The man seemed to conquer age for decades – forever suave, with a voice that could fill a concert hall, without a microphone. Tony Bennett defined ‘the classic crooner’ and knew just which songs to sing to deliver the perfect performance. But age – and Alzheimer’s – has finally caught up to this most authentic ‘last of the original crooners’. We approach Tony’s 95th birthday, with a poignant awareness of fast-fading time, balanced with the appreciation for all he’s given to us.
I’ve got a one-hour salute to this legend – ‘Bennett’s Best’ celebrates his glory-years of the 1950s, but also one of the most amazing career comebacks, crowned with the past two decades of chart-topping albums and duets with countless modern-era stars.
The show’s first hour – ‘This Week in Zoomer Music‘ – salutes Louis Armstrong, remembers Marilyn Monroe, and features ‘The Story Behind the Song’ – ‘The Twist’. Chubby Checker’s song debuted 61 years this week, and quickly became a cultural sensation – literally changing forever how we danced. It also made history as the only song to ever hit #1 in two separate runs (in the summer of ’60 and again early in ’62). There’s more to the story of this amazing song – so I hope you’ll join me.
That’s all on the next ‘Vintage Favourites’ (Aug. 1).