TONY BENNETT AND ME

TONY BENNETT (Anthony Dominick Benedetto) was born on August 3, 1926 in Astoria, Queens, New York. I have always had a massive respect for Tony Bennett and his singing - superb delivery, the great American song book, a love of jazz and a fine artist both as a singer and a painter. Comparisons with Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dick Haymes, Vic Damone, Mel Torme and other "crooners' is inevitable - and there is no question that Tony Bennett has splendidly withstood the test of time as one of the greatest.

For those of you that have read many of my "music blogs" you will know that I was fortunate to tour and present in concert many great artists especially in the genre of jazz (as well as the blues and pop/rock).  Being a professional drummer for a number of years it was inevitable that I would want to work with the world's greatest players and the thrill I had in presenting Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson and the their big bands was one of the big highlights of those years - as well as stars such as Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine, Woody Herman, Joe Pass, Art Pepper, Oscar Peterson, Diana Ross, Deniece Williams, Judy Collins, Michael Jackson (yes the Michael Jackson!) and later with Beyoncé, Shakira, Elton John, George Michael, Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey, Phil Collins and a host of others -  It was therefore a natural progression to want to tour and present some of the finest singers alive and Tony Bennett together with Frank Sinatra were top of my target list at that time.

My trips in the late 70's and early 80's, to New York were becoming more frequent and I had begun work with one of the top agencies APA (Agency for the Performing Arts) and its President Roger Vorce was becoming a good business friend. Well here goes - if you don't ask - you don't get - so I approached Roger about touring Tony Bennett and much to my surprise (relief) and wonder. the answer was "yes". I was thrilled because Tony for me was the consummate professional and a real star.

Tony arrived in London with his trio headed by pianist Ralph Sharon (Bass player John Burr and Drummer Joe La Barbera - we added Danny Moss a superb local tenor player) for the tour) - one of the first performances was at the opening of the new Barbican Concert Hall in London - this was a highly prestigious date and as you can probably imagine, I was on edge to make sure everything went well. The rehearsals went fine and when it came time for Tony and I to head to the stage for the show we got lost back stage trying to find the way - I think at one point we ended up in the car park - the venue was so new there were only a few signs saying where to go and in that warren of passages we were lost. Hell I was panicking, but luckily we just made it in time and of course, Tony was utterly brilliant.

We toured the country and went into Europe - the highlight was supposed to be at the Badrutt Palace Hotel in St Moritz, Switzerland - the hotel itself was splendid as you would expect of a hotel that catered to Kings, Queens, Presidents, Sheikhs, Industrial Magnates and the world's richest people - however, as is often the case with rich people - they can get bored easily and at times do not always reflect the level of manners and intelligence you would think some of these people would have - what occurred was that after the first twenty minutes or so many of the audience left and Tony had to contend with a half house. Tony coped with it with grace and charm and nothing fazed him - the ultimate professional.  

Back in London we sold out the Royal Festival Hall concerts which featured a big band and string section with some of the UK's top session players - also during that time I had negotiated with the BBC a television special with Tony and Buddy Rich and his Band.  I remember Buddy and Tony stayed at the St James Hotel and both of them wondering who had the largest suite! The TV special was a great success with Buddy and the band playing great behind Tony.

This last photo was of an earlier (1964) TV special - ours was in 1981 - Buddy and Tony were old friends and the show went swimmingly well much to my relief.

Tony came back again for the second tour and as before we made the rounds of the big concert halls in the UK and Europe - We also exhibited Tony's paintings in a major London art gallery with a champagne reception for the press and public. Tony got excellent reviews for his art - London was in love with him and so was I!

Looking back at that time I realised how great Tony was with his fans - when we were at airports waiting for flights, hotels or other public places, Tony always had time for fans who wanted an autograph or just to say hello and talk. He said to me the day fans stop coming to me is probably the day I stop singing - Tony was so grateful to his fans and never forgot their importance to his career.

During this tour we learned that the great drummer Kenny Clare had died and there was a benefit night as one of London's Jazz Clubs - The Bull's Head in Barnes. Tony wanted to pay tribute to Kenny Clare, who had played with him many times previously and was one of Britain's top players. We hadn't told anyone that Tony would be coming - we literally just turned up - as you can imagine the audience were stunned when Tony and his trio with Ralph Sharon came on stage. This was a great example of Tony's humanity and closeness he feels for his musicians.

After these two tours, I sadly decided not to continue working with Tony Bennett. I won't go into the reasons, because its not important and because I respect him much too much as an artist and as a human being to discuss such issues in public - but I met him a few years ago at the Royal Albert Hall with Sir Paul McCartney back stage at a reception and we had a lovely chat - so the past was healed.

I am truly delighted that he is in his 90's and has been singing all over the world. His hit recordings with Lady Gaga put him in front of a generation that maybe had never heard of Tony Bennett. He is a great singer and exponent of a style of singing that has almost been forgotten today. I am very pleased to say I have worked with this wonderful artist on some of the world's top stages - thank you for your music Tony.  Never ever to be forgotten...

Since writing this blog, I have learned that Tony (now age 96) is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which was diagnosed in 2016.  We send prayers for him - bless him. Despite this, Tony has performed at Radio City Music Hall, performed on an MTV Unplugged show, and continued to record tracks with Lady Gaga for their 2021 album "Love for Sale". Tony's son Danny Bennett, said when announcing Tony's retirement in August 2021 that "the Alzheimer's was affecting Tony's short term memory, however his long term memory remains intact and he can fully remember all the lyrics to his repertoire when performing. 

God bless you Tony - you have us all great joy in your life.