Legendary jazz and pop singer Tony Bennett dies at 96


Great American pop and jazz vocalist Tony Bennett died Friday at the age of 96, his publicist confirmed to The Associated Press. Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2016 but continued performing until 2021, and leaves behind a legendary career spanning over seven decades.
Bennett got his start as a jazz crooner in the 1950s and went on to release over 70 albums. "Tony Bennett possesses one of the great voices and singing careers of the last 60 years," said John Edward Hasse, music historian who was a former curator of American music at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. "Not very many singers, much less musicians, have achieved that kind of durability." His work won him 19 competitive Grammys and a lifetime achievement award, almost all of them earned after the age of 60.
He first gained widespread notoriety for his recording of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" by George Cory and Douglass Cross. He is also well known for his collaboration with Lady Gaga on the 2014 album "Cheek to Cheek," which made him the oldest artist (88 at the time) to have a number-one record, per The Washington Post. He dedicated his career to preserving American classics by the likes of the Gershwins, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Cole Porter.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I enjoy entertaining the audience, making them forget their problems," Bennett told the AP in 2006. "I think people ... are touched if they hear something that's sincere and honest and maybe has a little sense of humor. ... I just like to make people feel good when I perform."
Bennett is survived by his wife, Susan Benedetto; his two sons, Danny and Dae Bennett; his daughters, Johanna Bennett and Antonia Bennett; and nine grandchildren, his representatives told People.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.
-
Acid rain is back: the sequel nobody wanted
Under The Radar A 'forever chemical' in rainwater is reviving a largely forgotten environmental issue
-
Book reviews: 'Clint: The Man and the Movies' and 'What Is Wrong With Men: Patriarchy, the Crisis of Masculinity, and How (Of Course) Michael Douglas Films Explain Everything'
Feature A deep dive on Clint Eastwood and how Michael Douglas' roles reflect a shift in masculinity
-
Recreation or addiction? Military base slot machines rake in millions.
Under the Radar There are several thousand slot machines on military bases
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach Boys
Feature The musical giant passed away at 82
-
Sly Stone: The funk-rock visionary who became an addict and recluse
Feature Stone, an eccentric whose songs of uplift were tempered by darker themes of struggle and disillusionment, had a fall as steep as his rise
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
Mario Vargas Llosa: The novelist who lectured Latin America
Feature The Peruvian novelist wove tales of political corruption and moral compromise
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play