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 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.
Sinatra’s eldest daughter Nancy was among those paying tribute.
“Tony was one of the most splendid people who ever lived. Kind, loving, talented and generous, he never let us down… Tony was a true champion,” she wrote on Twitter.
Read more:
How a compliment from his idol Sinatra changed Bennett’s career
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, Bennett was an entertainer beloved by all generations; Lady 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.
Her father, Mitch Winehouse, described Bennett as “wonderful” and said he had been hugely supportive of the charity set up in her name.
He told Sky News: “You saw how he was with Lady Gaga and Amy. With younger singers he was an absolute diamond.
“In so many ways he helped us at our foundation… a totally wonderful guy.”
Tony Bennett poses with his Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2003
Bennett performs with Lady Gaga
Musicians pay tribute
Other big names honouring the crooner included Elton John, who said in a statement on Facebook: “So sad to hear of Tony’s passing. Without doubt the classiest singer, man, and performer you will ever see.
“He’s irreplaceable. I loved and adored him.”
The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards tweeted: “May you Rest in Peace,” while country music singer Keith Urban said: “What a legacy of not only superb timeless music, but a class act study in cool, grace, and elegance.”
DJ and producer Brendan Jay Sullivan worked with Bennett several times, including on his duet with Lady Gaga.
He told Sky News that his music transcended generations, adding: “Tony Bennet created a way to slow down the time warp and slow down time between us.
“[He was a] wonderful time bridge between millennials and our dads – and our grandparents even.”
Producer and guitarist Nile Rodgers also paid tribute on Twitter. He wrote: “My most heartfelt condolences go out to Tony Bennett’s family and friends. They’re also my emotional family and friends.”
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea wrote on Instagram: “I love the immortal Tony Bennett, what a dude, what a class act, what a singer. so grateful to have shared a stage with him. A beautiful human being.”
Outside the world of music, the Reverend Jesse Jackson paid tribute by praising Bennett for his civil rights work in the US.
The veteran campaigner said: “He marched with us in 1964. He was dedicated to civil and human rights and to the arts. He will live as long as we remember him.”
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.
Donald Trump could meet Vladimir Putin in person as early as next week to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine, a White House official has said.
They said the meeting would be conditional on the Russian president meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sky News’s US partner network NBC News reported.
It came days before the White House’s deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or face severe economic penalties, which could also target countries buying its oil.
Asked during a news conference at the White House if the talks would take place, Mr Trump said: “There’s a very good prospect that they will.”
He said it had not been determined where the talks would take place, but added: “We had some very good talks with President Putin today.”
However, he said: “I’ve been disappointed before with this one.”
Asked if Mr Putin made any kind of concession to lead to the development, Mr Trump did not give much away, but added: “We’ve been working on this a long time. There are thousands of young people dying, mostly soldiers, but also, you know, missiles being hit into Kyiv and other places.”
More tariffs ‘could happen’
Mr Trump also said he could announce further tariffs on China similar to the 25% he announced on India over its purchases of Russian oil.
“Could happen,” he said, after saying he expected to announce more secondary sanctions intended to pressure Russia into ending its war with Ukraine.
Earlier, he imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, on top of a previous 25% tariff, over its continued purchases of Russian oil.
India’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the additional tariffs were “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.
Vladimir Putin welcomes Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Moscow. Pic: Sputnik/Reuters
It came after Mr Putin held talks with Mr Trump‘s special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow, with the meeting lasting around three hours.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said Mr Witkoff “had a highly productive meeting” with Mr Putin in which “great progress was made”.
He said he had updated America’s European allies, and they will work towards an end to the Russia-Ukraine war “in the days and weeks to come”.
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Correspondents in Washington and Moscow break down a busy day of diplomacy
‘The war must end’
Mr Zelenskyy later said he and Mr Trump spoke on the phone after the meeting. He said “European leaders also participated in the conversation” and “we discussed what was said in Moscow”.
He added: “Our common position with our partners is absolutely clear: The war must end. We all need lasting and reliable peace. Russia must end the war that it started.”
Mr Zelenskyy later said: “It seems that Russia is now more inclined to agree to a ceasefire.”
He added that the pressure on Moscow “is working”, without elaborating, and stressed it was important to make sure Russia does not “deceive us or the United States” when it comes to “the details” of a potential agreement.
America’s vaccine-sceptic health secretary has announced $500m (£375.8m) worth of cuts to their development in the country.
The US health department is cancelling contracts and pulling funding for jabs to fight viruses like COVID-19 and the flu, it was announced on Tuesday.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, known as RFK Jr, said 22 projects developing mRNA vaccines will be halted. It is the latest in a series of decisions to reduce US vaccine programmes.
Read more: Who is Donald Trump’s health chief?
The health secretary has fired the panel that makes vaccine recommendations, reduced recommendations for COVID-19 shots, and refused to endorse vaccines despite a worsening measles outbreak.
RFK Jr claims the US will now prioritise “safer, broader vaccine strategies, like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms that don’t collapse when viruses mutate”.
Responding to the announcement of cuts, Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations, said: “I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business.”
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Is US politics fuelling a deadly measles outbreak?
Dr Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said RFK Jr’s move was short-sighted and that mRNA vaccines “certainly saved millions of lives”, including during the pandemic.
MRNA vaccines work by delivering a snippet of genetic code into the body that triggers an immune response, rather than introducing a real version of the virus.
According to the UK Health Security Agency, the “leading advantage of mRNA vaccines is that they can be designed and produced more quickly than traditional vaccines”.
Moderna, which was studying a combo mRNA shot that can tackle COVID and flu for the US health department, previously said it believed mRNA could speed up production of flu jabs compared with traditional vaccines.
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A COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic. File pic: PA
Scientists are also exploring how mRNA could be used in cancer immunotherapies and in other illnesses.
At the White House earlier this year, billionaire tech entrepreneur Larry Ellison praised mRNA for its potential to treat cancer.
RFK Jr touts ‘effective’ alternative
The health department said the abandoned mRNA projects signal a “shift in vaccine development priorities.”
“Let me be absolutely clear, HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,” Mr Kennedy said in a statement.
Later, he said work is underway on an alternative – a “universal vaccine” that mimics “natural immunity”.
“It could be effective – we believe it’s going to be effective – against not only coronaviruses, but also flu,” he said.
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