Tony Bennett was an American icon for so long that it gets lost in the fog of history that his birth name was Anthony Dominick Benedetto.
It’s also forgotten that Bennett rebuilt his career after he crashed and burned, unable to compete against the psychedelic 1960s and overcome a drug habit.
Bennett died July 21 in New York City. He openly shared his seven-year battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. He was 96.
Song of the Day is paying tribute to the musicians, singers and songwriters who died in 2023.
Bennett started his career as Joe Barl, but Bob Hope, who asked him to be his opening act, changed it to Tony Bennett.
He became a star in the 1950s. “Because of You,” in 1951, reached number one on the pop charts and stayed there for 10 weeks.
His star faded by 1965. He found cocaine, and the IRS found him. A cocaine overdose and near-death experience sobered him up.
His son took over as his manager in 1979 and directed him back to the Great American Songbook. It worked. He became a national treasure.
“I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” was Bennett’s signature song. He recorded it in 1962. George C. Cory, Jr. wrote the music and Douglass Cross wrote the lyrics in 1954.
They wrote it for opera singer Claramae Turner, but she never recorded it. Bennett’s pianist Ralph Sharon rediscovered the song several years later after stuffing it in his shirt drawer.
When he showed it to Bennett, they thought it would be the perfect song to sing at their next stop, the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.
It was a hit, and he never stopped singing it.
Song of the Day is created by Sheldon Zoldan, and produced by Pam James for WGCU. Audio production is by Simon Dunham, WGCU. To receive the Song of the Day in your inbox every day, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
