For years, I have heard about the special issue of Billboard Magazine featuring Tony Bennett’s twentieth year in show business. Today, quite by accident, I located a scanned copy of this November 30, 1968 issue of Billboard (thanks to the Google Books project). The special tribute section starts on page 55.

Included in this section is a wonderful and lengthy essay, 20 Years With Tony, by Willis Conover; an article by Tony, When The Feeling’s Right; a wonderful selection of quotes about Tony Bennett from notable musicians; and many tribute advertisements by fellow performers and composers. Included are many wonderful photographs, including some charming childhood photographs of Tony, his brother John and sister Mary.

This section is a real treasure and I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I did.

I also found that reading this old issue of Billboard Magazine to be a really fascinating excursion; I spent several hours reading this issue. Google Books appears to have decades of Billboards dating back to the 1940s.