the activist in the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march in 1965.
Entertainment
Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’
Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.
Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.
However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
The Avon & Somerset force started investigating the Irish group’s show last month, as well as comments by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.
Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.
The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA
Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.
They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.
Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.
The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.
The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.
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One of the group’s members appeared in court in June charged with a terror offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.
He was released on unconditional bail ahead of a second court appearance in August.
Entertainment
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
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