Tony Bennett Died
As you’ve probably heard by now, Tony Bennett died Friday at his home in New York. He was 96 years old. He’d been battling Alzheimer’s, and he retired from touring and performing in 2021.
Tony released more than 60 albums from 1950 to 2014 . . . 44 of them hit the Billboard 200. He also won 16 Grammys.
He’s probably best known to younger generations for his duets, with artists like Elvis Costello, k.d. lang, Bono, Elton John, Amy Winehouse and, of course, Lady Gaga.
Tony’s signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”, peaked at #19 in 1961. Tony said music was basically passing him by at the time, but he stuck to his guns.
Quote, “I was advised to try all sorts of tricks and gimmicks. I held out and finally found ‘San Francisco’.”
Tony survived a cocaine overdose in 1979, and kicked his drug habit shortly after.
In 1994, he got his own “MTV Unplugged” special. His 2011 album “Duets 2” made him the only artist to have a #1 album at the age of 85.
Tony marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965, raised millions for juvenile diabetes, received a Kennedy Center Honor, and has paintings in the Smithsonian.
