Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Remembering Tony Bennett's Legacy With People Who Knew And Loved Him
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga at the Montreal Jazz Festival.
(
Kevin Mazur
/
Getty Images
)
Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless musician known for his warm persona and jazz-influenced style, died on Friday. He was 96 and two weeks shy of this birthday.
Bennett's devotion to classic American songs brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, which whom he won a Grammy for their album "Love for Sale."
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 08: Singers Lady Gaga (L) and Tony Bennett, winners of Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for 'Cheek to Cheek,' pose in the press room during The 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards at the STAPLES Center on February 8, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
(
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
/
Getty Images North America
)
Our newsroom's AirTalk show talked on Friday to three guests about Bennett's legacy and their unique relationships with the star whose voice and song choices remained relevant all the way until the end of his life.
Support for LAist comes from
Over the years, Bennett collaborated with a wide range of artists including Aretha Franklin, Lady Gaga, Willie Nelson, Amy Winehouse, and many more.
Considered the last of the great saloon singers of the mid-20th century, Bennett often said his lifelong ambition was to create “a hit catalog rather than hit records.” He released more than 70 albums, bringing him 19 competitive Grammys — all but two after he reached his 60s — and enjoyed deep and lasting affection from fans and fellow artists.
Bennett was praised often by his peers, but never more meaningfully than by what Sinatra said in a 1965 Life magazine interview: “For my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business. He excites me when I watch him. He moves me. He’s the singer who gets across what the composer has in mind, and probably a little more.”
What Bennett was like off the stage
Clayton Cameron, Bennett’s drummer of 13 years, said it was moments offstage that really captured his essence. During long European tours, Bennett "would always travel with his watercolors" and would "find a hillside somewhere and do a landscape watercolor."
"He was a teacher of art," Cameron said.
Support for LAist comes from
Will Friedwald, a music journalist and co-author of “The Good Life: The Autobiography Of Tony Bennett, said Bennett was the same person onstage as he was offstage.
"He was exactly what you saw on screen—incredible warmth," said Friedwald.
About Bennett's artistry
Michael Feinstein is an ambassador for the Great American Songbook, a non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating the standards of pop, jazz, Broadway and Hollywood. He also is principal conductor for the Pasadena Pops and a five-time Grammy nominee.
He said Bennett "cared so much about the songs, the lyrics, the melodies. It was fascinating listening to him talk about songs and songwriters because he had a reverence for them."
Bennett was known as a gifted storyteller. His song I Left My Heart in San Francisco, earned him two Grammy awards and was his signature song — forever tied to his legacy.
"Even though he was very jazz-influenced," Feinstein said, "he stuck to the page most of the time. It was about telling the story and interpreting the lyric."
Support for LAist comes from
MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 29: US Singers Tony Bennett (L) and Patti LaBelle perform 29 January 1995 during the haltime show of Super Bowl XXIX in Miami. The San Francisco 49ers are leading the San Diego Chargers 42-18 in the third quarter. (COLOR KEY: LaBelle's dress red) AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read DOUG COLLIER/AFP via Getty Images)
(
DOUG COLLIER/AFP via Getty Images
/
AFP
)
"Tony thought profoundly and intensely about everything he sang," said Friedwald.
Friedwald emphasized Bennett's ability to absorb lyrics and music even though he'd never been to music school.
"Some people are charming," Friedwald said, "but he was beyond charming."
Listen to the full conversation here.
Listen
• 19:47
Remembering Tony Bennett, Timeless Musician
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist