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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

November 4, 2016 By Suzanne 1 Comment

Rest in Peace, Kay Starr

It was with great sadness that The Year of Tony Bennett learned that Kay Starr passed away on November 3, 2016 at her home in Bel Air, California, from complications due to Alzheimer’s disease.

She was one of the great singers of the 20th century who did it all: country, western, popular, jazz, the blues and more. Of all of her accolades, I think the greatest came from Billie Holiday, who said that “she was the only white woman who could sing the blues.”

Kay Starr was born in Dougherty, Oklahoma on July 21, 1922, but soon moved with the family to Dallas, Texas. Her singing talents were recognized when she was quite young; she won many radio station talent contests as a child. She was only ten years old when she was earning $3 a night singing popular and hillbilly music.

After high school, she moved to Los Angeles and began working with Charlie Barnet’s band. In 1947, she was signed by Capitol Records, though found herself taking a back seat to the more established female singers. In spite of that, she steadily built a solid and long-lasting career as a singer.

Her background in pop, jazz and country-western type music was unusual, but put her in a position to sing all types of music, though her primary interest and leanings were to sing jazz and she became known as a “saloon singer” and was known for her emotional power and connection to the songs she sang.

You can her obituaries from the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times by clicking on the links.

We leave you with the duet she recorded with Tony Bennett in 2001 for the album Playin’ With My Friends: Tony Bennett Sings the Blues: “Blue and Sentimental.”

Blue and Sentimental

Blue and Sentimental, a song by Tony Bennett, Kay Starr on Spotify

Filed Under: About His Collaborators Tagged With: Blue and Sentimental, Kay Starr

February 26, 2016 By Suzanne 1 Comment

Happy Birthday Harold Jones

The Year of Tony Bennett bloggers would like to wish drummer Harold Jones a very happy birthday!

Harold Jones was Count Basie’s favorite drummer and he’s our favorite drummer too. He has been playing for Tony Bennett since 2006. He also spends a lot of his free time doing drumming workshops and playing with his own band, The Bossmen, in California.

You can read more about Mr. Jones at drummerworld.com. We also enjoyed this interview with Harold from 2012.

Here’s a video of Harold Jones playing with Count Basie in 1968:

p.s. Hope you, Tony and rest of the quartet will be visiting us in Portland, Oregon or Seattle this year. We miss you!

Filed Under: About His Collaborators Tagged With: Harold Jones, Harold Jones birthday

September 14, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Remembering Amy Winehouse

The late Amy Winehouse was born on September 14, 1983 in London and died, tragically, on July 23, 2011. Her father, Mitch Winehouse, created The Amy Winehouse Foundation, which works to prevent the effects of drug and alcohol misuse on young people.

I’d like to remember her today with the video of “Body and Soul” from Duets II.

Filed Under: About His Collaborators Tagged With: Amy Winehouse, Body and Soul

June 10, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Remembering Judy Garland

Judy Garland, a great friend of Tony Bennett, was born on June 10, 1922 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She died in London on June 22, 1969–she was only 47 years old.

Tony Bennett tells this story about Judy in his autobiography The Good Life:

The last time I saw her was in London in April 1969, when I was there doing a TV special with Count Basie. After the show she came backstage to see me, and the last thing she said to me was, “You’re pretty good!” She died two months later. I’ve never gotten over it. She was so kind, so talented, such as dear friend. When I look back, it’s hard to believe that most of the time she was just trying to hold on for dear life.

In tribute to Judy Garland, I leave you with this video from the fifth episode of her television show, with Tony Bennett as the guest star. The year is 1963. It’s one of my favorites; I can actually remember watching this episode with my Mom.

Filed Under: About His Collaborators Tagged With: Judy Garland birthday, The Judy Garland Show

May 15, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

RIP B. B. King

America has lost one of its greatest musicians and I have lost one of my greatest friends. #BBKing pic.twitter.com/GbGj7vxDwv

— Tony Bennett (@itstonybennett) May 15, 2015

Your author lived in Jackson, Mississippi for a few years and had the great pleasure of hearing B.B. King play live there. He was most certainly one the greats. His influence on the blues and blues musicians will live on for generations.

We leave you today with his duet with Tony Bennett from Playin’ With My Friends (2001): “Let The Good Times Roll.”

Let the Good Times Roll (with B.B. King)

Let the Good Times Roll (with B.B. King), a song by Tony Bennett, B.B. King on Spotify

Filed Under: About His Collaborators Tagged With: B.B. King, Let The Good Times Roll, Playing With My Friends

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