Legendary American jazz singer Tony Bennett, known for his ageless track "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," and his final show with Lady Gaga, has confirmed his death at the age of 96, just two weeks short of his 97th birthday.
His publicist Sylvia Weiner confirmed the singer's death to the Associated Press, saying he died in his New York hometown. While no specific cost was mentioned, Bennett has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016.
Bennett is survived by his wife Susan, their children Johanna, Antonia, Danny, and Dae, and nine grandchildren.
Bennett the Veteran
Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto in 1926, Tony Bennett lived his early life without his Italian immigrant father who died when he was 10, in the middle of the Great Depression.
According to the Associated Press, Bennett worked as a copy boy for the news agency before serving as a combat infantryman during the Second World War, when his love for music grew. He started singing with US Army big bands while deployed in Germany after its surrender in 1945.
He received a Bronze Star for his military service.
Tony Bennett's Career Highlights
Upon his military discharge, he took advantage of the GI Bill and studied at the American Theatre Wing, known today as The Actors Studio.
Anthony Benedetto became known as "Tony Bennett" after Bob Hope discovered his musical talent in 1949 while singing alongside Pearl Bailey.
Bennett's musical career spanned from the 1950s, with contemporaries like Frank Sinatra, up to 2021, when he made his final album and show alongside Lady Gaga, herself a massive fan of Bennett's.
He also released more than 70 albums, won 19 Grammy awards, and made lasting friendships with other artists across the decades and across genres.
His experience with making friends with Black soldiers during his military service became the catalyst for him to support Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Civil Rights Movement and sing for the protesters.
Bennett has also been a pioneer of musical exploration for being able to easily switch from jazz to pop. Some of his Grammy-winning albums were collaborations and covers with several equally legendary artists like Amy Winehouse, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, and Stevie Wonder, among others.
"They're all giants in the industry and all of a sudden they're saying to me 'You're the master,'" Bennett recalled in a 2006 Associated Press interview.
Aside from industry honors, Bennett was also named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2005 and a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2006. He also won two Emmys for "Tony Bennett Live By Request: A Valentine Special" (1996) and "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" (2007).
Aside from singing, Bennett has been passionate about art, specifically drawing and sketching. All his artworks are signed with his real name - Benedetto.
What is Alzheimer's Disease?
Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia. Most individuals, like Bennett, are diagnosed with it over the age of 65. While this is the case, people like British TV presenter Fiona Phillips can be diagnosed with early-onset dementia before the age of 65.
People diagnosed with Alzheimer's experience a deterioration of one's memory, thinking skills, and behavior.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 2020 estimates, Alzheimer's affects as many as 5.8 million Americans.
While medications for slowing the pace of Alzheimer's have cleared clinical trials, they are not yet routinely available.
However, earlier this month, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials granted final approval to a highly-anticipated Alzheimer's drug called Leqembi for patients with moderate dementia and other early Alzheimer's disease-related symptoms. It is also the first drug that has been demonstrated to reduce the cognitive decline of Alzheimer's patients moderately.
Related Article: Alzheimer's Drug Meant To Slow Disease Becomes More Accessible to Americans After Getting FDA's Full Approval
