70 Fun Facts About Tony Bennett

What was Tony Bennett's real name?

He signed his paintings Benedetto throughout his life.

In which New York City borough was Tony Bennett born?

He was born at St. John's Hospital in Long Island City in 1926.

Bennett's signature song is about leaving his heart in which city?

He first sang it in the Fairmont Hotel's Venetian Room in December 1961.

How many Grammy Awards did Tony Bennett win?

He also won two Primetime Emmys and a Kennedy Center Honor.

Which pop star did Bennett collaborate with on the albums Cheek to Cheek and Love for Sale?

They met at a Robin Hood Foundation gala in 2011.

Which illness did Bennett reveal in February 2021 that he had been living with since 2016?

His long-term memory stayed intact and he could still sing his whole repertoire.

What was Bennett's first No. 1 hit in 1951?

His family said it was also the last song he sang before he died.

Bennett's 1951 hit "Cold, Cold Heart" was a cover of a song by which country star?

It helped introduce Williams and country music to a wider national audience.

Bennett's 1953 'Stranger in Paradise' promoted which musical during a newspaper strike?

It became a UK No. 1 a year and a half later.

Under what stage name did Bennett sing with an Army band in Germany and make his first recordings?

Bob Hope later shortened Benedetto to Tony Bennett.

Which comedian took the young singer on the road in 1949 and shortened his name to Tony Bennett?

Pearl Bailey had invited Hope to see him open for her in Greenwich Village.

Which producer signed Bennett to Columbia Records in 1950 and warned him not to imitate Sinatra?

Miller and arranger Percy Faith crafted all of his early hits.

Bennett was the first male pop vocalist to sing with which bandleader's orchestra?

The 1959 albums Strike Up the Band and In Person! came out of the partnership.

Which pianist became Bennett's musical director in 1957 and steered him toward jazz?

He brought "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" to Bennett and stayed with him until 2002.

Where did Bennett first sing his signature song in December 1961?

An 8-foot statue of Bennett was unveiled outside the Fairmont for his 90th birthday.

Bennett's signature song was originally the B-side of which single?

DJs flipped the record over and the B-side became the hit.

Who wrote Bennett's signature song?

They were two homesick amateur writers who had moved from San Francisco to New York.

Which country singer turned down Bennett's signature song before he recorded it?

It had been written for opera singer Claramae Turner, who never recorded it.

What was the Billboard Hot 100 peak of Bennett's signature song?

Despite the modest peak it spent almost a year on various charts and won Record of the Year.

Bennett's 1962 Carnegie Hall concert made him only the second pop singer to headline there, after whom?

He sang 44 songs with a band including Al Cohn and Kenny Burrell.

Bennett sang on the very first broadcast of which TV programme in October 1962?

He would later win over a new generation on Letterman and MTV.

What was Bennett's last top-40 single, a 1965 song from the musical Pickwick?

The British Invasion was pushing standards singers off the charts.

Bennett took part in which 1965 civil-rights event, performing at the "Stars for Freedom" rally?

Viola Liuzzo drove him to the airport afterwards and was murdered by the KKK that day.

Which 1970 album of Beatles covers made Bennett physically ill at the thought of recording it?

Clive Davis had pushed him to sing contemporary rock songs.

What was the name of the record label Bennett founded in the mid-1970s?

It made two acclaimed albums with Bill Evans but folded in 1977 for lack of distribution.

With which jazz pianist did Bennett make two acclaimed albums in 1975 and 1976?

The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album and Together Again came out on Bennett's own label.

After a near-fatal 1979 overdose, which relative became Bennett's manager and engineered his comeback?

He booked his father in colleges and on Letterman to reach a younger crowd.

What was the name of Danny and Dae Bennett's floundering band before Danny turned to management?

Danny realised he had no musical talent but a head for business.

Which composer wrote Bennett's Oscar-nominated song "Life in a Looking Glass" from That's Life (1986)?

It was the theme of Blake Edwards's movie.

Bennett's 1993 album Steppin' Out was a tribute to which entertainer?

Its video got MTV airplay alongside the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Which two guests joined Bennett on his 1994 MTV Unplugged special?

He quipped, "I've been unplugged my whole career."

Which top Grammy prize did MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett win?

It also took Best Traditional Pop Vocal for the third year running.

Which song did Bennett often perform in concert with no microphone to show off his projection?

He was still doing a hundred shows a year at the end of the 1990s.

At the muddy 1998 Glastonbury Festival, what did every song in Bennett's set have in common?

He performed in an immaculate suit and tie.

What was the title of Bennett's 1998 autobiography?

He later published Life Is a Gift and Just Getting Started.

What did Bennett and Susan Crow found in Astoria in 2001 for young performers?

