Tony Bennett, a true “Renaissance man,” grew up in Astoria, Queens, during the Great Depression in a family of Italian immigrants. After serving as an infantryman in World War II, he studied singing, and then signed with Columbia Records, releasing his first hit in 1951. He entered his seventh decade as a recording artist with seventeen Grammy Awards to his name, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a multiple Emmy winner. He made history in the 1990s when he won the coveted Grammy Album of the Year for his MTV Unplugged, beloved by audiences from nine to ninety. He is credited with heralding in the iPod generation; as the New York Times aptly put it, “he has not just bridged the generation gap; he has demolished it.” He has performed for eleven United States presidents, and has appeared at seven Royal Command Performances.
In addition to performing, Tony Bennett is an accomplished visual artist, with three of his original paintings featured in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian Institution. Tony marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King in 1965 on the historic march to Selma, and his humanitarian efforts are renowned; the United Nations honored him with their Humanitarian Award in 2007. Bennett founded, in association with the Board of Education in New York City, the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts—a public high school for the arts in his hometown of Astoria, Queens. With his wife, Susan, he established Exploring the Arts, a charitable organization that supports arts education in public high schools in New York City.
Tony is the author of three books, The Good Life, Tony Bennett: What My Heart Has Seen, and Tony Bennett in the Studio: A Life of Art and Music. A new documentary, The Zen of Bennett, created and conceived by the singer’s son Danny Bennett, recently premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, and is a companion project to this latest book by Tony, Life Is a Gift: The Zen of Bennett.
Tony Bennett’s timeless appeal has endured, and will continue to do so—for his passion, dedication, and joy for his artistry does not diminish, and in fact continues to grow and inspire his many generations of fans.
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