What made Tony Bennett famous?

Anthony Dominick Benedetto was born on August 3, 1926, and lived until July 21, 2023

Anthony Dominick Benedetto known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American singer.

Bennett amassed many accolades throughout his career, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

He was named an NEA Jazz Master and a Kennedy Center Honoree and was the founder of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, New York. Bennett sold more than 50 million records worldwide.

Bennett began singing at an early age. He fought in the final stages of World War II as a U.S. Army infantryman in the European Theater.

Afterward, he developed his singing technique, signed with Columbia Records, and had his first number-one popular song “Because of You” in 1951. Several popular tracks such as “Rags to Riches” followed in early 1953.

Tony Bennett performed with Lady Gaga at the Grammy Awards in 2015. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Bennett continued to create popular and critically praised work into the 21st century. He attracted renewed acclaim late in his career for his collaboration with Lady Gaga, which began with the album Cheek to Cheek (2014); the two performers toured together to promote the album throughout 2014 and 2015.

With the release of the duo’s second album, Love for Sale (2021), Bennett broke the individual record for the longest run of a top-10 album on the Billboard 200 chart for any living artist; his first top-10 record was I Left My Heart in San Francisco in 1962.

Bennett also broke the Guinness World Record for the oldest person to release an album of new material, at the age of 95 years and 60 days.

In February 2021, it was revealed that Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. Due to the slow progression of his illness, he continued to record, tour, and perform until his retirement from concerts due to physical challenges, which was announced after his final performances in August.