Tears are trickling out of my eyes as I write this tribute to legendary TONY BENNETT...someone who has shaped my destiny and will forever be a part of the trajectory of my history...till I take my last breath into my next nine lives...
I am a proud 3rd generation San Franciscan. The iconic Tony Bennett AKA "Anthony Benedetto" put our little city by the bay on the global map for all time with his signature "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" (George Cory/Douglass Cross)...and each time he performed it, it felt like he was experiencing that joy for the very first time. Thousands of times over close to a century and it never got old...neither did he or the mutual love affair he had with every one of us he touched with that singular voice and gleam in his eye...the way he put his whole body and soul into each note....
But Tony could sing the phone book or the back of a cereal box and have the same effect. Nobody can fake that. It's not just the act of a pro, it's a gift he was born with and a mission he never shied away from flying to the moon on each moment he brought the mic to his lips...
NOBODY stayed hipper or more relevant than Tony Bennett. He released Grammy winning duet albums with singers from every generation, most recently his beloved partner Lady Gaga. He won a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Album at 96!
I want to talk a bit about how much Tony has meant to me personally over the past 12 years.
I run a business playing music for retirement communities, hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, all over the San Francisco Bay Area and even as far as Hawaii a few years back. Some folks are at the top of their mental and physical health, some close to Heaven's gate and all points in between. And Tony Bennett's music and story have been the thread that has woven almost every performance together. I tell them all about his journey. His zest for life. How he performed at Radio City Music Hall on his 95th birthday and still nailed every note and was as joyful as he'd ever been. I have told them he's still with us and was about to celebrate his 97th birthday on August 3, 2023....how it's never too late to live your best life and experience joy...
Yes, Tony Bennett suffered from Altheimer's Disease the last few years of his life. But not when he was singing. I witness people transform right before my eyes as soon as the music starts. People who can't speak or barely move anymore. Until the music starts. And suddenly their eyes light up and they know all the words and they sing along with each syllable. There's a place in the brain that only stores lyrics and when it is activated, a person comes alive again. It's nothing short of a miracle and it NEVER get old. If it were up to me, I would have let Tony keep performing until his last moment on this earth. I bet he would have rocked that last note on that last stage with a giant smile...and apparently, he still was, sources reporting that Tony sat down at his piano just the other day singing his first hit "Because Of You"....Tony knew he had to keep the music flowing till his last breath...
I tell all my groups, "I want to be Tony Bennett when I grow up. Still belting out my songs and living my best life! And you're all gonna be there with me, singing along, right??" They always cheer and applaud Tony! They get it! We all need to take a page from Tony Bennett's songbook!!
At one of my San Francisco communities, a man raised his hand and asked if he could share his own story about Tony Bennett...I learn SO much from my amazing audience members, so I was all ears...
This man used to work as a janitor at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, where Tony Bennett had his iconic residency for many years. He told us that Tony Bennett was the nicest guy, that he would go around and introduce himself to the employees and remember their names and ask how their day was going and he witnessed Tony's genrosity of spirit every time he came in contact with him. Now THAT'S a class act.
Tony, I promise to carry on your amazing legacy every day....your golden sun will shine for me...yes, the songwriters wrote "your golden sun will shine ON me"...but Tony always sang "FOR me"...
I'm gonna keep doing it like Tony...
-Tony Bennett aka Anthony Benedetto
August 3, 1926-July 21, 2023