Singer Tony Bennett died at 96

with death Tony Bennett the last of the great disappears singers, singers capable of combining the softness of jazz with a popular song. Like Frank Sinatra, Bennett was synonymous with that era in which elegance, a certain mischievousness and a complete command of the vocal range made them stars.

Bennett was also synonymous with that repertoire known as “the great American songbook”, by authors such as Porter, Gershwin or Rodgers and Hammerstein. But his life was also largely interrupted by the American dream. Born in New York in 1926 to Italian immigrants, his modest circumstances worsened when Anthony’s father, Dominick Benedetto, as he was baptized, died when the boy was 10 years old. He began putting his vocal talent to good use as a waiter who sang while waiting tables.

After spending time in the army — fighting in World War II — his big opportunity came in 1951 with the success because of you, his first number one. in 1962 I left my heart in San Francisco it catapulted him to stardom that distanced him from his teenage idol image – when he married his first wife, in 1952, his fans dressed in mourning.

However, in the sixties, tastes began to change: soul from Motown, Stax and Atlantic, the Beatles and the Stones, The hippies and counterculture… Like others singersBennett found it difficult to adapt his style. He took refuge in the purest jazzas evidenced by his two best albums, two treats recorded with Bill Evansthe one who bears the name and interprets and together again. Marital problems and addictions are obscured this time.

Bennett could have languished in that elephant graveyard that was the Las Vegas theater and casino. Instead, with his son Danny as manager, he embodied one of the greatest comebacks in popular music. From their 1986 album The art of excellence, his stardom was cemented in an undeniable way. Bennett was not only in top form, but knew how to perfectly choose a series of collaborations that connected him with the audience of new generations: Elton John and Paul McCartney, but also George Michael, Diana Krall, Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga. His duet albums, centered, of course, on that American songbook, were celebrated titles and commercial successes in a career that saw him release more than 70 albums—plus compilations—selling more than 50 million copies. He managed to pick up 19 Grammy awards, including one in honor of his spectacular career.

In 2020, it became known that He suffered from Alzheimer’s for four years., although that didn’t stop him from continuing to record. His farewell was with Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall: The last time. This Friday, his representative confirmed his death, effectively ending an era of music.