The sincerity of his singing melted the hearts of generations: ‘The trick is to survive success,’ he said. ‘Anyone can survive failure’
Tony Bennett, who has died aged 96, sang as much with his heart as his voice. Primarily a showman, he was a better technician than his crooner’s reputation implied, but his appeal was founded less on the skill of his singing than its committed sincerity. That simple virtue brought him two remarkable periods of success, the second an improbable – and sustained – renaissance of his fortunes some 30 years after his career had first faltered.
He was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3 1926 in Queens, New York. His father Giovanni, a grocer, was originally from Calabria and young Tony grew up in the Italian district of Astoria. His father died when he was eight and he was sent to stay with an unwelcoming uncle for two years while his mother, Anna, struggled at the height of the Depression to bring up his brother and sister.
This was a profoundly unhappy experience that laid down reserves of resilience in him. While his older brother joined the chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, young Tony’s initial interest was painting. He later claimed that his working-class background prevented him from winning a place at the more prestigious Brooklyn Academy, having to settle for Manhattan’s School of Industrial Arts. The need to support himself led to a part-time job as a singing waiter and his discovery of a hitherto dormant vocal talent.
In 1944 he was drafted into the Army and served in Germany. He was stripped of his corporal’s stripe by a racist sergeant for inviting a black friend to Thanksgiving dinner, and he found himself reassigned to excavating mass graves. The episode firmed up his liberal instincts and rid him of a lingering innocence.