Look up left in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Left may refer to:

• Left (direction)
• Left (Hope of the States album), 2006
• Left (Sharlok Poems album)
• Left-wing politics, the political trend or ideology
• Left (Austria), a movement of Marxist-Leninist, Maoist and Trotskyist organisations in Austria

See also[link]

• Copyleft
• Left-handedness
• Left seat
• Venstre (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Serj Tankian
Serj Tankian performing in Burgas, Bulgaria in August 2010.
Background information
Native name	Սերժ Թանգեան
Birth name	Serj Tankian
Born	(1967-08-21) August 21, 1967 (age 44) Beirut, Lebanon[1]
Genres	Heavy metal, experimental, alternative metal, progressive rock, alternative rock, art rock, classical
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, poet, political activist
Instruments	Vocal, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, sampler, theremin, guitar, bass guitar, violin, harmonica, melodica, bouzouki, dulcimer[disambiguation needed ], drums
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Serjical Strike, Reprise, American, Columbia, Axis of Justice
Associated acts	System of a Down, Axis of Justice, The F.C.C.
Website	www.serjtankian.com

Serj Tankian (Western Armenian: Սերժ Թանգեան [ˈsɛɾʒ tʰɑnˈkʰjɑn]; born August 21, 1967) is a Lebanese-born Armenian-American singer–songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, playwright, record producer, poet, and political activist. He is best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, keyboardist, and occasional live rhythm guitarist of the rock band System of a Down.

During his musical career, Tankian has released five albums with System of a Down, one with Arto Tunçboyacıyan (Serart), as well as three solo albums Elect the Dead, Imperfect Harmonies and Harakiri. A live orchestral version of Elect the Dead incorporating the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra named Elect the Dead Symphony was released. In 2002, Tankian and Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello co-founded a non-profit political activist organization, Axis of Justice. Tankian also founded the music label Serjical Strike Records.

Tankian is ranked 26th in the Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.

On August 12, 2011, Tankian was awarded the Armenian Prime Minister's Medal for his contributions to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the advancement of music.^[2]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Tankian was born in Beirut, Lebanon on August 21, 1967.^[3] At age seven, Serj Tankian moved with his parents to Los Angeles, California.^[3] In his youth, he attended a school for Armenian-Americans, Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School,^[4] which was also attended by Tankian's future System of a Down bandmates Daron Malakian and Shavo Odadjian.^[5] Tankian was accepted into California State University, Northridge. This is where Tankian first began to play instruments and write songs.^[3]

Soil and System of a Down (1994–2006)[link]

The early beginnings of System of a Down lie in a band named Soil (not to be confused with the Chicago-based band SOiL) with Tankian on vocals & keyboards, Daron Malakian on vocals & lead guitar, Dave Hakopyan on bass and Domingo Loranio on drums. The band hired Shavo Odadjian as their then-manager but for him to later join as rhythm guitarist. Loriano and Hakopyan later left the band feeling that it wasn't going anywhere, leading to Soil splitting up.

After Soil split up, Tankian, Odadjian and Malakian formed a new band they called System of a Down, after a poem Malakian wrote called Victims of a Down. Their original drummer was Ontronik Khachaturian, with whom they had spent time playing with in Soil, though he was later replaced by John Dolmayan after breaking his hand shortly before a gig the band had been booked to play, giving Dolmayan the last-minute call up. The band quickly began touring the Southern California rock clubs, and began to attract a strong following.

[edit] Elect the Dead (2007–2010)

Tankian's breakthrough as a solo artist came with the release of his debut record Elect the Dead. The first singles from Elect the Dead are "The Unthinking Majority" and "Empty Walls". The music video "Feed Us" was released on the Swedish^[6] and UK^[7] MTV. Tankian appeared on MTV's You Rock The Deuce to promote Elect the Dead.^{[citation needed]} A music video was directed and filmed for every song on the record, each by unique directors. Tankian explained, "I asked each of the directors for their visual interpretation of my work. They were asked not to write treatments and that they could make whatever they liked. The results have been overwhelmingly amazing!"^[8] Some music videos were initially released exclusively to those who purchased the limited edition of Elect the Dead, while all of the music videos, except "Money", have since been publicly released on Tankian's website and YouTube channel. Some videos have alternative versions which were originally released as well, but later altered.^{[citation needed]}

Three different promo versions of the album have surfaced to the public. The instrumental promotional version, issued by Serjical Strike/Reprise Records and intended for the music and movie industry, contains instrumental versions of the twelve album tracks. Another promotional version, issued by Reprise Records and made only for individual reviewers, features the album in final master form. This promotional CD-R, which was labeled "Smart Talk" as a codename for "Serj Tankian" to prevent leaking by unauthorized persons, also indicates that the album was finalized prior to August 20, 2007 (2007-08-20).^[9] Before this a similar but undated promo, also under the name 'Smart Talk', was issued featuring the final versions of the songs, albeit not yet mastered.^{[citation needed]} Whilst the printed track list on this version is identical the released album, tracks ten and eleven are in fact juxtaposed on the promo itself.

