RIP Tony Bennett

[B1GEast]

RIP to the Legend and Entertainer.

Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96

Tony Bennett, the eminent stylist and last of the great saloon singers whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" graced a decadeslong career, has died at 96.

apnews.com

 

[Umami Zen]

Sinatra's favorite singer.. Class act and the ultimate professional.. Had the privilege of seeing him live a few times.. Last time was with Diana Krall. A life well-lived.. RIP Tony.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Thought this was for the basketball coach. Tony Bennett was indeed a tremendous entertainer. Not many of his ilk left. RIP.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

Thought this was for the basketball coach. Tony Bennett was indeed a tremendous entertainer. Not many of his ilk left. RIP.

same...minor panic attack

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Wasnt he doing gigs with Lady Gaga up until a few years ago? Pretty incredible for his age

 

[alexd]

It was wild to see him rejuvinate his career in the mid 90's by doing an "MTV Unplugged" with just his trio backing him up. Total class. An icon.

 

[Son of Robert]

I saw Tony at the Bushnell. Dude was an icon man, last of the great singers, timeless music, carried himself really well, lived a long good Life. Took up painting late in Life, which may have contributed to his quality of Life.

 

[storrsroars]

Wasnt he doing gigs with Lady Gaga up until a few years ago? Pretty incredible for his age

I remember listening to the first Bennett/Gaga album and was blown away at how good he still sounded and how well she handled the classics. Fascinating thing with Alzheimer's is how guys like Glen Campbell and Bennett were just about completely checked out mentally, except when it came to their music. Like others said, a life well lived.

 

[Waquoit]

I finally caught him late-career at Jorgensen . He was still great. I always liked him better than Sinatra.

 

[CL82]

It was kind of cool to see the respect that younger singers had for him. Obviously he's done a ton of duets, here's one of my favorites.

 

[Marat]

Wasnt he doing gigs with Lady Gaga up until a few years ago? Pretty incredible for his age

Yes, was fortunate to catch them at Radio City some years back.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

... Fascinating thing with Alzheimer's is how guys like Glen Campbell and Bennett were just about completely checked out mentally, except when it came to their music.

On a more serious note, I offer that my college classmate Al Power has been notably engaged in research, writing, and clinical care around music & memory, and the therapeutic benefits for people with dementia.

At the 49 minute mark, the discussion focuses on the arts. Not sure if the link goes to this point, or to the full hour long interview.

Dementia Beyond Disease Enhancing Well Being

This webinar is the first in the two part series. Dr. Allen Power, Schlegel Chair in Aging and Dementia Innovation, shows the limitations of a traditional v...

youtu.be

 

[RichZ]

Thought this was for the basketball coach. Tony Bennett was indeed a tremendous entertainer. Not many of his ilk left. RIP.

Ditto. Context, setting & recency all contributed to our misconstruing the mention.

As an aside, dealing with the actual subject of the post, I met him in 2000, in Chicago. Myself and a couple friends decided to blow off the meal and cocktail party on the first night of the event we were there for, and went to a highly recommended place for Chicago style deep dish pizza. Waitress gave us a table, kind of in the darkest corner of the room and took our order. 10 minutes later, she asks if we would mind moving to a different table. Actually, it was more like "We have to move you gentlemen to a different table." The reason turned out to be Tony Bennett (and two unidentified younger guys). Halfway through our deep dish he walked over and thanked us for relinquishing his 'usual table'. That was it. Maybe 5 seconds. No handshakes, no conversation other than the thanks. It still seemed pretty cool at the time.

 

[David 76]

A true class act. Legend

 

[UCTitleTown]

End of an era. The last of the Golden Age crooners from my folks' generation.

 

[wingsfan055]

I remember listening to the first Bennett/Gaga album and was blown away at how good he still sounded and how well she handled the classics. Fascinating thing with Alzheimer's is how guys like Glen Campbell and Bennett were just about completely checked out mentally, except when it came to their music. Like others said, a life well lived.

Alzheimer effects both episodic memory as well as procedural memory. Fortunately Bennett still had his procedural memory so when the music came on he could instinctively remember how to perform. It's amazing that he was performing until his last days.