Remembering Tony Bennett

Fresh Air

NPR

Tv & Film, Arts, Society & Culture, Books

4.4 • 34.4K Ratings

🗓️ 26 July 2023

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The legendary crooner, who died July 21, told Terry Gross in 1991 he never got tired of singing "I Left My Heart in San Francisco": "I'm very grateful for that song."

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is Fresh Air, I'm Terry Gross. Today we remember Tony Bennett and listen back to three interviews
0:06.4	are recorded with him in the 1980s and 90s. I'm hardly alone in saying that he was one of my favorite
0:12.7	singers. His friend Frank Sinatra said, he's the best singer in the business. He's the singer who
0:18.4	gets across with the composer has in mind and probably a little more. Tony Bennett died last Friday
0:25.2	at 96. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016 but didn't publicly reveal that until
0:32.1	2021. Later that year he gave his final performance at Radio City Musical with Lady Gaga.
0:39.6	Early in his career in the 1950s, Bennett had a string of hits that included because of you in
0:44.9	Rags to Riches. In the early 60s he recorded his signature song, I Left My Heart in San Francisco,
0:51.6	as well as other hits including I Want to Be Around and The Good Life. In the 70s he recorded
0:57.6	two now classic masterful albums of duets with pianist Bill Evans that helped Bennett redefine
1:03.7	himself as a jazz singer. In the 90s, younger audiences started to catch on to him through his
1:09.9	MTV Unplugged Performance and a series of duet recordings which over the years included KD Lang,
1:16.3	Amy Winehouse, Arita Franklin, Stevie Wonder and of course Lady Gaga. Sometimes during concert
1:22.8	performances he'd demonstrate the power of his voice by putting away the microphone and singing out
1:29.0	to the farthest reaches of the hall. Let's start with my first interview with him back in 1982.
1:36.0	We began with this recording featuring the Count Basie Orchestra.
1:46.3	The first song that's been released in the 90s is the first song that's been released in
1:51.7	the 90s. In the 90s he's been released in the 90s and the 90s he's been released in the 90s
1:58.8	and the 90s he's been released in the 90s. In the 90s he's been released in the 90s he's been
2:04.6	released in the 90s he's been released in the 90s he's been released in the 90s he's been released in the 90s
2:10.0	he's been released in the 90s he's been released in the 90s he's been released in the 90s he's been released in the 90s
2:14.0	he's been released in the 90s he's been released in the 90s he's been released in the 90s he's been released in the 90s
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.