The official tour for Elect the Dead commenced on October 12, 2007 with a show at Chicago's Vic theater. Roughly one thousand people attended the first concert. Although Tankian had stated he would not be performing any material by his former band, System of a Down, he performed "Charades" and "Blue", songs co-written by Daron Malakian, the guitarist of System of a Down. "Blue" had previously appeared on their Fourth Demo Tape in 1998, and Charades was attempted during the 2005 Mezmerize/Hypnotize sessions, but never released (although a short video clip of Tankian and Dolmayan playing the song in a recording studio was featured on "the Making of Mezmerize/Hypnotize"). Although it is originally a song restricted to piano and vocals, Tankian used his backing band, the Flying Cunts of Chaos (F.C.C.), to provide guitars, drums, and bass.^{[citation needed]} The songs "Beethoven's Cunt", Empty Walls, and Sky Is Over are available as downloadable content for Rock Band. A portion of the song "Lie Lie Lie" is currently featured in the opening title sequence of NBC's Fear Itself, a horror anthology show from the creators of Masters of Horror, and can be viewed on the show's main website.^{[citation needed]}

More recently, he sang with Les Rita Mitsouko on the song "Terminal Beauty". Also, he sang with the band Fair to Midland during a live improvisational version of their song "Walls of Jericho", from the album Fables from a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True, which was a massive hit with fans. He often collaborates with his close friend, director Diran Noubar on various projects, including the voice-over of Noubar's Armenia, a Country Under Blockade. Noubar played some guitar on Tankian's Elect the Dead album on the track "Saving Us" and directed the music video for "Baby".

Serj Tankian performing in 2005

Tankian is also politically involved. Together with Tom Morello, he founded the organization Axis of Justice. Tankian is a New Zealand resident and has a secondary vacation dwelling there.^[10] There has been a misconception that he intends to stay in New Zealand until the Iraq War is over, but as stated in an interview, Tankian has no intention of doing so. He often speaks publicly against violence and injustice in the world. Tankian released a new song "Fears" in November 2008 exclusively in support of Amnesty International's Global Write-A-Thon.^[11]

On March 16, 2009, Serj performed with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in New Zealand, an orchestral version of the album Elect the Dead. The live performance was captured in a CD/DVD titled Elect the Dead Symphony which was released on March 9, 2010.

Tankian co-wrote a musical with the American playwright Steven Sater. It is based on the Ancient Greek tragedy Prometheus Bound. It will open at the American Repertory Theater on March 14, 2011.^[12][13]

In 2009, Tankian collaborated with the band Viza (previously known as Visa) for their track "Viktor".^[14] Viza is signed to Tankian's Serjical Strike label.

On February 15, 2010, Serj Tankian released a new single, "The Charade". The song is available as a digital download on iTunes.

[edit] Imperfect Harmonies (2010–2012)

Tankian's second solo album was originally due in 2009. It is said to be more of a jazz and orchestral based sound. Said Tankian of the second album, "I'm structuring the next record kind of like a jazz orchestral. I've got a full orchestra interested, so I want this giant electric guitar in the air to be played by a full orchestra. I want the orchestra to be the electric guitar. I want to make an orchestra do what it's never done before, like a GG Allin type orchestra. Think of that."^[15] The album had the working title Music Without Borders, however, the final album title is Imperfect Harmonies. On June 23, 2010, a promo single from his upcoming album Imperfect Harmonies was released called "Borders Are". The first radio single from Imperfect Harmonies, "Left Of Center", was released on July 13, 2010. A third single, "Disowned Inc." was released on August 9, 2010. Imperfect Harmonies was released on September 21, 2010. Preceding the album's release, two contests were announced (one consisting of brainteasers related to the album/song titles, the other an art contest) in which fans could win prizes such as Tankian's autograph and merchandise. On August 22, 2010, a music video for Left Of Center was released on Tankian's MySpace account.

