L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 4 " T h e l o v e l i n e s s o f Paris seems some- how sadly gay." The moment he struck t h e f i r s t n o t e s , applause would erupt. An expression of gratitude from a n a u d i e n c e w h o h a d f o l - lowed him for seven decades. A remarkable career that gar- n e r e d h i m 2 0 G r a m m y A w a r d s a n d 1 0 0 a l b u m s , a l w a y s f e e l i n g l i k e a n e w beginning, captivating new fans whenever his pure, reso- nant voice selected a piece from his vast repertoire. His r e n d i t i o n o f I L e f t M y Heart in San Francisco was never absent: he couldn't let down those beneath the stage, expectantly hoping to b e s w e p t a w a y i n t o t h e romantic and nostalgic aura he could craft so expertly. This anthem of the Californ- ian city, penned by George Cory and Douglass Cross and originally the B-side of the single Once Upon a Time, was received with enthusias- tic acclaim when he first per- formed it at the Fairmont Hotel. From that point, the song became synonymous with its graceful interpreter. T o n y B e n n e t t p a s s e d away on July 21, 2023, at the ripe age of 96, marking the end of an era. He was the last American Crooner. More pre- c i s e l y , I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n crooner. Anthony Dominick Benedetto was indeed born in New York on August 3, 1926, but his roots were firm- ly planted in Italy. His father G i o v a n n i ( l a t e r J o h n ) Benedetto, a shopkeeper, had e m i g r a t e d t o t h e U n i t e d States from Podàrgoni, near Reggio Calabria, in 1906, w h i l e h i s m o t h e r , A n n a Suraci, a seamstress, was born in the US shortly after her parents had left Reggio Calabria in 1899. The Italian- American culture he embod- i e d w a s d e e p l y r o o t e d i n these two worlds, akin to the stories of fellow legends and c r o o n e r s , F r a n k S i n a t r a , Perry Como, and Dean Mar- tin. His relationship with Sinatra was unique. They first met at New York's Para- mount Theatre. As Bennett recounted, Sinatra taught him that "the audience is your friend, and they come to meet you in concert." Ben- n e t t h o n o r e d S i n a t r a b y inaugurating the Frank Sina- t r a S c h o o l o f t h e A r t s i n 2001 - three years after his friend's death - a public high school devoted to teaching the performing arts. In a 1 9 6 5 i n t e r v i e w w i t h L i f e magazine, Sinatra once pro- claimed that Bennett was "the best singer in the busi- n e s s . I g e t e x c i t e d j u s t watching him. He touches me. He's the singer who can best translate the composer's i n t e n t i o n s , a n d p r o b a b l y even a bit more." In a 2016 interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fal- lon, Bennett returned the compliment, extolling Sina- tra's loyalty and generosity, saying, "I was his favorite, and he was mine. I could never surpass him; he was an astounding artist, a beau- tiful singer, and an extraor- dinary person." Bennett began studying singing at the tender age of 1 0 a t t h e H i g h S c h o o l o f Industrial Arts in NY. Leg- end tells us that, as a teenag- er, while working as a waiter t o s u p p o r t h i s w i d o w e d mother, he would serenade customers as he served their tables. His voice, cultivated t h r o u g h h i s f o n d n e s s f o r Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole, did not go unnoticed. Life was not always glam- o r o u s . G r o w i n g u p i n Queens, he weathered hard- ships and privations, the Great Depression, and the atrocities of World War II ( h e s e r v e d i n t h e 6 3 r d Infantry Division and took part in the liberation of the Landsberg concentration c a m p ) . A f t e r t h e w a r , h e picked up where he left off, performing in diners where he often worked as a waiter. His big break came in 1949 w h e n s i n g e r P e a r l B a i l e y invited him to open her con- cert at the Village Inn in New York. That was the catalyst that propelled his extraordi- n a r y c a r e e r : h i t s i n g l e s , memorable duets, a remark- able ability to evolve with the music scene and reinvent h i m s e l f i n a w a y t h a t endeared him to younger generations. I n 1 9 9 4 , h i s M T V Unplugged, enriched by collaborations with Elvis C o s t e l l o a n d K . D . L a n g , e f f o r t l e s s l y b e c a m e t h e album of the year. In 2014, Cheek to Cheek with Lady Gaga earned him a Gram- my. In 2021, his second duet a l b u m w i t h t h e I t a l i a n - American star, Love for Sale, s o a r e d t o t h e t o p o f t h e charts, making him the old- est singer to have an album at number one in the US. His duets with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Dixie Chicks, Sting, Bono, John Legend, and Billy Joel have entered music history. Not to forget his significant contributions t o b r i n g i n g j a z z i n t o t h e mainstream through part- n e r s h i p s w i t h b i g s h o t s l i k e C o u n t B a s i e . W i t h hundreds of concerts and over 50 million records sold worldwide, he served as the stalwart custodian of the classic American songbook, preserving the works of Cole P o r t e r , G e r s h w i n , D u k e E l l i n g t o n , R o d g e r s , a n d Hammerstein. A significant portion of his extensive musical her- itage ties in with the world of c i n e m a , n o t a b l y v i a the Goodfellas soundtrack. Nonetheless, he persistently distanced himself from Rags to Riches. He shed light on his reasons in various inter- views, stating, "It doesn't paint a true picture because every country has its under- world. It's not just the Ital- ians. The English, the Ger- mans, the Irish: organized crime is a universal issue. They commit heinous acts. The stereotype that came out of that movie is ludicrous." Italy was a country he fre- Tony Bennett, the voice of an era BARBARA MINAFRA Continued to page 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Diana Krall, Tony Bennett at the 61st Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on February 10, 2019 in Los Angeles. Photo © Hutchinsphoto | Dreamstime.com

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