"He passed away today at the age of 96 in his hometown of New York," Sylvia Weiner, his agent, told AFP. He had Alzheimer's disease, a diagnosis that dates back to 2016.

Singer of another era, that of crooners like Frank Sinatra, he marked the history of American popular music by his unique longevity, he who had experienced a return to grace in the 1980s and 1990s, then had distinguished himself again by his duets with Amy Winehouse and especially Lady Gaga, with whom he had recorded two albums in 2014 and 2021.

The first of these two duet albums, "Cheek to Cheek", made Bennett the oldest artist with a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, the benchmark chart in the United States.

bel canto

Born on August 3, 1926 in Astoria, Queens, the most cosmopolitan neighborhood of New York, during the period of the Great Depression, Anthony Benedetto, his real name, owes part of his musical longevity to his vocal technique.

Tony Bennett during the release of a new album with pianist and jazz singer Diana Krall at the Rainbow Room on September 12, 2018 in New York © Mike Coppola/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/Archives

Trained in bel canto, the man who called himself Joe Bari at the very beginning of his career will have kept his voice intact throughout his life, able to push the decibels even in the stadiums, at 80 years old.

Always impeccable costumes, clutch, natural elegance, Tony Bennett embodied the song of the post-war period, without falling into the cheesy, and without ever, for all that, out of his register.

Few classics remain of him, unlike Frank Sinatra, another son of Italian immigrants from the New York area, to whom he has been much compared but whose success has been far superior.

"the best", according to Sinatra

Tony Bennett, who adopted the Americanized stage name suggested by comedian Bob Hope, has maintained a loyal audience, maintained through thousands of concerts and a stage presence recognized by all.

"In theater and live performance, you have to convince the audience that they couldn't be better off elsewhere," said actor Alec Baldwin in the documentary produced by Clint Eastwood "The Music Never Ends" (2007). "And nobody in show business does that better than Bennett."

Singer Tony Bennett performs in support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on May 28, 2009 in New York © Stephen Lovekin / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/Archives

With little focus on effects, his voice seemed to go to the essentials, influenced by various musical genres, including jazz.

"As a spectator, (I think) Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business," Frank Sinatra said. "He excites me when I see him, he moves me."

His smile and energy projected the image of a warm, resolutely positive artist.

"Never predictable"

Despite a loyal audience, Tony Bennett will experience a crossing of the desert during the 70s and 80s, a bad time marked by an addiction to cocaine and an overdose, in 1979, from which he will escape.

His son Danny will eventually intervene and offer him a second career by introducing him to a younger audience.

In 1994, he landed on the music channel MTV for an "Unplugged", this series of acoustic concerts rather reserved for young artists in vogue.

In 2006, he released the album "Duets: An American Classic", a series of duets with very big names in popular music, from Stevie Wonder to Bono, who accompany him on covers.

Tony Bennett duet with Lady Gaga during the 57th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on February 8, 2015 © Robyn BECK / AFP / Archives

The success is total, to the point that a second opus "Duets II", will be released in 2011, with, again, the gratin of the song, which will allow him to hang for the first time, the top of record sales in the United States, at 85 years old.

The album contains her first duets with Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse.

"I like to try new things all the time," the crooner told PBS reporter Charlie Rose in 1993. For seven decades, he followed Frank Sinatra's advice: "Never be predictable."

Despite the illness, Bennett had continued to perform and record. Her last appearance was in August 2021 for two concerts at Radio City Music Hall in New York, duet with Lady Gaga, entitled "One last time".

© 2023 AFP