Anthony Dominick Benedetto is 84 this year, and still going strong. The son of Italian immigrants,  he was raised in New York city, and began his singing career at a very early age.  As a child he grew up listening to classic singers like Al Jolson, Judy Garland, Eddie Cantor, but he will always be compared to various of his contemporaries who mined the same catalog of  jazz standards, ballads, and show tunes—- Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole.  Of these only Cole was really a writer of original tunes, and so Bennett had to learn to pick tunes that suited his voice and talents, tunes that were excellent both musically and lyrically, and then the trick was to perform them impeccably, placing one’s own stamp on the tune, while being faithful to its classic structure and melody.   His first real hit came in 1951, the year I was born, entitled ‘Because of You’.  He embarked on his musical career after serving in the Army in WWII.   In fact he was pretty much discovered by Pearl Bailey, and then got his first big break when Bob Hope heard him sing in N.Y. and was responsible for him adopting the stage name of  Tony Bennett. Of course his first major hit was “I Left my Heart in San Francisco’ (1962) which propelled him to another stratosphere of popularity, and it is safe to say he has largely remained there ever since, as a list of his Grammy and Emmy awards will show.

• Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male, 1963, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco“
• Record of the Year, 1963, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco“
• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, 1993, Perfectly Frank
• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, 1994, Steppin’ Out
• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, 1995, MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett
• Album of the Year, 1995, MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett
• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, 1997, Here’s to the Ladies
• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, 1998, Tony Bennett on Holiday
• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, 2000, Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool
• Lifetime Achievement Award, 2001
• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, 2003, Playing with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues
• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, 2004, A Wonderful World (with k.d. lang)
• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, 2006, The Art of Romance
• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, 2007, Duets: An American Classic
• Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, 2007, “For Once in My Life” (with Stevie Wonder)

Bennett has won two Emmy Awards,
as follows (years shown are the year in which the ceremony was held and
the award was given, not the year in which the program aired):

• Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program, 1996, Live by Request
• Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program, 2007, Tony Bennett: An American Classic

If I were to have to choose some CDs as a starter kit for those wanting to learn a bit about the Bennett magic and ouevre without listening to all 70 of his releases I would say start with the two wonderful Bennett and Bill Evans CDs to see how he handles a stripped down elegant way of dealing with classics. Then progress to the classic ‘I left my heart…’ album. If you want to see him stretch out with contemporary singers and try different things try one of his Duets CDs.  I enjoy hearing him sing Frank Sinatra’s tunes as well, and of course there are the inevitable Greatest Hits CDs.  But if you really want to sample Bennett the jazz singer try not only his Sinatra CD, but especially his Duke Ellington tribute CD.

What you may not know about Tony is that he is also an excellent and accomplished painter, painting under his Italian name,  Benedetto, and there are several major collections of his works.  The man is irrepressible and still going strong…..and I am telling you all this because,  tonight, Oct. 4th I finally caught up with him at the Norton Center for the Performing Arts in  Danville Ky. at Centre College, and it was pure magic.  Its a concert my Mom and Dad would have loved- all class and no trash,  no noise masquerading as if it were music.
The big surprise of the night, besides the power still in that 84 year old voice, and Tony’s energy, was his daughter, Antonia Bennett, a tall red head who came out and sang four songs first.  She was not bad, and did a nice duet with her Dad.  As for Dad, he is a showman extraordinaire and you can tell how much he loves the songs of Gershwin, Porter, Mercer, Charlie Chaplin (‘Smile’) and others.  What struck me the most was the quality of the lyrics of many of these songs, which was certainly a rarity in the rock era.   If you get a chance to see this living legend, you should go.  A good time is had by all.  I’ve never seen an entertainer get more applause than this man.