Tony Bennett Dies at 96
Iconic pop singer whose career spanned eight decades.
Tony Bennett, the iconic pop singer whose career spanned eight decades, has died. He was 96.
Bennett’s death was confirmed to the Associated Press by his publicist Sylvia Weiner. The cause of death was not disclosed. However, Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.
Bennett’s lengthy discography includes 61 studio albums and 11 live albums. He’s sold over 50 million albums worldwide. While having many hits in his incredible career, he notably became the oldest living musician to release a number-one debut album. In 2011 at age 85, Bennett released Duets II, which topped the Billboard 200 selling 179,000 copies in its first week of release.
Bennett’s career is obviously remarkable due to its length alone, but also for his ability to reintroduce himself to new generations. He did this on a few occasions. In the ’90s, he released a series of acclaimed albums: 1990’s Astoria: Portrait of the Artist; 1992’s Perfectly Frank; and 1993’s Steppin Out. The latter album featured a rendition of “Steppin’ Out with My Baby” that actually received airplay on MTV. In 1993, Bennett appeared with Flea and Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the MTV VMAs in a humorous segment that saw Bennett mimicking the Chili Peppers and vice-versa.
His surprising MTV popularity culminated with Bennett appearing on MTV Unplugged. The album from that television special would end up earning Bennett Album of the Year honors at the 1995 Grammy Awards.
The second notable resurgence happened in 2014 when Bennett released a traditional pop album with Lady Gaga. (Bennett and Gaga first collaborated on a cover of “The Lady is a Tramp” on Duets II.) Bennett and Gaga’s album, Cheek to Cheek, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart and won a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. The unlikely duo even toured in support of the album. Most recently, they released Love for Sale in 2021.
Celebrity Deaths 2023: Musicians, Entertainers & Cultural Figures We Lost
We’ve had to say goodbye to some big names this year in the worlds of entertainment, sports, politics and beyond. To be frank, it was an absolutely brutal year.
So many giants in music died in 2023. Guitar god Jeff Beck died suddenly in January at age 78 after contracting bacterial meningitis. In February, legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach died at age 94. Singer, actor and civil rights icon Harry Belafonte died in April at age 96 from congestive heart failure. In May, the world lost Tina Turner – the Queen of Rock ‘n Roll – at age 83. Iconic pop singer Tony Bennett died in July at age 96.
The worlds of television and film were not immune to significant loss in 2023. Sitcom mastermind Norman Lear died in December at age 101. Three’s Company star Suzanne Somers died in October at age 76 from an aggressive form of breast cancer. Matthew Perry also died in October. The Friends star was only 54. Bob Barker, longtime host of The Price is Right, died in August at age 99. Paul Reubens, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman, died in July at age 70 following a private battle with cancer.
The sports world was rocked by the deaths of three major wrestling figures. In June, The Iron Sheik (Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri) died at age 81. Then, in August, there were two back-to-back deaths. First, WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk died at age 79. Funk’s hardcore style has been influential to generations of wrestlers that followed. Then, Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda) suddenly died at age 36. The young wrestler died after contracting COVID, which exacerbated a heart issue and led to a heart attack.
Scroll through the gallery below to see the musicians, celebrities and other cultural figures we’ve lost in 2023.
Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights
