Tony Bennett 1926-2023
With his “warm, deceptively simple interpretations of musical standards”, jazz-influenced phrasing and “audience-embracing persona”, Tony Bennett, who has died aged 96, “helped spread the American songbook around the world”, said The New York Times. In a career spanning seven decades, he won legions of fans; there was a difficult period, from the mid-1960s, when his star faded and he faced problems in his personal life, but despite the entreaties of record producers, he refused to alter his repertoire. He wanted, he said, to keep singing “the great songs, songs that really matter to people”. And ultimately, “he was more than vindicated in his musical judgement”.
In his latter years, he remained beloved by his old fans, and won new ones too, largely as a result of his…
