inger Tony Bennett, who won 20 Grammys and sold over 50 million records worldwide, has died aged 96.
The last of the great saloon singers of the mid-20th century, whose esteemed career spanned seven decades, died on Friday.
The performer was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016 but continued to perform and record through 2021.
The singer was famous for hits including “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” and more recently collaborations with a string of modern day stars.
In 2014, at age 88, Bennett broke his own record as the oldest living performer with a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart for “Cheek to Cheek,” his duets project with Lady Gaga.
Three years earlier, he topped the charts with “Duets II,” featuring such contemporary stars as Gaga, Carrie Underwood and Amy Winehouse, in her last studio recording.
His rapport with Winehouse was captured in the Oscar-nominated documentary “Amy,” which showed Bennett patiently encouraging the insecure young singer through a performance of “Body and Soul.”
He released more than 70 albums, bringing him 19 competitive Grammys – all but two after he reached his 60s – and enjoyed deep and lasting affection from fans and fellow artists.
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