An often used phrase in sports is that "age is undefeated." This year saw the retirements of prominent sports figures like Kobe Bryant and Peyton Manning. Music is under the same spell. Every singer has to deal with age and some have dealt with it the better than others. When I heard that Tony Bennett was going to celebrate his 90th birthday next week, I was completely shocked. What an accomplishment to still be singing and touring when you've been around for 9 decades! With a career like his, he deserves retirement more than anyone but he has graciously continued singing to his beloved fans. Tony Bennett started his career shortly after he returned from Europe while fighting in World War II. He made his first recordings in the late 1940's and his first hit came with Columbia records in 1951; "Because of You." He would achieve a number of big hits in the 1950's and the early 1960's with his signature tune, "I Left my Heart in San Francisco", coming in 1962. During this time, he also engaged in the Civil Rights Movement and participated in the March to Selma in 1965. His popularity waned in the late 60's and 70's due to the emerging rock n' roll scene but he revitalized his career in the 80's and continues to tour and record to this day. One of his most recent releases was a duet album with pop star Lady Gaga, a weird matching that shows he's still a big name in the music industry. He has won a whopping 19 Grammys and 2 Tony awards and has sold more than 50 million albums in his 65 year career. He is now considered one of the best pop crooners in history and is certainly up there with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. A truly remarkable artist!
This whole show I was literally in awe of this man! Backed by a band of only a guitarist, drummer, and piano, he gave a wonderful show and his voice has ages incredibly. He sings with the passion and wisdom of a man who has seen it all and he really hasn't missed a beat. His voice still carries quite powerfully and I wonder how he's been able to maintain his voice for so long! While his music isn't my cup of tea per-say, I have nothing but admiration for his songs and his voice is so soothing and relaxing! I'm quite glad that he put on a good show because everything else that night was crazy. This was the first big rainstorm at Wolf Trap since I've been back and it rained pretty much the entire time. We had a huge amount of wheelchair patrons due to the age of the audience so everyone was running around in the rain and hardly had time to enjoy the singing. But luckily, all the patrons were gracious and were just happy to see this legend still performing. No one seemed to mind the rain on the lawn which was great to see.If that doesn't show the respect Bennett has gained from his followers, nothing does!
My favorite part of the show was when he performed his most popular song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco". This was the only song of his that I know and somehow the whole scene was perfect. I was standing in the rain, watching this marvelous artist perform a song he's sang for 54 years and somehow, it sounded like he could sing it for another 54.
As, always looking forward to more shows in the future!
DC
Tony Bennett
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