Fans of Tony Bennett were incredibly excited when the beloved crooner took to the stage
recently with Lady Gaga to perform a pair of shows celebrating his 95th birthday.
Sadly, those shows are likely going to turn out to be Tony’s last, as the doctors have
advised the singer that traveling to perform is no longer feasible.
Join Facts Verse as we take a look at why Tony Bennett is saying goodbye (doctor’s
orders).
Just recently, Tony Bennett took to the stage alongside his longtime friend Lady Gaga to
perform two shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The two sold-out shows marked the event of the singer's 95th birthday, and also came
just a month ahead of the release of his and Lady Gaga’s second album together.
The pair of shows was going to be followed by a few performances in casinos along the
east coast.
Sadly, it now appears as if these casino performances have been canceled at the behest of Tony’s
doctors.
For the past four decades, Tony has let his son act as his manager.
Tony’s son is Danny Bennett, who is now 66.
Danny is largely credited for Tony’s career renaissance during the 1990s, which helped
the singer make a name for himself amongst the new generation of youth.
This attention led the singer down the pathway to eventually hooking up with Lady Gaga and
recording a pair of albums together.
The pair of shows performed at Radio City Music Hall was given the name “One Last
Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga”.
If the second performance at Radio City Music Hall hadn’t been Tony’s last, the additional
performances along the east coast likely would’ve been.
The additional performances that Tony was supposed to perform along the east coast were
events that were supposed to have occurred previously but had to be rescheduled due to
the COVID pandemic.
Fans had been looking forward to these events since the announcement of their temporary
cancellation and are likely devastated now that it seems as if the shows are never going
to happen.
Danny is also saddened by the fact that his father isn’t going to be able to play the
shows, but says it’s for the best.
Those who caught Tony’s performances alongside Lady Gaga at the Radio City Music Hall were
likely surprised to learn that the singer’s health was in such poor shape that he was
no longer going to be able to perform on the stage.
However, the performance restrictions are said to have more to do with the traveling
aspect of performing than the actual act of singing itself.
All things considered, Tony seems to be as comfortable on stage as ever.
He doesn’t miss a single line and doesn’t even need a teleprompter to deliver them.
In the opinion of the doctors, Tony’s miraculous performance on the stage is deceptive.
One might see Tony not missing a beat on the stage and assume that he’s as healthy as
ever, but his ability to perform is no indication of how badly Tony’s Alzheimer’s disease
is affecting him.
Since Tony has spent his whole life on the stage, his songs are ingrained in his psyche
and will likely stay there until his death regardless of the effect of Alzheimer’s.
He can remember all of his songs and perform them just the same as always, but that doesn’t
mean that he knows what’s going on around him.
Many believe it’s Tony’s performances that are helping to keep him alive.
Singing can be incredibly therapeutic, and keeping the old memories alive is arguably
what’s keeping the singer from death’s door.
Hopefully, Tony will still be able to keep singing, even if it isn’t for an audience.
Danny had sought to see if there was a way that he could create traveling conditions
that would allow his father to continue to perform on the stage, but Tony’s wife put
her foot down and said that Danny needed to abide by the doctor’s orders.
Tony’s wife is Susan Crow, and she is open to the idea of her husband continuing to perform
in a diminished capacity that doesn’t require any travel.
Her husband’s health is what’s most important to her, and Tony is lucky to have her by his
side!
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Tony Bennett was born in 1926.
When he was growing up, he listened to singers like Bing Crosby and jazz artists like Louis
Armstrong.
His uncle was a vaudeville performer, and that gave Tony an earlier entryway into show
business.
Tony was singing and performing by the double digits, and worked as a singing waiter in
Italian restaurants as a teen.
Tony studied music and painting at the School of Industrial Art in New York before dropping
out at the age of 16 to help support his family, who were struggling at the time.
In order to support his family, Tony worked several menial jobs.
All the while, he was eyeing a career in singing.
In the midst of working his several jobs and performing gigs in various nightclubs, Tony
was drafted into the United States Army during World War II.
Tony made his entrance into the war in 1944 and was discharged in 1946.
During his period in the United States Army, Tony was involved in active combat and claimed
it was like witnessing hell.
After returning home from the war, Tony continued to perform and eventually caught his big break
when singer Pearl Bailey invited him to open for her during a performance in Greenwich
Village.
After this, Tony released his first big hit, which was a ballad by the name of “Because
of You”.
Tony became the famous singer that he always wanted, and his career has continued in various
forms up until today.
While there have certainly been many ups and downs for the beloved crooner, he has always
managed to pull through and maintain both his audience and his ability to perform.
After many decades in show business, it was announced in 2016 that Tony was suffering
from Alzheimer’s disease.
Since the announcement, the singer has done his best to continue to perform and record.
However, it now appears as if this final period of Tony’s career is about to officially
come to an end.
Tony’s recent performances at Radio City Music Hall will likely go down in history
as his last, though it remains to be seen if his upcoming album with Lady Gaga will
be his last recorded work.
This album is titled Love for Sale and is scheduled for release in October of 2021.
Tony is currently married to third wife Susan Crow, who is the one that told Danny there
was no way that Tony was going to continue to tour.
The singer had been married twice previously and has had three other children besides Danny.
Tony’s first wife was Patricia Beech.
The two had met while Tony was performing at a nightclub in Cleveland, and married several
months later, in 1952.
The ceremony took place in Manhattan, and was made notable by the fact that many female
Tony fans waited outside the cathedral in all black; mourning the fact that Tony was
no longer single.
After getting married in 1952, Tony and Patricia had two children.
However, their marriage eventually turned sour due to the extreme amount of time that
Tony was spending out on the road.
Tony was at his physical peak during the time and was spending as much time as he possibly
could performing shows and working on new material.
Tony’s drive for success eventually proved the marriage’s undoing, and the couple separated
in 1965.
Several years later, in 1969, Patricia officially sued Tony for divorce on the grounds that
he had cheated on her multiple times during the marriage.
The divorce went through in 1971, and Tony was single again.
After separating from Patricia in 1965, Tony had become involved with an aspiring actress
by the name of Sandra Grant.
The two had met while filming The Oscar, and their romance evolved over the years until
the two finally got married after Tony’s divorce in 1971.
Tony and Sandra were married from 1971 until 1983 and had two daughters.
While Tony’s first marriage ceremony had been a big and notable event, he tried to
keep his second one as quite as possible.
Tony met Susan Crow in the late 1980s.
She was a schoolteacher in New York City and is 40 years Tony’s junior.
Susan’s parents were big Tony fans, and Susan was incredibly familiar with the singer’s
work while she was growing up.
Susan was very excited when she first met Tony, and the two eventually struck up a romance.
They had been together romantically for nearly two decades before finally deciding that they
should tie the knot in 2007.
They are still together today, and their relationship is still strong.
Tony and Susan formed a charitable organization together that is known as Exploring the Arts,
which helps promote art education in schools.
As well, they are the founders of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, a public high
school located in Queens that is dedicated to teaching students looking to learn a thing
or two about performing.
All in all, Tony Bennett has left an incredible legacy!
Fans that had been looking forward to Tony Bennett’s upcoming performances on the east
coast were likely devastated upon learning about their cancellation.
Comment down below to share if you’re saddened by the announcement that Tony is no longer
capable of traveling to perform, or if you think that the singer has put in plenty of
work during his career and deserves the rest.
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