- Tony Bennett has reportedly died at the age of 96.
- The musician won 18 Grammys throughout his career, including a lifetime achievement award.
- Bennett is survived by his wife Susan Benedetto and his four children.
Tony Bennett, the legendary jazz singer-songwriter, has died, according to reports by the Associated Press and the New York Times.
He was 96.
Bennett, whose full name was Anthony Dominick Benedetto, was born in Queens, New York, on August 3, 1926. He studied music and painting at the New York High School of Industrial Arts, but dropped out when he was 16 years old to help support his family with a job as a waiter.
Before beginning his career in the music industry, he served in the US Army during World War II from 1944 to 1946.
In his 1994 autobiography, “The Good Life: The Autobiography of Tony Bennett,” he was candid about his war experiences overseas, which made him a pacifist for the rest of his life.
Tony Bennett approached by autograph seekers after a performance on Oct. 4, 1951.
AP
“Anybody who thinks that war is romantic obviously hasn’t gone through one,” Bennett wrote.
After he was discharged, Bennett went on to study the bel canto discipline at New York City’s American Theatre Wing.
He rose to prominence in the 1950s after touring with Bob Hope — who initially told Bennett that he didn’t like his stage name at the time (Joe Bari) and shortened his real name to be what we know today.Â
Bennett signed with Columbia Records shortly after, and got his first hit single in 1951 with “Because of You.” He then began to collaborate with many top jazz musicians of the time, including Count Basie, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, and Art Blakey.
In 1962, he released one of his staple songs, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” which peaked at No. 19 on Billboard’s Top 100 chart.
Tony Bennett performed on ABC’s “Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell” on November 22, 1975.
ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images
But the singer went through a lull in his musical career in the late 70s. He left Columbia Records in 1972, and was briefly signed to MGM records, but ended up leaving them to start his own record company.
Aside from his career woes during that time, Bennett’s personal life was also at its lowest.
In the 70s, he dealt with what he described as the “darkest period of his life” while battling drug addiction and financial troubles, which he revealed in his 2011 autobiography, “All the Things You Are: The Life of Tony.”
Bennett also had two divorces. One in 1971 to his first wife, Patricia Beech, with whom he had two children, and another in 1984 with Sandra Grant, with whom he also had two children.
His career took a turn for the better when his son, Danny Bennett, began to manage him in 1986. He re-signed with Columbia Records and released “The Art of Excellence,” which became his first hit album since 1972.
Tony Bennett with the Grammy he received for best traditional pop vocal for “Perfectly Frank” at the 35th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California on Feb. 24, 1993.
AP
The musician won 18 Grammys throughout his decades-long career, including the lifetime achievement award in 2001. He’s also won two Emmys and was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997.
Bennett also found great success in reaching a younger audience after appearing on MTV’s “Unplugged” in 1994, which resulted in the platinum studio album, “MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett.”
The New York Times praised him for his resilience in the entertainment industry in a review of the album.
“Tony Bennett has not just bridged the generation gap; he has demolished it,” the review read. “He has solidly connected with a younger crowd weaned on rock. And there have been no compromises.”
Bennett continued to expand his collaborations with artists from across genres and generations, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera, Juanes, and Lady Gaga.
In 2014, Bennett and Gaga recorded a joint studio album, “Cheek to Cheek,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
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In addition to his storied music career, Bennett was also a painter.
The United Nations commissioned him for two paintings, and three of his paintings are part of the Smithsonian Museum’s permanent exhibit. In 2017, 40 of his paintings were displayed in the exhibit, “Tony Bennett: Celebrating 90 Years of Artistry,” at New York City’s Paley Center for Media.
“I’ve always done the two things that I love to do, which is sing and paint, and it’s wonderful being honored about it,” he told Reuters in an interview at the exhibit.
Tony Bennett posed for a photo with one of his paintings at Ella Fitzgerald’s 100th Birthday Celebration & Ella Fitzgerald Day Proclamation at The Rainbow Room on April 25, 2017.
Monica Schipper/FilmMagic via Getty Images
Bennett and his wife, former public school teacher Susan Benedetto, whom he had a long-term relationship with since the 80s before marrying in 2007, founded Exploring the Arts. The charitable organization is dedicated to strengthening the arts in public high school education.
They also founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in 2001, which Bennett named after his friend, Frank Sinatra. The school is located in his hometown of Astoria, a neighborhood in Queens, New York.
Bennett is survived by his wife Susan Benedetto and his four children, Dae Bennett, Danny Bennett, Antonia Bennett, and Joanna Bennett.