The premiere date for Tankian and Sater's Prometheus Bound at the American Repertory Theater is February 25, 2011. The singer has said that collaborating on the show has been a great learning experience for him. "I’ve been using a lot of my archives, a lot of different types of music that I had already put together for underscoring and what not," he said. "It’s quite diverse, from noise to jazz to electronic stuff to hip-hop songs to rock songs to cool, piano dark underscores, and that’s a whole different bag of tricks there because it’s always evolving. Unlike a film score that’s very linear and you get a scene to score for, this is something where you do another workshop and one song is gone, that underscore changes to 20 seconds and they need something else on the spot. Everything’s always changing until the show comes, so it’s quite interesting."^[16]

In January 2011 Tankian released a music video for his song Reconstructive Demonstrations from his album Imperfect Harmonies. Tankian also announced on his Facebook page, during the video's release, that a new EP entitled Imperfect Remixes would be released sometime within 2011. On February 3, Serj uploaded a photo of him singing into a microphone onto his Facebook fan page, accompanied with the description "New music video coming soon..." On March 1, Serj released Imperfect Remixes and the music video for Goodbye, a remix of Gate 21 from Imperfect Harmonies.

[edit] System of a Down reunion and Harakiri (2011-Future)

On November 29, 2010, following several weeks of internet rumors, System of a Down officially announced that they will play shows in Europe during Festivals and in North America, mostly in US. Dates are between May and July 2011.^[17] Among the announced tour dates included UK's Download Festival, Switzerland's Greenfield Festival, Germany's Rock am Ring/Rock im Park, Sweden's Metaltown, Austria's Nova Rock Festival and Finland's Provinssirock. The band gave a single concert in Olympic Sports Complex of Moscow in June 2011.^[18] In their reunion statement posted on their website, the band was unclear as to the extent of their reformation. It read, "We have no master plan of sorts—we are playing these shows simply because we want to play together again as a band and for you, our amazing fans."^[19] Dates have been announced in the official System of a Down website.

In early July 2011, Serj posted a video on YouTube showing two samples of new songs. During the video he said "next year". In multiple interviews he has stated that he has been working on a Rock record that will be released in 2011, and some side projects including jazz, electronic, and symphonic records. John Dolmayan has also confirmed the solo album, as well as confirmed that a new System album will be made^{[citation needed]}, but not for at least a year. This is due to Serj being in New Zealand as well as touring for his new album in 2012. It has been confirmed that his newest album is named Harakiri and will be released on July 10, 2012. This will be the first of 4 new albums to be released in the near future.^[20] The first single from this album is called "Figure It Out" and was released on May 1st. ^[21] Song has later appeared on Serj Tankian official YouTube channel. On May 30th, 2012, is announced that "Cornucopia" will be the second single taken from Harakiri and it will be released on June 12th.

Animal rights[link]

Tankian has taken a stance supporting animal rights. He also has become a vegetarian who has strong feelings against the establishment of industrial slaughterhouses. In an interview with PETA, he claimed his change was due to "touring and its variety of edible crap," and also he felt it was "instinctive somewhat." Furthermore, he also feels the need for respect towards 'mother earth'.^[22]

In July 2009, Serj signed a PETA petition against the slaughtering methods of chickens in KFC slaughterhouses.^[23]

The F.C.C.[link]

The F.C.C. (Flying Cunts of Chaos) was Serj's backing band when he played live up until 2009.^[24]

Final line-up

• Mario Pagliarulo  – bass, vocals
• Erwin Khachikian  – keyboards, piano, synthesizers, vocals
• Troy Zeigler  – drums, vocals
• Dan Monti  – guitar, vocals
• Jeff Mallow  – guitar, vocals (2008–present)

Past members

• Larry "Ler" LaLonde  – guitar, vocals (2007–2008)

Discography[link]

Solo

• Elect the Dead (2007)
• Imperfect Harmonies (2010)
• Harakiri (2012)
• Orca

With System of a Down

• System of a Down (1998)
• Toxicity (2001)
• Steal This Album! (2002)
• Mezmerize (2005)
• Hypnotize (2005)

With Serart

• Serart (2003)

With Buckethead and various artists

• Enter The Chicken (2005)
• Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness) (2008)

With Tony Iommi

• Iommi (2000)

With Wyclef Jean

• Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant (2007)

Bibliography[link]

• Cool Gardens, 2001, MTV Books
• Glaring Through Oblivion, 2011, It Books ^[25]

Awards and nominations[link]

System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, of which has won one in 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song B.Y.O.B.. The band has also been nominated for several Kerrang! and MTV awards.

