The renowned musician died on Friday, July 21 at 96.
Photos by Star Tribune staff
New York Times
July 21, 2023 — 4:15pm
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Tony Bennett during a performance with the Count Basie Orchestra at the Apollo Theater in the Harlem neighborhood of New York on Dec. 16, 2008. Bennett, a singer whose melodic clarity, jazz-influenced phrasing, audience-embracing persona and warm, deceptively simple interpretations of musical standards helped spread the American songbook around the world and won him generations of fans, died on Friday, July 21, 2023 in New York City. He was 96.
New York Times
Tony Bennett on Oct. 4, 1951. In 1950 he was singing for $75 a week in a Greenwich Village nightclub in New York. He made a photograph record or two and they sold quite well, but still made little headway. Then, in September, his record zoomed to the two top spots in the Billboard popularity poll.
Wide World
Tony Bennett on May 10, 1960.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Tony Bennett with Judy Garland at The Judy Garland Show, Dec. 12, 1963.
Globe Photos/Zuma Press Wire/TNS
Tony Bennett on July 6, 1964.
Columbia Records, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Tony Bennett rehearses 'How Insensitive' on Aug. 21, 1964. Ralph Sharon was at the piano, Billy Eximer at drums, singer Tony Bennett leaned against a wall and stared through the smoke of his cigarette at a small tape recorder on the table. Around the table sat the Ralph Sharon Trio - pianist Ralph Sharon, bass player Hal Gaylor and drummer Billy Eximer. He and the trio will appear with Duke Ellington and his orchestra at 8 p.m. on Aug. 22 at Metropolitan Stadium. Bennett arrived in Minneapolis a few days early to check the stage, lighting, microphones, and acoustics.
William Seaman, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Mrs. Leon Christiansen, left, daughter, Karen. Singer Tony Bennett arrived on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1964 in Minneapolis smiling gamely about playing a supermarket and a ball park. "There 's a first time for everything," Bennett said about his appearance at the Red Owl Store in Coon Rapids, Minn.
Dwight Miller, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Tony Bennett on Aug. 18, 1964.
Dwight Miller, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Mike Douglas and Tony Bennett generate great vibrations as they join musical forces on The Mike Douglas Show on Monday, Feb. 5, 1973. Also joining Mike and cohost Bennett are comedian Pat Cooper, Mike Curb, president of MGM Records, The New Seekers, and film critic Rex Reed.
Tony Bennett performs in the Newport Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall in New York on June 25, 1976. Bennett, a singer whose melodic clarity, jazz-influenced phrasing, audience-embracing persona and warm, deceptively simple interpretations of musical standards helped spread the American songbook around the world and won him generations of fans, died on Friday, July 21, 2023 in New York City. He was 96.
D. Gorton, New York Times
San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein and singer Tony Bennett, who sang " I Left My Heart in San Francisco," hangs on to the outside of a cable car in San Francisco before taking a test ride, Wednesday, May 2, 1984. Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" graced a decades-long career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga.
Jeff Reinking, Associated Press
Tony Bennett at the Carlton Celebrity Room on Dec. 16, 1983.
Neil McGahee, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Tony Bennett with his art on March 21, 1992, at Wentworth Gallery in Southdale. Bennett painted by the name Anthony Benedetto.
Rick Sennott, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Pop vocalist Tony Bennett performs a free concert in support of Juvenile Diabetes Research Thursday, Sept. 14, 1995, in San Francisco's Union Square. He also signed his own lithographs after the concert.
Ben Margot, Associated Press
Johnny Fiama's (right) fear prevents him from singing with his idol, Tony Bennett (left), so it is up to Johnny's friend, Sal (center), to set things straight, on the "Tony Bennett" episode of Muppets Tonight airing Friday, April 12.
Frank Carroll, ABC
Tony Bennett appears at the Apollo Theater in New York Friday, Jan. 4, 2002, during nomination announcements for the 44th annual Grammy Awards. Bennett was nominated along with Billy Joel for their duet "New York State of Mind," in the category of Pop Collaboration With Vocals.
Tina Fineberg, Associated Press
Singer Tony Bennett kisses the award for outstanding individual performance in a variety of music programs for his work on the "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007, in Los Angeles.
Chris Carlson, Associated Press
Tony Bennett acknowledged the audience's applause after walking on stage for his set at the Orpheum Theatre Sunday, July 28, 2019 in Minneapolis. His daughter, Antonia Bennett, opened for him.
Jeff Wheeler, Star Tribune
Singer Tony Bennett poses for a portrait on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, in New York.
Amy Sussman, Associated Press
Lady Gaga, left, and Tony Bennett pose in the press room with the award for the best traditional pop vocal album for "Cheek to Cheek" at the 57th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, in Los Angeles.
Chris Pizzello, Associated Press
Tony Bennett gives a thumbs up as members San Francisco Boys and Girls Chorus and city and state Chief of Protocol Charlotte Shultz, left, look on, after Bennett's statue was unveiled outside the Fairmont Hotel Friday, Aug. 19, 2016, atop Nob Hill in San Francisco.
Eric Risberg, Associated Press
Tony Bennett performs at the Starkey Hearing Foundation's "So the World May Hear" Awards Gala Sunday, July 12, 2009 in St. Paul.
