1. The last time we saw Tony on the Hot 100 was in 2011 with Body and Soul, a collaboration with Amy Winehouse.
2. Tony was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016 and in 2021 announced that he was retiring from touring and performing after one last show in August of that year with his good friend and avowed superfan Gaga at Radio City Music Hall.
3. Tony had a continuous recording career from 1950 to 2017 with over 60 albums, 46 of which would chart on the Billboard 200.
4. Tony won 16 Grammy Awards.
5. Tony’s penultimate album on the U.S. 200 best-selling albums list was THE SILVER LINING: THE MUSIC OF JEROME KERN with pianist BILL CHARLAP in 2015.
Jerome David Kern is one of the most important American stage composers of the early 20th century. He wrote more than 700 songs.
6. The last time we saw Tony on the Billboard 200 was in 2017. The album is titled TONY BENNET CELEBRATES 90
7. A Bel canto student, Bennett developed his own voice by going to the jazz clubs on New York’s 52nd Street and listening to musicians like saxophonist Charlie Parker and pianist Art Tatum.
8. Born Antonio Dominick Benedetto in Long Island City, New York, on August 3, 1926, Bennett began singing when he was 5 years old, learning Irish songs and earning nickels for performances from him.
9. In 1949 he was opening for Pearl Bailey at the Greenwich Village Inn when Bob Hope overheard him and offered him an opening slot in her show at the Paramount Theater.
10. In 2006, to celebrate his 80th birthday, he released the album Duets: An American Classic with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Barbra Streisand, and Bono. The album sold 1.95 million copies and peaked at number 3.
11. Tony had 46 albums on the Billboard 200 chart. Two went to number 1:
2011, DUETS
2014, CHEEK TO CHEEK With Lady Gaga