Grammy Awards

General

• In 2005, System of a Down won for Best Alternative Act in the Europe Music Awards
• In 2006, System of a Down won the "MTV Good Woodie Award" for their song "Question!"
• In 2006, System of a Down's song "Toxicity" was #14 on the VH1 Top 40 Metal Songs List

References[link]

External links[link]

• Serj Tankian's official website
• Serjical Strike official website
• Brazilian Fan Site
• System of a Down's official website
• Serj Tankian at the Internet Movie Database

Nick Lachey
Lachey in March 2012.
Background information
Birth name	Nicholas Scott Lachey
Born	(1973-11-09) November 9, 1973 (age 38) Harlan, Kentucky, United States
Origin	Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Genres	Pop rock, R&B
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actor
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Motown, Universal, Jive
Associated acts	98 Degrees

Nicholas Scott "Nick" Lachey ( /ləˈʃeɪ/ lə-SHAY;^[1] born November 9, 1973) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and television personality. Lachey rose to fame as a member of the boy band 98 Degrees. He later starred in the reality television series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica with his then-wife, Jessica Simpson. He has released two solo albums, SoulO and What's Left of Me. As a solo artist Nick Lachey sold over 600,000 records and with 98 Degrees, over 10 million records worldwide. He had a recurring role on the television series Charmed.

Early life[link]

Lachey was born near the border of Kentucky and Virginia in Harlan, Kentucky to Cate Fopma-Leimbach and John Lachey.^[2] He has a brother, Drew, a stepsister, Josie, a half brother, Isaac, and two adopted siblings, Zach and Caitlin Leimbach. Growing up in Ohio, he attended Cincinnati Public Schools-School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA), developing his vocal talent while excelling in sports and academics.^[2] After graduation he attended the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, California. After a year at USC, he wanted to be closer to his family and transferred to Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio, where he studied sports medicine and became a brother in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Career[link]

Nick started his professional singing career at Kings Island with friend Justin Jeffre in the mid-1990s singing in a group quartet throughout the park.^[3][4] Lachey was a member of boyband 98 Degrees along with his brother, Drew, Justin Jeffre, and Jeff Timmons Their debut album was the self-titled 98 Degrees; however, the band's first real success came with their follow up album 98 Degrees and Rising. 98 Degrees has sold over 10 million records.

During the summer of 2003, the reality show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, starring Lachey and then-wife Jessica Simpson began airing on MTV. The couple starred in the television special The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour, which aired in 2004 and was compared to The Sonny & Cher Show.^[5] In 2005, Newlyweds won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Reality Show before wrapping shortly after.^[6] On November 11, 2003, his solo debut album, SoulO, was released.^[2] Despite being released during the success of Newlyweds, the album was a commercial failure. Lachey took a recurring role on series Charmed between 2004 and 2005.^[7]

Nick Lachey in February 2006.

What's Left of Me was released on May 9, 2006 and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. The album was certified Gold, after selling more than 500,000 copies domestically. The first single from the album was the title track, "What's Left of Me", released on February 21, 2006. The song became a hit, reaching a peak position of number six on the Billboard Hot 100. The video for "What's Left Of Me" featured former MTV VJ, Vanessa Minnillo. Lachey recorded "Ordinary Day" for the Oprah Winfrey-produced film, For One More Day.

Lachey began working on his third solo album in 2007.^[8] Lachey also starred in a well known TV series, One Tree Hill, as a singer at Red Bedroom Productions. It was announced in January 2010 that Jive Records had put his new album on hold indefinitely.^[9] In June 2010, Lachey confirmed that he had parted ways with Jive Records. Taking the Stage, a musical reality show documenting the lives of high school students at the School for Creative and Performing Arts, premiered on MTV in March 2009. It was produced by Lachey. In December 2009, he hosted The Sing-Off, a four-part American singing competition featuring a cappella groups, a role he reprised during December 2010 for the show's second and third season on NBC.

Sports interests[link]

Lachey is part owner of the Hollywood Fame, a team in the American Basketball Association that began play in fall 2006, and was part of an ownership group of the Tacoma Rainiers, the Seattle Mariners' Triple-A affiliate. Lachey is also a die-hard Cincinnati Bengals, Cincinnati Reds, and Cincinnati Bearcats fan.^[10]

On April 7, 2009 Lachey threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the MLB Opening Day game in Cincinnati, Ohio. On July 9, 2011 Lachey sang the National Anthem for the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky.

