The Tony Bennett Few of Us Knew

He left our hearts in San Francisco.

There aren't too many singers who are the lead story on the NBC Nightly News, but last night, Tony Bennett was the lead story.

Bennett also closed out last night's NBC Nightly News.  

That happens even less.  Lead and ending both, but Tony Bennett deserved it.

Tony Bennett, beloved singer and champion of the Great American Songbook, died yesterday in his native New York City at the age of 96, two weeks before his 97th birthday.  Sadly, he was suffering from Alzheimer's at the time of his death.

Like me, the man born Anthony Dominick Benedetto, was a native of Queens, one of the boroughs of New York City.  We knew him as Tony Bennett thanks to another great, Bob Hope.

There are going to be many music bloggers paying tribute to Tony Bennett today, and, yes, I'll include some of his songs, but there is something I found out in reading his obituary that I had never known.

Bennetto's father, who was described as having a great, powerful voice, died when Bennett was only nine.  Bennetto helped to support his family with his voice from around the age of 12.

Bennetto was drafted into the military during World War II when he turned 18 in 1944, and became an infantry rifleman.  His unit was sent to Europe to replace troops lost in the Battle of the Bulge.  He would entertain troops with his singing, but also saw combat.  He was nearly killed his first night out on the line, and faced death more than once in his combat career.  This article details his war experience.

In March of 1945, his unit entered Germany and helped to end the war, sometimes fighting house to house. At one point he was able to attend a Bob Hope USO show (shows that entertained the troops) where he first heard Bob Hope singing and entertaining.

His unit was then assigned to liberate a concentration camp 30 miles south of Dachau concentration camp. The experience stayed with him for the rest of his life.

Bennetto stayed in Germany after the war and entertained troops as part of a musical unit, but was reassigned after he was caught eating with a black soldier he had known in high school.  (This was a big no-no in the segregated military.)  That also stayed with him.

In 1949 there was another encounter with Bob Hope - this time, Hope heard him singing in a nightclub in Manhattan, asked Benedetto to tour with him, and renamed him. 

Oh, about that experience after he was caught eating with a black soldier?  Bennett (influenced by Harry Belafonte) participated in the Civil Rights movement, and marched in Martin Luther King's third march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery in 1965 Bennett also refused to perform in South Africa due to its apartheid policies.  

Bennett also performed in seven decades.  His last concert was in 2021, with Lady Gaga.  Alzheimer's had already taken hold several years earlier but he came to life during the concert and performed with her unobtrusive help.

And now, the music.

His first hit, Because of You, from 1951.

Perhaps his best known hit, I Left My House in San Francisco.

A duet with Sir Elton John, Rags to Riches.

Finally, with Lady Gaga, I've Got You Under My Skin.

Rest in peace, Tony.