The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Viva Duets Tracklist and News

Tony Bennett on Twitter: "I'd like to share the tracklisting and album cover for Viva Duets with my fans today. You can find it all at http://t.co/5QwLT5uK / Twitter"

I'd like to share the tracklisting and album cover for Viva Duets with my fans today. You can find it all at http://t.co/5QwLT5uK

Here is the official tracklist:

  1. The Best is Yet To Come, with Chayanne
  2. The Way You Look Tonight, with Thalía
  3. Steppin’ Out With My Baby, with Christina Aguilera
  4. For Once In My Live, with Marc Anthony
  5. Are You Havin’ Any Fun? with Dani Martín
  6. The Good Life, with Franco DeVita
  7. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me), with Gloria Estefan
  8. Just In Time, with Juan Luis Guerra
  9. Cold, Cold Heart, with Vicentico
  10. I Wanna Be Around, with Ricardo Arjona
  11. Rags to Riches, with Romeo Santos
  12. Return To Me (Regresa A Mi), with Vicente Fernández

 

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Preparing for Viva Duets – Part Two

Hello. We continue with our presentation of the Latin artists featured on Tony Bennett’s next album: Viva Duets.

Franco DeVita

Born: January 23, 1954 in Caracas, Venezuela
Website: http://francodevita.com/
Twitter: @FrancoDeVita
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/francodvita

Born in Venezuela, Franco DeVita was the son of Italian immigrants and, in fact, learned Italian as his first language prior to Spanish.  An accomplished pianist, he is a singer-songwriter and has written songs for Ricky Martin and Chayanne. He primarily records in Spanish, but has also recorded in Italian and Portuguese. Well known as a popular singer, he has garnered significant popular and critical praise over his career.

He and Tony will be singing The Good Life on Viva Duets.

We feature his song Louis, about a day-dreaming cab driver who loves the Beatles.

Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan

Born: September 1, 1957 in Havana, Cuba (as Gloria Maria Milagrosa Fajardo )
Website: http://www.gloriaestefan.com
Twitter: @GloriaEstefan

Born in Havana, Gloria Estefan’s father was a solder and bodyguard to Batista, and like many Cubans, her family emigrated to Miami, Florida in the midst of the Cuban Revolution.  She was raised in Houston, Texas and Miami; she earned a BA from the  University of Miami, with a major in Psychology and a minor in French. She met (and married) Emilio Estefan of the Miami Sound Machine. They remain married to this day, raising their family in Miami. Their first grandchild was born just a few months ago.

She has had enormous success as an artist, recording steadily since the mid-1970s, first as part of the Miami Sound Machine and then as a solo artist. In 1990, she was seriously injured in an accident when a speeding semi truck ran into her tour bus, suffering a fractured spine. Her resulting surgeries and physical therapy required a year, but she, thankfully, able to return to recording and touring. She records in both Spanish and English and has been on the top of the charts for decades. In addition to her numerous artistic achievements and awards, she is widely recognized for her philanthropic and charitable work, recently recording a video for the It Gets Better project,  a support organization for gay and lesbian teens, many of whom are bullied.

Gloria Estefan is a superstar by any definition.

She and Tony will be singing Who Can I Turn To? on Viva Duets.

Even though the author thinks Conga may be the greatest dance song ever recorded, we feature Rhythm Is Gonna Get You, co-written by Gloria Estefan from Let It Loose. We also highly recommend her latest album, Miss Little Havana.

Vincente Fernandez

Born: February 17, 1940 in Cerro Agudo, Sinaloa, Mexico
Website: http://www.chente.com
Twitter: @vicentefernande
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VicenteFernandezOficial

Known as Chente and El rey de la canción ranchera, Vincente Fernandez is indeed the king of Mexican ranchero music.  He knew from a early age that he was born to sing this music, and worked constantly to become the undisputed king of traditional Mexico music. He has recorded over 100 albums and sold over 65 millions records worldwide.  He has also appeared in several films.

He and Tony will be singing Return to Me (Regresa A Mi) on Viva Duets.

We feature Volver, Volver as a wonderful example of his traditional style. From 1974.

Maria Gadú

Born: December 4, 1986 in São Paulo, Brazil
Website: http://www.mariagadu.com.br/
Twitter:  @mariagadu

Maria Gadú is a young singer-songwriter and guitarist from Brazil. She started teaching to sing and play guitar as young child and began her performing career at the age of 13. Her first album, Maria Gadú was released in 2009 and went Platinum. She has already made a huge impact on Brazilian popular music and will surely be a major presence for many years to come.