Personal life[link]

Lachey dated fellow pop star Jessica Simpson on and off for four years, beginning in early 1999. On October 26, 2002, Lachey married Simpson.^[11] In November 2005, after months of tabloid speculation, Simpson and Lachey announced they were separating. Simpson filed for divorce on December 16, 2005, citing "irreconcilable differences."^[12][13] The couple's divorce was publicized worldwide and was reportedly finalized on June 30, 2006.^[14] "Despite his much smaller net worth, he openly refused to request a payout, even turning down a $1.5 million settlement offer from Simpson's dad."^[15] The couple sold their Calabasas mansion, in which Newlyweds was filmed, to Malcolm in the Middle star Justin Berfield for an undisclosed amount.^[16]

Soon after the release of "What's Left of Me", his 2006 music video starring Vanessa Minnillo, Lachey and Minnillo began dating.^[17] They briefly broke up in June 2009,^[18] but by October 2009, Lachey confirmed that they were back together after having been "single for a minute".^[19] On November 4, 2010, Lachey and Minnillo announced their engagement.^[20] They were married July 15, 2011, on Sir Richard Branson's private Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands,^[21] with a small party of 35 close friends and family.^[22] Their wedding was filmed and televised on July 30 on TLC. On March 5, 2012, Lachey announced on Live! with Kelly that he and his wife are expecting their first child.^[23]

Lachey is also on the entertainment council of the hunger-relief organization Feeding America.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

• SoulO (2003)
• What's Left of Me (2006)
• New album (2012)

Filmography[link]

Nick Lachey in April 2008.

Awards and nominations[link]

Teen Choice Awards

• Best Love Song: What's Left of Me (August 20, 2006)
• Choice Red Carpet Fashion Icon (August 20, 2006)

MTV Video Music Awards

• Best Male Video: What's Left of Me (nominated) (August 29, 2006)

American Music Awards

• Favorite Male Pop/Rock Artist (nominated) (November 21, 2006)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nick Lachey

• Nick Lachey Official Website

Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett performing in 2003
Background information
Birth name	Anthony Dominick Benedetto
Born	(1926-08-03) August 3, 1926 (age 85) Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Traditional pop Jazz
Occupations	Singer
Years active	1949–present
Labels	Columbia MGM Improv Legacy Recordings
Website	Official website

Anthony Dominick Benedetto, better known as Tony Bennett (born August 3, 1926), is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a serious and accomplished painter, having created works — under the name Benedetto — that are on permanent public display in several institutions. He is the founder of Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York City.

Raised in New York City, Bennett began singing at an early age. He fought in the final stages of World War II as an infantryman with the U.S. Army in the European Theatre. Afterwards, he developed his singing technique, signed with Columbia Records, and had his first number one popular song with "Because of You" in 1951. Several top hits such as "Rags to Riches" followed in the early 1950s. Bennett then further refined his approach to encompass jazz singing. He reached an artistic peak in the late 1950s with albums such as The Beat of My Heart and Basie Swings, Bennett Sings. In 1962, Bennett recorded his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco". His career and his personal life then suffered an extended downturn during the height of the rock music era.

Bennett staged a remarkable comeback in the late 1980s and 1990s, putting out gold record albums again and expanding his audience to the MTV Generation while keeping his musical style intact. He remains a popular and critically praised recording artist and concert performer in the 2010s. Bennett has won 17 Grammy Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award, presented in 2001) and two Emmy Awards, and has been named an NEA Jazz Master and a Kennedy Center Honoree. He has sold over 50 million records worldwide.

Early life[link]

Anthony Benedetto was born in Astoria, Queens, New York City, one of three children of Anna (née Suraci) and John Benedetto.^[1] His father was a grocer who in 1906 had emigrated from Podàrgoni, a rural eastern district of the southern Italian city of Reggio Calabria, and his mother was a seamstress who had been born in the U.S. shortly after her parents also emigrated from the Calabria region in 1899.^[1] Other relatives came over as well as part of the mass migration of Italians to America.^[1] With a father who was ailing and unable to work, Anthony, older brother John Jr., and younger sister Mary grew up in poverty.^[2] John Benedetto Sr. instilled in his son a love of art and literature and a compassion for human suffering,^[3] but died when Anthony was 10 years old.^[2] The experience of growing up in the Great Depression and a distaste for the effects of the Hoover Administration would make the child a lifelong Democrat.^[4]

