![(Seoul=AP/Newsis) Tony Bennett](https://realkpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/NISI20230721_0000360985_web.jpg)
(Seoul=AP/Newsis) Tony Bennett
Reporter Lee Jae-hoon = American jazz and pop master Tony Bennett, who passed away on the 21st (local time) at the age of 97, deserves to be called a ‘master of perseverance’.
This maestro, who stood out for his clear and warm musical interpretation, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016. Nonetheless, Bennett continued performing and recording. The last public stage was a show titled ‘One Last Time’ with American pop star Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall in August 2021.
Bennett has been more than consistent throughout his 70-year career. He has performed hundreds of times in concerts and clubs. In more than 150 recordings, he was dedicated to preserving classic American popular songs written by the likes of Cole Porter, Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and Rogers and Hammerstein. That is why he is called the ‘Great American Songbook’.
From his early success as a ‘jazz crooner’ (singer who sang in a soft and profound tone style) who wowed audiences at Times Square’s Paramount in the early 1950s, to his old age when he sang with younger singers in duets of songs from various genres and generations, Bennett possessed a sublimity that transcended the times.
The song that brought Bennett to stardom both in name and reality was “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” composed by George Cory and Douglass Cross, released in 1962. It was a song that Ralph Sharon, a pianist who had worked with Bennett, had been sitting in a drawer for two years. During the tour, the two were convinced that this song would be responsible for future performances. And as expected, this song was a big hit. And Bennett won the Grammy Awards ‘Record of the Year’ and ‘Male Artist of the Year’ for this song. It was his first Grammy award.
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(Seoul=AP/Newsis) Tony Bennett
Bennett sang ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’ for a long time. In fact, for half a century Bennett was a staunch New Yorker, but because of this song, a significant part of the public thought he was a San Francisco citizen. Bennett said he was often asked if he ever got tired of singing this song, and whenever he did, he replied: “Are you ever tired of making love?”
However, as rock and roll gained momentum in the 1960s and 1970s, Bennett’s preferred music gradually lost ground. A growing number of record producers are convinced that “it’s been pushed into a dusty void that only old people and people with nostalgia for a bygone era can hear.”
Bennett stubbornly resisted this atmosphere. He worked tirelessly to carry some of the greatest American pop singers of the 20th century into the 21st, including Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, and Frank Sinatra.
MTV’s ‘Unplugged’ live recording released in 1994 is a representative example. It is a live recording of a performance performed for MTV’s ‘Unplugged’ series, including duets with Canadian pop star KD Lang and British pop star Elvis Costello.
In 2006, ‘Duets: American Classic’ and ‘The Beatles’ Paul McCartney, Elton John, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, U2 Bono, George Michael, Celine Dion and other famous singers participated. Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones, Natalie Cole, Andrea Bocelli, Mariah Carey and Amy Winehouse added their voices to ‘Duet II’, which also included a personality to celebrate Bennett’s 85th birthday in 2011, five years later.
![(Seoul=AP/Newsis) Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga](https://realkpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/NISI20230721_0000361159_web.jpg)
(Seoul=AP/Newsis) Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga
In 2014, at the age of 88, she topped the US Billboard main album chart ‘Billboard 200’ with her album ‘Cheek To Cheek’ with Gaga, setting the record for the oldest singer on that chart.
Bennett was also a progressive figure. In 1965, he participated in the ‘Selma-Montgomery March’, a group of protesters demanding black suffrage. At the time, he held rallies and performed with Harry Belafonte and Sammy Davis Jr. He also performed for then South African President Nelson Mandela on a state visit to the UK in 1996.
In all, he has received 20 Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Of these, 17 were received after the age of 60. At last year’s Grammy Awards, they received the ‘traditional pop vocal album’ for their album ‘Love for Sale’ released the year before last. Some estimate that Bennett’s albums have sold over 60 million copies.
In fact, the secret of Bennett’s popularity is not easy to analyze. “I’m not a singer with fluent singing ability, nor a singer with a special career. I don’t have Crosby’s luscious timbre, Sinatra’s frantic swing, or Armstrong’s distinctive tone” (The New York Times).
![(Seoul=AP/Newsis) Tony Bennett](https://realkpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/NISI20230721_0000360983_web.jpg)
(Seoul=AP/Newsis) Tony Bennett
However, the New York Times interpreted, “Bennett has the elegance of a storyteller, the certainty of a jazzman along with the melody. Above all, he conveys the gentleness of his best performances to the audience.” “The songs he loved and sang, such as ‘Just in Time’ and ‘The Best Is Old to Come,’ became a charming and metaphor for embracing life.”
Sinatra, whom Bennett considered a mentor and friend, told Life magazine in 1965: “Tony Bennett, in my opinion, is the best singer in this field. He excites me every time I see him. It moves me. He is a singer who understands what composers are thinking.”
Bennett also maintained a good public image into old age. Even in his brief review, it is difficult to find light criticism of him. Even the outspoken liberals and right-wingers couldn’t bring out vitriol against him.
The New York Times reported, “Everyone seemed to love Bennett except for his ex-wives. Skeptics sometimes tried to pierce his perceived flawless appearance, but realized there wasn’t much to pierce.”