Thursday,
September 28, 2006
Tony Bennett Celebrates 80 with his Best
Year Yet and Duets CD
The
ANNOTICO Report
Tony
Bennett's newly released CD, "Tony Bennett: Duets/An American
Classic." does Duets with an incredibly diverse and impressive list
that includes Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Stevie
Wonder, Diana Krall, Paul McCartney,
Bennett
shares in this interview why he chose each of the songs.
TONY
BENNETT CELEBRATES 80 WITH NEW CD
San
Francisco Chronicle
Associated
Press
By Charles J. Gans
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Tony Bennett has
embraced turning 80 with that mixture of easygoing graciousness and ebullient
optimism that has sustained him through a career as an entertainer spanning
seven decades.
"I'm 80 and
I can't believe it's the best year I've ever had," said Bennett, sitting
in a hotel suite overlooking Central Park where he's temporarily living while
his nearby apartment is remodeled.
"I couldn't
ask for more than I have," said the silver-haired Bennett, in that raspy
voice so familiar from his recordings. "But I still have so much to learn
... how to perform better, to paint better."
Bennett has used
his birthday celebrations to raise funds to support the public high school he
founded in September 2001, the Frank Sinatra School for the Performing Arts, in
his home borough of Queens, which he sees as his living legacy to nurture
future generations of artists.
On the coffee
table, Bennett has his watercolors and a sketch of several dancers. He's adapting
it from a photograph of a dance number from his upcoming NBC special (airing
Nov. 21), directed by Rob Marshall ("
The TV special
will reprise duet performances by Bennett with Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Diana Krall and
others from his just released CD, "Tony Bennett: Duets/An American
Classic."
Bennett, in his
modest manner, says he's flattered that stars from across the musical spectrum " from Paul McCartney and
"They're all
giants in the industry, and all of a sudden they're saying to me you're the
master," said Bennett. "That's how I felt about Frank Sinatra, Ella
Fitzgerald and Nat Cole."
Bennett, who
turned 80 on Aug. 3, admits he had some apprehensions when his son and manager,
Danny, suggested the duets record. He insisted on recording the tracks in the
studio with each duet partner rather than rely on long-distance, multitrack wizardry.
"I've always
worked that way ... for the spontaneity and freshness of an honest
performance," said Bennett.
R&B singer
John Legend said his duet with Bennett gave him the confidence to record
several tracks with his band without multitracking
for his upcoming CD, "Once Again."
"I knew from
doing it with Tony that it would work," said the 27-year-old Legend, who
recorded the gospel-influenced "Sing You Sinners" with Bennett in
"I think
what's remarkable about Tony's career is that he's always picked great songs to
cover, and he's great at phrasing and interpreting those songs and bringing
them to life," Legend said.
In an interview,
Bennett reflected on some of the songs from his new CD which are linked with
career milestones, people who influenced him or reflect his outlook on life:
__
"Rags to
Riches" (with Elton John): The song's title reminds Bennett of his rise
from humble origins. The son of an Italian immigrant grocer, Anthony Dominick Benedetto grew up in the working-class neighborhood of
BENNETT: We grew
up during the Depression. ... My father died when I was 10 years old and my
mother who was a seamstress had to raise three children. But I had a beautiful
family of Italian-Americans that were so wonderful to my mother. Her sisters
and brothers would bring their families around every Sunday and make a circle
around my brother, sister and myself. ... They had so much fun being
entertained by us.
I've never lost
that philosophy. I love the performers like Louis Armstrong or Jimmy Durante
because they did the same kind of thing, they made everybody feel good. ... The
whole country is obsessed with being told that they have to fear this and that,
and if I can entertain people and make them forget their problems, it's very
gratifying for me. ...
I have enough. I
don't understand how some people can have billions of dollars. If you have one
billion dollars you could buy anything ... I don't understand someone having 39
billion dollars. Give it out to the poor.
___
"The
Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (with Sting)/"Because of You" (with k.d. lang): Bob Hope discovered Bennett in a
BENNETT: These
are the two songs that got me going in the record business. ... `Boulevard of
Broken Dreams' was a semi-hit but it was just enough to get me jobs in little
clubs in
___
"Cold, Cold
Heart" (with Tim McGraw): Bennett turned this Hank Williams song into a
No. 1 hit on the pop charts in 1951.
BENNETT: When
Mitch Miller showed me the song, I said, `This is a great song, but I'm a city
boy and I wouldn't know how to sing a country song.' He said, `If I have to tie
you to a tree, you're going to sing this song.' ... I
never regretted it. Years ago country music just sold in the Bible Belt. ... This was the first country song that sold
internationally. Hank Williams called me up and said, `What's the idea of
ruining my song?' ... That was his country humor. I
look at Hank like
___
"Are You Havin' Any Fun?" (with Elvis
Costello): Bennett recorded this song on his groundbreaking 1958 album
"Basie Swings, Bennett Sings," which showcased his jazz side.
BENNETT: My
biggest influence is jazz. At the end of the Second World War, I became a
librarian for the Armed Forces Network and I used to sing with this big
orchestra, and the first record I ever made was `St. James Infirmary Blues.' .... Jazz is one of the most creative things ever to
come out of the
I was the first
white guy to sing with Count Basie. ... It was a big innovation at that time.
... Basie just knew how to play the right tempo. He taught me and all of the
musicians that less is more. ...
___
"I Left My
Heart In San Francisco" (with pianist
BENNETT: We were
in
The greatest
thing that ever happened to me as an entertainer was hearing how the soldiers
waiting to come home from
___
"How Do You
Keep the Music Playing" (with George Michael): Bennett recorded this song
for his 1986 comeback album for
BENNETT: I was at
the Universal Amphitheater and Frank Sinatra sang this. ... Right in the middle
of this quiet, beautiful ballad, he said in a voluminous way, "Tony sing this song for everybody." That blew me out of my
seat. ...
Sinatra was my
master. When I first met him, I was very nervous and went to see him backstage
at the Paramount Theater. ... I said how do I
eliminate being frightened on the stage and he said the public will help you,
don't worry about that. ... He also taught me don't ever do cheap songs, just
do great songs. ... Sinatra was the one who said I was his favorite singer and
really changed my career. ... He helped me an awful lot throughout my life.
___
"I Want to
Be Around" (with Bono): This song was featured on Bennett's 1994 "MTV
Unplugged" album which introduced him to a new generation.
BENNETT: My son
Dan was responsible for getting me on MTV, and it was the first time I just had
a young audience around me. I just did what I normally do to any audience and
it won the album-of-the-year Grammy. ...
___
"The Best Is
Yet to Come" (with Diana Krall): This standard
reflects Bennett's optimistic take on life.
BENNETT: People
have to stop worrying. It's not good for you. Stress is a killer. ... It was
Duke Ellington who gave me the advice to do two things instead of one. I love
to paint as much as I love to sing. ... It worked out to be such a blessing in
my life because if I started getting burnt-out singing, instead of saying I got
to take a vacation and get away from all this, I go to my painting and that's a
big lift. And when I get burnt-out from painting, I go back to singing. So I
stay in this creative zone at all times. __
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=
/n/a/2006/09/27/entertainment/e105050D30.DTL
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