Young "Tony" Benedetto grew up listening to Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, Judy Garland and Bing Crosby as well as jazz artists such as Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden and Joe Venuti. His Uncle Dick was a tap dancer in vaudeville, giving him an early window into show business,^[5] and his Uncle Frank was the Queens borough library commissioner.^[6] By age 10 he was already singing, and performed at the opening of the Triborough Bridge,^[7] standing next to Mayor Fiorello La Guardia who patted him on the head.^[6] Drawing was another early passion of his;^[2] he became known as the class caricaturist at P.S. 141 and anticipated a career in commercial art.^[8] He began singing for money at age 13, performing as a singing waiter in several Italian restaurants around his native Queens.^[8][9]

He attended New York's High School of Industrial Art where he studied painting and music^[10] and would later appreciate their emphasis on proper technique.^[11] But he dropped out at age 16 to help support his family.^[12] He worked as a copy boy and runner for the Associated Press in Manhattan^[13][14] and in several other low-skilled, low-paying jobs.^[15] But mostly he set his sights on a professional singing career, returning to performing as a singing waiter, playing and winning amateur nights all around the city, and having a successful engagement at a Paramus, New Jersey nightclub.^[9][15]

World War II and after[link]

Benedetto was drafted into the United States Army in November 1944, during the final stages of World War II.^[2][16] He did basic training at Fort Dix and Fort Robinson as part of becoming an infantry rifleman.^[17] Benedetto ran afoul of a sergeant from the South who disliked the Italian from New York City and heavy doses of KP duty or BAR cleaning resulted.^[17] Processed through the huge Le Havre replacement depot, in January 1945, he was assigned as a replacement infantryman to the 255th Infantry Regiment of the 63rd Infantry Division, a unit filling in for the heavy losses suffered in the Battle of the Bulge.^[18] He moved across France, and later, into Germany.^[2] As March 1945 began, he joined the front line and what he would later describe as a "front-row seat in hell."^[18]

As the German Army was pushed back to their homeland, Benedetto and his company saw bitter fighting in cold winter conditions, often hunkering down in foxholes as German 88 mm guns fired on them.^[19] At the end of March, they crossed the Rhine and entered Germany, engaging in dangerous house-to-house, town-after-town fighting to clean out German soldiers;^[19] during the first week of April, they crossed the Kocher River, and by the end of the month reached the Danube.^[20] During his time in combat, Benedetto narrowly escaped death several times.^[2] The experience made him a pacifist;^[2] he would later write, "Anybody who thinks that war is romantic obviously hasn't gone through one,"^[18] and later say, "It was a nightmare that's permanent. I just said, 'This is not life. This is not life.'"^[21] At the war's conclusion he was involved in the liberation of a Nazi concentration camp near Landsberg,^[2] where some American prisoners of war from the 63rd Division had also been held.^[20]

Benedetto stayed in Germany as part of the occupying force, but was assigned to an informal Special Services band unit that would entertain nearby American forces.^[2] His dining with a black friend from high school – at a time when the Army was still racially segregated – led to his being demoted and reassigned to Graves Registration Service duties.^[22] Subsequently, he sang with the 314th Army Special Services Band under the stage name Joe Bari^[23] (a name he had started using before the war, chosen after the city and province in Italy and as a partial anagram of his family origins in Calabria).^[24] He played with many musicians who would have post-war careers.^[23]

Upon his discharge from the Army and return to the States in 1946, Benedetto studied at the American Theatre Wing on the GI Bill.^[7] He was taught the bel canto singing discipline,^[25] which would keep his voice in good shape for his entire career. He continued to perform wherever he could, including while waiting tables.^[2] Based upon a suggestion from a teacher at American Theatre Wing, he developed an unusual approach that involved imitating, as he sang, the style and phrasing of other musicians — such as that of Stan Getz's saxophone and Art Tatum's piano — helping him to improvise as he interpreted a song.^[12][26] He made a few recordings as Bari in 1949 for small Leslie Records, but they failed to sell.^[27]

In 1949, Pearl Bailey recognized Benedetto's talent and asked him to open for her in Greenwich Village.^[9] She had invited Bob Hope to the show. Hope decided to take Benedetto on the road with him, and simplified his name to Tony Bennett.^[27] In 1950, Bennett cut a demo of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and was signed to the major Columbia Records label by Mitch Miller.^[7]

First successes[link]

