American singer Tony Bennett dies aged 96
ITV News' Robert Moore looks back at Tony Bennett's impact on the industry
American singer Tony Bennett has died aged 96, just two weeks before his birthday.
Well know for his performances with Frank Sinatra and Lady Gaga, the singer sold millions of records, released more than 70 albums and won 20 Grammy awards.
Having released his first album in 1952 when he was in his mid-20s, he went on to chart in the US in each decade of his life.
Publicist Sylvia Weiner confirmed to The Associated Press the jazz singer died in his home town of New York.
There was no specific cause given, but Bennett had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016.One of the last great saloon singers of the mid-20th century, Bennett often said his lifelong ambition was to create "a hit catalog rather than hit records."
In 2014, at age 88, Bennett broke his own record as the oldest living performer with a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart for “Cheek to Cheek,” his duets project with Lady Gaga.
Three years earlier, he topped the charts with “Duets II,” featuring such contemporary stars as Gaga, Carrie Underwood and Amy Winehouse, in her last studio recording.
His relationship with Winehouse was captured in the Oscar-nominated documentary “Amy,” which showed Bennett patiently encouraging the insecure young singer through a performance of “Body and Soul.”
His final album, the 2021 release “Love for Sale,” featured duets with Lady Gaga on the title track, “Night and Day” and other Porter songs.For Bennett, one of the few performers to move easily between pop and jazz, such collaborations were part of his crusade to expose new audiences to what he called the Great American Songbook.
'This is who I am': Counting Frank Sinatra and Lady Gaga among his admirers, Tony Bennett's career as a timeless stylist won him 20 Grammys and saw him release over 70 albums
However in his early 40s, he was seemingly out of fashion. But after turning 60, an age when even the most popular artists often settle for just pleasing their older fans, Bennett and his son and manager, Danny, found creative ways to market the singer to the MTV Generation.
He made guest appearances on “Late Night with David Letterman” and became a celebrity guest artist on “The Simpsons.”
He wore a black T-shirt and sunglasses as a presenter with the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the 1993 MTV Music Video Awards, and his own video of “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” from his Grammy-winning Fred Astaire tribute album ended up on MTV’s hip “Buzz Bin.”
That led to an offer in 1994 to do an episode of “MTV Unplugged” with special guests Elvis Costello and k.d. lang. The evening’s performance resulted in the album, “Tony Bennett: MTV Unplugged,” which won two Grammys, including album of the year.
As rock overtook traditional pop, he clashed with Columbia label head Clive Davis, who insisted that the singer do the 1970 album “Tony Sings the Great Hits of Today,” with such songs as “MacArthur Park” and “Little Green Apples.”
Bennett left Columbia in 1972, and went on to form his own record label, Improv, which in 1975-76 produced two duet albums with the impressionistic pianist Bill Evans now considered jazz classics.
Despite artistic successes, Improv proved a financial disaster for Bennett, who also faced difficulties in his personal life.
His marriage to artist Patricia Beech collapsed in 1971. He wed actress Sandra Grant the same year, but that marriage ended in 1984.
With no recording deals, his debts brought him close to bankruptcy and the IRS was trying to seize his house in Los Angeles.
After a near-fatal drug overdose in 1979, he turned to his son, Danny, who eventually signed on as his manager.
Bennett kicked his drug habit and got his finances in order, moved back to New York and resumed doing more than 200 shows a year.Bennett credited his mother, Anna, with teaching him a valuable lesson as he watched her working at home, supporting her three children as a seamstress doing piecework after his father died.
He is survived by his wife Susan, daughters Johanna and Antonia, sons Danny and Dae and nine grandchildren.
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