She will be  singing Blue Velvet with Tony on Viva Duets; here’s a taste of that duet from the official Tony Bennett website.

We feature Shimbalaie from her first album, Maria Gadú:

 

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Preparing for Viva Duets – Part One

I’m feeling very provincial as I was not familiar with most of the artists that are featured on the upcoming Viva Duets album. Sure I knew who Gloria Estefan is (having spent some time in my wayward youth dancing to Conga) and who doesn’t know Marc Anthony.  So, for any of you who may be in the same boat as me, I thought it would be great to get to know them a bit before the album is released on October 23.

Marc Anthony

Born: September 16, 1968 in New York City and grew up in East Harlem. Both his parents are of Puerto Rican descent.
Website: www.marcanthonyonline.com
Twitter: @marcanthony

Originally named Marco Antonio Muñiz after the famous Mexican singer, he took the stage name Marc Anthony. He started his career singing in New York in the 1908s and was initially associated with  Freestyle, a form of Latin electronic dance music and also made his name as a Freestyle songwriter. In the early 1990s, he gradually began to move to the salsa style and recorded his first salsa album in Spanish, Otra Nota, in 1993. He also began acting in the mid-nineties with great success, including a role in the Paul Simon musical The Capeman and films including Bringing Out the Dead and In the Time of Butterflies with Salma Hayek. He has won the Grammy award multiple times.

He and Tony will be singing For Once in My Life on Viva Duets.

We feature his duet with Jennifer Lopez, Escapémonos, from Amar Sin Mentiras, which won the 2005 Grammy for best Latin Pop Album.

Miguel Bosé

Born: April 3, 1956 in Panama City, Panama. His mother, Lucia Bosé, was a famous Italian actress and his father, Luis Miguel Dominguín, a legendary bullfighter.
Website: www.miguelbose.com
Twitter: @boseofficial

Miguel Bosé grew up surrounded by many of the great artists and writers of the 20th century; Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway were both close friends of the family. His godfather was Luchino Visconti, director of Death in Venice, among many other Italian classic films.

Bosé started his career as an actor in 1971 and then branched out to singing in 1975 to great success. His 1985 song, Amante Bandido, became a hit in Spain and in Latin America, and secured his place as a superstar.

He and Tony will be singing Don’t Get Around Much Anymore on Viva Duets.

We feature another of his songs: Nena.

Roberto Carlos

Born: April 19, 1941 Brazil.
Website: www.robertocarlos.com
Twitter: @siteoficialrc

Known as The King of Latin Music, or often simply The King, Roberto Carlos is a Brazilian superstar. He has been performing since the  1950s and was instrumental in the Jovem Guarda (or Young Guard) movement, which created the birth of Brazilian popular music.  Since that beginning, he has composed and performed steadily up to today.  He has also acted in Brazilian cinema.  He won a Latin Grammy in 1989 for his album Roberto Carlos / Toto. A recent revival of the Jovem Guarda movement by young Brazilian artists has introduced his music and influence to a new generation.

We present El Gato Que Está Triste y Azul as introduction to his wonderful voice. This is live performance from his album En Vivo.

Chayanne

Born: June 28, 1968 in Rio Peiedras, Puerto Rico.
Twitter: @CHAYANNEMUSIC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CHAYANNE

Born Elmer Figueroa Arce, Chayanne is Puerto Rican singer and actor. He currently lives in Miami, Florida, with his wife (attorney and former Venezuelan beauty queen) Marilisa Maronesse and their children.

After being told he was too young to join the group Menudo (who I actually remember), he joined another group called Los Chicos and never looked back. After the group separated in 1984, he began his career as a solo artist. He has recorded steadily and produced hit after hit. He is known as a dynamic and energetic performer and is a pop music icon throughout Latin America. I have to say that I can’t stop listening to his music.

Update: The official Tony Bennett website has posted a sample of their duet The Best is Yet To Come.

We feature Me Enamoré de Ti from 2009:

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Tony Bennett Viva Duets Announced

The album we’ve all been waiting for has been announced and is available for pre-order from Amazon.com and will be released on October 23, 2012. In Viva Duets, Tony sings duets with a stellar group of Latin singers, including Marc Anthony, Chayanne, Gloria Estefan, Thalia, Vincentio and many more. Songs include a wide range of his standards from the Great American Songbook such as Blue Velvet, The Best is Yet To Come, The Good Life, Just in Time and Cold, Cold, Heart.

You can read the press release here.

The official Tony Bennett website has pictures and more news about this highly anticipated album.

Tony Bennett will be touring South and Central America this fall after the release of the album.