Warned by Miller not to imitate Frank Sinatra^[5] (who was just then leaving Columbia), Bennett began his career as a crooner singing commercial pop tunes. His first big hit was "Because of You", a ballad produced by Miller with a lush orchestral arrangement from Percy Faith. It started out gaining popularity on jukeboxes, then reached #1 on the pop charts in 1951 and stayed there for 10 weeks,^[28] selling over a million copies.^[27] This was followed to the top of the charts later that year^[28] by a similarly-styled rendition of Hank Williams's "Cold, Cold Heart", which helped introduce Williams and country music in general to a wider, more national audience.^[29] The Miller and Faith tandem continued to work on all of Bennett's early hits. Bennett's recording of "Blue Velvet" was also very popular and attracted screaming teenaged fans at concerts at the famed Paramount Theater in New York (Bennett did seven shows a day, starting at 10:30 a.m.)^[30] and elsewhere.

A third #1 came in 1953 with "Rags to Riches". Unlike Bennett's other early hits, this was an up-tempo big band number with a bold, brassy sound and a double tango in the instrumental break; it topped the charts for eight weeks.^[28] Later that year the producers of the upcoming Broadway musical Kismet had Bennett record "Stranger in Paradise" as a way of promoting the show during a New York newspaper strike.^[31] The song reached the top, the show was a hit, and Bennett began a long practice of recording show tunes.^[31] "Stranger in Paradise" was also a #1 hit in the United Kingdom a year and a half later^[32] and started Bennett's career as an international artist.

Once the rock and roll era began in 1955, the dynamic of the music industry changed and it became harder and harder for existing pop singers to do well commercially.^[7] Nevertheless, Bennett continued to enjoy success, placing eight songs in the Billboard Top 40 during the latter part of the 1950s, with "In the Middle of an Island" reaching the highest at #9 in 1957.^[33]

For a month in August–September 1956, Bennett hosted a NBC Saturday night television variety show, called The Tony Bennett Show, as a summer replacement for The Perry Como Show.^[34] Patti Page and Julius La Rosa had in turn hosted the two previous months, and they all shared the same singers, dancers, and orchestra.^[34] In 1959, Bennett would again fill in for The Perry Como Show, this time alongside Teresa Brewer and Jaye P. Morgan as co-hosts of the summer-long Perry Presents.^[35]

A growing artistry[link]

In 1954, the guitarist Chuck Wayne became Bennett's musical director.^[36] Bennett released his first long-playing album in 1955, Cloud 7. The album was billed as featuring Wayne and showed Benett's leanings towards jazz. In 1957, Ralph Sharon became Bennett's pianist and musical director,^[37] replacing Wayne. Sharon told Bennett that a career singing "sweet saccharine songs like 'Blue Velvet'" wouldn't last long, and encouraged Bennett to focus even more on his jazz inclinations.^[5]

The result was the 1957 album The Beat of My Heart. It used well-known jazz musicians such as Herbie Mann and Nat Adderley, with a strong emphasis on percussion from the likes of Art Blakey, Jo Jones, Latin star Candido Camero, and Chico Hamilton. The album was both popular and critically praised.^[5][38] Bennett followed this by working with the Count Basie Orchestra, becoming the first male pop vocalist to sing with Basie's band.^[5] The albums Basie Swings, Bennett Sings (1958) and In Person! (1959) were the well-regarded fruits of this collaboration, with "Chicago" being one of the standout songs.^[5][7]

Bennett also built up the quality, and therefore, the reputation of his nightclub act; in this he was following the path of Sinatra and other top jazz and standards singers of this era.^[7] In June 1962, Bennett staged a highly-promoted concert performance at Carnegie Hall, using a stellar line-up of musicians including Al Cohn, Kenny Burrell, and Candido, as well as the Ralph Sharon Trio. The concert featured 44 songs, including favorites like "I've Got the World on a String" and "The Best Is Yet To Come". It was a big success, further cementing Bennett's reputation as a star both at home and abroad.^[5][39] Bennett also appeared on television, and in October 1962 he sang on the first night of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.^[40]

Also in 1962, Bennett released the song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco". Although this reached only #19 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[33] it spent close to a year on various other charts and increased Bennett's exposure.^[7][39] The album of the same title was a top 5 hit and both the single and album achieved gold record status.^[7] The song won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Male Solo Vocal Performance. Over the years, this would become known as Bennett's signature song.^[10][25] In 2001, it was ranked 23rd on an RIAA/NEA list of the most historically significant Songs of the 20th Century.

