Ken….
We watched it.
It was Tony’s last performance.
Alzheimer’s has about gotten the best of him.
You probably know that the show we watched on TV last night took place back in August.
Here’s an excerpt from it….
Tony became my guy in about 1965 when I bought his 3rd “Greatest Hits“ Album.
Here’s the one….
https://www.ebay.com/itm/175017205359?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=175017205359&targetid=885285326120&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9014245&poi=&campaignid=1669934603&mkgroupid=97005064294&rlsatarget=pla-885285326120&abcId=1123856&merchantid=342676285&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkZKNBhDiARIsAPsk0WizYWSBVv2IS5P7LQFW3L3fa5ffFaHaaE7MkBBN_SXGAvQuqudNRGkaAgDlEALw_wcB
It’s still one of my 3 favorite Tony albums.
I liked Tony over Frank Sinatra because Tony is a true jazz singer.
Sinatra had his jazz moments.
Tony did his fair share of big band stuff too.
But, Jazz was Tony’s true calling…best heard on the albums he did with Bill Evans.
My favorite kind of singer music is when there’s only drums, a bass, and a guitar.
Diana Krall has done a lot of this, and she’s added an incredible violin player.
Two people and a song were what made Tony.
I can’t remember which came first. Judy Garland or Frank Sinatra.
Judy told Tony that if he didn’t get a style that would set him apart from all of the other singers …. He wouldn’t get anywhere …. So, he borrowed hers.
Sinatra said Tony was America’s greatest singer. His career immediately rose after this.
The song…..about a city by the bay…..
I bought all of his albums after that first one I got, and I have all of his CDs.
I also went back and got all the albums that came out before the first one I got.
We’ve been to four of his shows.
The last one was in 2007, I think.
He had a new musical director at the piano.
Tony introduced him by saying that he had been Johnny Mathis’ musical director.
When Tony said this, the guy at the piano played a few notes of “Chances Are.”
What they had done was change the songs so that they were in keys that Tony could still sing in.
Also, he was shouting more of the words than singing them.
If you knew his music, this was immediately noticeable.
It took some getting used to.
Most of us who are big fans of a particular artist have a favorite album that in our minds, stands out for very personal reasons.
My favorite one of this nature is called “The Movie Song Album,” which came out in 1966.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Movie_Song_Album
I like a lot of the songs on this album.
One that has personal significance is “The Shadow Of Your Smile.”
It’s from a movie called “The Sandpiper.”
The movie stared Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
Elizabeth looked damn good in this movie. It had a very interesting story.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandpiper
The movie takes place in Big Sur.
We visited Big Sur twice, in 1985, and 1986, and the movie and the song took on greater personal significance because we stood in many of the places where the movie was shot.
This video shows some scenes from the movie…
The Tony Bennett album that I play the most is called “The Art of Romance.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Romance
It’s a concept album… that came out in 2004.
It is probably the last album that Tony made before his voice began to go south on him.
The album is about a guy who has lost his gal….
If you’ve ever lost a gal who you loved …..and still love…..
This song says it all….
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