Tony Bennett was the last of his kind, he died at the age of 96 and the trial against Trump over the documents affair will begin in May 2024.

He was the last of his kind, the last of the great singers of the golden post-war era. A time when nothing counted except the voice and the quality of the vocals. And Tony Bennett had outlived them all: Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole. Now the “grand old man” of the “Great American Songbook”, the last link for Elvis Presley and the rock and roll revolution, has passed away at the age of 96.

Tony Bennett was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926 in Queens, New York. As a young GI, he was still at the front in France and Germany during World War II. It was a “front row seat in hell,” he said. Back in the US, he launched his career with songs like “Because of You”, “Rags to Riches” and then the hit that would accompany him throughout his life, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”.

Frank Sinatra called him the best

In the early 1950s, he became one of the most popular singers in the US. and reached the top of the US charts. Frank Sinatra personally chose Bennett, who was ten years his junior, as his successor: “Tony is the best in the business. He’s the singer who conveys everything a composer had in mind – and probably a little bit more.”

Over the course of his long career, he won 19 Grammys and sold over 50 million records. Of course, Bennett’s career was anything but easy. In the 1970s, when hit purveyors like Elton John, Abba, and Queen set the tone of pop culture, Bennett found himself in crisis. Record sales were slow, but he steadfastly refused to adapt to the pop music zeitgeist and interpret current pop material. That’s why he stopped recording for almost a decade and kept his head above water with performances in Las Vegas. The IRS seized his home and a cocaine overdose nearly killed him.

Recordings with pop stars brought him a new audience

Shooting in the MTV Unplugged series in 1994 sparked what is probably the most astounding comeback in pop history. Duets with pop stars such as Elvis Costello, Bono, Celine Dion, Billy Joel, Elton John, Paul McCartney, George Michael, Barbra Streisand and Stevie Wonder brought him a new, younger audience. But here too he did not deviate from his path and, as always, interpreted American standards from a bygone era. “The songs I like don’t get played on the radio,” he said.

Bennett achieved the most success with the album “Cheek To Cheek”, which he recorded in 2014 with the 60-year-old pop paradise Lady Gaga. He also performed with Lady Gaga at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Bennett is “the ultimate gentleman,” praised the 60-year-old pop diva. “He taught me so much about jazz. About life.”

He ended his career two years ago

The 2021 album “Love For Sale” should continue the success story of the uneven duet. Shortly before, the two gave two concerts at Radio City Hall in New York, and more concerts were planned. A week later, the tour was canceled and the 95-year-old memorial had to say goodbye to the stage on medical advice. Since 2015, Bennett has been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. He has “less and less moments of clarity and awareness”. At that moment a beautiful career came to an end. Now, about two weeks before his 97th birthday, the musician died in New York on Friday at the age of 96. (aargauerzeitung.ch)