Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett (born August 3, 1926) is an American popular music, standards, and jazz singer who is widely considered to be one of the best interpretative singers in these genres.

A growing artistry

In 1955 Bennett released his first long-playing album, Cloud 7, which showed Bennett's jazz leanings.

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In 1957 Ralph Sharon became Bennett's pianist and musical director. Sharon told Bennett that a career singing "sweet saccharine songs like 'Blue Velvet'" wouldn't last long, and encouraged Bennett to focus even more on his jazz inclinations.

Related Topics:
1957 - Ralph Sharon - Pianist

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The result was the 1957 album Beat of My Heart. It used well-known jazz musicians such as Herbie Mann and Nat Adderley, with a strong emphasis on percussion from the likes of Art Blakey, Jo Jones, Latin star Candido, and Chico Hamilton. The album was both popular and critically praised.

Related Topics:
Herbie Mann - Nat Adderley - Art Blakey - Jo Jones - Candido - Chico Hamilton

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Bennett followed this by working with the Count Basie Orchestra, becoming the first male pop vocalist to sing with Basie's band. The albums Basie Swings, Bennett Sings (1958) and In Person! Tony Bennett/Count Basie and his Orchestra (1959) were the well-regarded fruits of this collaboration, with "Chicago" being one of the standout songs.

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Bennett also built up the quality and reputation of his nightclub act; in this he was following the path of Sinatra and other top jazz and standards singers of this era. Bennett also appeared on television; he sang on the first night of both the Johnny Carson The Tonight Show and The Merv Griffin Show. In June 1962 Bennett staged a highly-promoted concert performance at Carnegie Hall, using a stellar lineup of musicians including Al Cohn, Kenny Burrell, and Candido, as well as the Ralph Sharon Trio. The concert featured 44 songs, including favorites like "I've Got the World on a String" and "The Best Is Yet To Come". It was a big success, and further cemented Bennett's reputation as a star both at home and abroad.

Related Topics:
Nightclub - Johnny Carson - The Tonight Show - The Merv Griffin Show - 1962 - Carnegie Hall - Al Cohn - Kenny Burrell

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Also in 1962 Bennett released the song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco". Although this only reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100, it spent close to a year on various other charts and increased Bennett's exposure. The album of the same title was a top 5 hit and both the single and album achieved gold record status. The song won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Male Solo Vocal Performance, and over the years would become known as Bennett's signature song. In 2001 it was ranked 23rd on an RIAA/NEA list of the most historically significant Songs of the 20th Century.

Related Topics:
I Left My Heart in San Francisco - Gold record - Grammy Awards - Record of the Year - Best Male Solo Vocal Performance - Signature song - RIAA - NEA - Songs of the 20th Century

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Bennett's following album, I Wanna Be Around (1963) was also a top 5 success, with the title track and "The Good Life" each reaching the top 20 of the pop singles chart and the top 10 of the Adult Contemporary chart.

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The next year brought The Beatles and the British Invasion, and with them still more musical and cultural attention to rock and less to pop, standards, and jazz. Over the next couple of years Bennett had minor hits with several albums and singles based on show tunes – his last top 40 single was the #34 "If I Ruled the World" from Pickwick in 1965 – but his commercial fortunes were clearly starting to decline. An attempt to break into acting with a role in the 1966 film The Oscar was not well received.

Related Topics:
The Beatles - British Invasion - Show tunes - Pickwick - Acting - The Oscar

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A firm believer in the American Civil Rights movement, Bennett participated in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. http://www.alabamamoments.state.al.us/sec59det.html Years later he would continue this commitment by refusing to perform in apartheid South Africa.

Related Topics:
American Civil Rights movement - Selma to Montgomery marches - Apartheid - South Africa

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