He named it after his friend; its choir sang with him at the 2015 World Series.

What nickname did Bennett earn for donating so much time to charity?

He also recorded public service announcements for Civitan International.

Which 2006 album, released for his 80th birthday, reached Bennett's highest chart position to that point?

An NBC special of the same name won multiple Emmys.

Which impressionist performed a comedy sketch with Bennett on Saturday Night Live in 2006?

Baldwin's affectionate Bennett impression was a recurring SNL bit.

Bennett sang "New York State of Mind" with which musician at the final Shea Stadium concerts in 2008?

He later sang "America the Beautiful" at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

Bennett's "Body and Soul" duet was reportedly the last recording made by which singer before her death?

It made Bennett the oldest living artist to reach the Hot 100.

Which 2011 album gave Bennett his first-ever No. 1 on the Billboard 200, at age 85?

Koss made a Tony Bennett Signature Edition headphone to mark the milestone.

Cheek to Cheek was a collection of standards by songwriters such as Gershwin, Porter and whom else?

Bennett and Gaga wanted to introduce the songs to a younger generation.

How old was Tony Bennett when Cheek to Cheek made him the oldest artist to top the US album chart?

He broke his own record again with Love for Sale at 95.

Love for Sale, Bennett's final album, was a tribute to which composer?

It debuted at No. 8 and won Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

At what age did Bennett set the Guinness record for oldest artist to release a new album?

Saxophonist Marshall Allen surpassed it at 100 in 2025.

Where did Bennett give his final concerts in August 2021?

CBS aired highlights as One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga.

Bennett re-recorded which Gershwin song in 2018, setting a record of 68 years between versions?

It appeared on Love Is Here to Stay with Diana Krall.

Bennett served as an infantryman in which US Army division in the closing months of World War II?

He later helped liberate the Kaufering concentration camp and became a lifelong pacifist.

Why was Bennett demoted and reassigned to Graves Registration duties in the Army?

He then sang with the 314th Army Special Services Band instead.

Which singing discipline, learned on the GI Bill, kept Bennett's voice healthy for decades?

He also learned to imitate the phrasing of instrumentalists like Stan Getz and Art Tatum.

What was Bennett's first job in music, at the age of 13?

He had already sung at the opening of the Triborough Bridge next to Mayor La Guardia.

Under what name did Bennett paint and exhibit his artwork?

His Central Park hangs in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Bennett was the official artist of which sporting event in 2001?

The United Nations also commissioned two paintings from him.

Bennett's painting Homage to Hockney is on permanent display at which Ohio museum?

David Hockney had drawn Bennett first.

How many female fans dressed in black gathered in mock mourning outside Bennett's 1952 wedding?

He married Ohio art student Patricia Beech at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Which former New York governor witnessed Bennett's 2007 marriage to Susan Crow?

Bennett and Crow had been together since the late 1980s.

Where is Tony Bennett buried?

He was interred alongside his parents.

Bennett's father emigrated from a district of which southern Italian city?

John Benedetto belonged to the area's ethnic Greek Griko community.

Which 1966 film gave Bennett an acting role he disliked so much he never sought another?

He met second wife Sandra Grant while filming it.

Bennett's 1957 album The Beat of My Heart, with Art Blakey and Chico Hamilton, emphasised which element?

Ralph Sharon had warned him that "sweet saccharine songs" would not last.

From which London nightclub did Bennett host a Thames TV series in the early 1970s?

He had left Columbia for the Verve division of MGM at the time.

Roughly how many records did Bennett sell worldwide?

He released over 70 albums, almost all for Columbia.

Which singer spotted the young Benedetto's talent in 1949 and had him open for her in Greenwich Village?

She had invited Bob Hope to the show, and Hope took him on the road with a shorter name.

Which song did Bennett cut as a demo in 1950, leading Columbia Records to sign him?

Mitch Miller signed him and warned him not to imitate Sinatra, who was then leaving Columbia.

How many weeks did Bennett's brassy 1953 number one 'Rags to Riches' spend atop the charts?

Unusually for his early hits it was an up-tempo big-band number with a double tango in the instrumental break.

Which guitarist was Bennett's musical director from 1954 and featured on his first LP, Cloud 7?

Ralph Sharon replaced him in 1957 and warned that 'sweet saccharine songs like Blue Velvet' would not last.

In which year did Bennett receive a Kennedy Center Honor?

The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award came in 2001, and Q magazine listed him among '50 Bands To See Before You Die' in 2002.

How tall is the Tony Bennett statue unveiled outside San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel in August 2016?

Dianne Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi attended as a youth choir sang his signature song, first performed at that hotel in 1961.

According to his family, which song was Bennett still singing at the very end of his life?

He died at home in New York on July 21, 2023, after seven years with Alzheimer's disease.