History: Tony Bennett
Courtesy of NJHOF
Tony Bennett—born Anthony Dominick Benedetto—was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2011. The legendary singer, who died in 2023 at the age of 96, was a longtime resident of Englewood in Bergen County. Dizzy Gillespie was his neighbor. He moved to Englewood in 1957. It was a big year for him. Ralph Sharon became his pianist, arranger and Musical Director, and pushed him more into jazz. It resulted in one of his greatest albums, The Beat Of My Heart. The reaction was universally favorable and he joined Count Basie—from Red Bank in Monmouth County—to become that orchestra’s first male vocalist. A deep groove was established with the release of Basie Swings Bennett Sings in 1958 and In Person! In 1959. His 1962 Carnegie Hall concert—featuring some of the top jazz players of the day—was wildly successful. He sang 44 songs that night. They wouldn’t let him off the stage. Weeks later, he sang on the debut of a new late-night show called The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Then “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” came out. It changed his life. The next monster hit was in 1963. “I Wanna Be Around” battled the Beatles for chart supremacy.
He had been living in Englewood for five years at that point. He would stay in Englewood for another nine years. He loved it there. And he’s spoken about his fondness for New Jersey on many occasions, including in the clip below. In 1965, he marched with Civil Rights leaders from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama.
(Advertisement) Story continues below…
In 1970, Clive Davis pressured him into recording an album of “modern” material. Tony Sings The Great Hits Of The Day was a disaster. It had three Beatle songs amongst its 11 tracks. It made Bennett physically ill to sing those songs. He actually vomited in the studio. The album bombed and he left Columbia Records. After a couple of gorgeous recordings on Verve with piano legend Bill Evans from Plainfield in Union County, Bennett developed a nasty drug habit. Plus, he owed the IRS a fortune. It was his son, Danny Bennett, who resurrected his career and his appeal by making Bennett palatable for the MTV generation. And he didn’t have to pander to trends. He even filmed an artistically and commercially successful “MTV Unplugged” in 1994.
Bennett celebrated his 80th birthday in 2006 back on top, recording a duets album with Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Bono and Elton John. These artists sang on material that he championed, not the other way around. And he did it again in 2011 with Lady Gaga, John Mayer and Amy Winehouse. In 2021, he performed with Gaga on his 95th birthday and the two became close. It would be his final triumph.