Tony Bennett, the crooner with a voice built to last, has died at the age of 96.

In a career spanning over 70 years, he made more than 150 recordings, leaving his indelible stamp on the Great American Songbook.

Bennett was the recipient of 20 Grammy Awards, the first two for his signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” in 1962; the last was for his duet album with Lady Gaga, “Love for Sale,” bestowed only last year. In all, he sold over 60 million records.

Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, Bennett would still snap to when it came time to perform. His final public appearance was at Radio City Music Hall two summers ago, with Gaga, with whom he formed an unlikely late-in-life partnership. They recorded in 2014 and 2021 and toured together in 2015.

With his chiseled features and sandpaper voice, Bennett possessed an unforced affability, and his appeal seems to have been universal.

It was Bob Hope who gave him the moniker by which he became so well known. Hope wanted him to open for him at the Paramount Theater. He didn’t like Bennett’s stage name, which was then Joe Bari, and he rejected his birth name, Anthony Benedetto, as being too long for the marquee. Hence, he was christened Tony Bennett.

Bennett mostly resisted trends and gimmickry, holding fast to the standards. The ‘70s were the nadir, as he foundered in the wake of rock ‘n’ roll, but he rebounded from a period of comparative neglect and drug addiction. In the 1980s, he rose like a phoenix and made the standards hip again.

Bennett served in the infantry during World War II, marched for civil rights in the 1960s, and sang for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II, and Nelson Mandela.

The son of Italian immigrants, Bennett was an American success story. He brought joy to the world (with perhaps the exception of his ex-wives) with a life well-lived. R.I.P.

On Ed Sullivan

With Lady Gaga

I’ll Be Seeing You