Bennett's following album, I Wanna Be Around (1963), was also a top-5 success,^[7] with the title track and "The Good Life" each reaching the top 20 of the pop singles chart^[33] along with the top 10 of the Adult Contemporary chart.^[41]

The next year brought The Beatles and the British Invasion, and with them still more musical and cultural attention to rock and less to pop, standards, and jazz. Over the next couple of years Bennett had minor hits with several albums and singles based on show tunes – his last top-40 single was the #34 "If I Ruled the World" from Pickwick in 1965^[33] – but his commercial fortunes were clearly starting to decline. An attempt to break into acting with a role in the poorly received 1966 film The Oscar met with middling reviews for Bennett; he did not enjoy the experience and did not seek further roles.^[42][43]

A firm believer in the American Civil Rights movement,^[25] Bennett participated in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches.^[44] Years later he would continue this commitment by refusing to perform in apartheid South Africa.^[10]

Years of struggle[link]

Ralph Sharon and Bennett parted ways in 1965.^[37] There was great pressure on singers such as Lena Horne and Barbra Streisand to record "contemporary" rock songs, and in this vein Columbia Records' Clive Davis suggested that Bennett do the same.^[7] Bennett was very reluctant, and when he tried, the results pleased no one. This was exemplified by Tony Sings the Great Hits of Today! (1970),^[7] before which Bennett became physically ill at the thought of recording.^[45] It featured misguided attempts at Beatles and other current songs and a ludicrous psychedelic art cover.^[45][46]

Years later Bennett would recall his dismay at being asked to do contemporary material, comparing it to when his mother was forced to produce a cheap dress.^[47] By 1972, he had departed Columbia for the Verve division of MGM Records (Philips in the UK) and had relocated for a stint in London, where he hosted a television show from the Talk of the Town nightclub in conjunction with Thames Television, Tony Bennett from the Talk of the Town.^[48][49][50] With his new label he tried a variety of approaches, including some more Beatles material, but found no renewed commercial success, and in a couple more years he was without a recording contract.^[7][51]

Taking matters into his own hands, Bennett started his own record company, Improv.^[7] He cut some songs that would later become favorites, such as "What is This Thing Called Love?", and made two well-regarded albums with jazz pianist Bill Evans, The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album (1975) and Together Again (1976),^[39] but Improv lacked a distribution arrangement with a major label and by 1977, it was out of business.^[7][52]

As the decade neared its end, Bennett had no recording contract, no manager, and was not performing many concerts outside of Las Vegas.^[12] His second marriage was failing (they would completely separate in 1979, but not officially divorce until 2007).^[53] He had developed a drug addiction, was living beyond his means, and had the Internal Revenue Service trying to seize his Los Angeles home.^[12][52]

Turnaround[link]

After a near-fatal cocaine overdose in 1979, Bennett called his sons Danny and Dae for help. "Look, I'm lost here," he told them. "It seems like people don't want to hear the music I make."^[12]

Danny Bennett, an aspiring musician himself, also came to a realization. The band Danny and his brother had started, Quacky Duck and His Barnyard Friends, had foundered and Danny's musical abilities were limited. However, he had discovered during this time that he did have a head for business. His father, on the other hand, had tremendous musical talent but was having trouble sustaining a career from it and had little financial sense. Danny signed on as his father's manager.^[52]

Danny got his father's expenses under control, moved him back to New York, and began booking him in colleges and small theaters to get him away from a "Vegas" image.^[12][52] After some effort, a successful plan to pay back the IRS debt was put into place.^[52] In 1979, Tony Bennett had also reunited with Ralph Sharon as his pianist and musical director.^[37] By 1986, Tony Bennett was re-signed to Columbia Records, this time with creative control, and released The Art of Excellence. This became his first album to reach the charts since 1972.^[7]

An unexpected audience[link]

Danny Bennett felt that younger audiences who were unfamiliar with Tony Bennett would respond to his music if given a chance.^[54] No changes to Tony's formal appearance, singing style, musical accompaniment (The Ralph Sharon Trio or an orchestra), or song choice (generally the Great American Songbook) were necessary or desirable.^[7][55] Accordingly, Danny began regularly to book his father on Late Night with David Letterman, a show with a younger, hip audience.^[54] This was subsequently followed by appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Simpsons, Muppets Tonight, and various MTV programs.^[10][12] In 1993, Bennett played a series of benefit concerts organized by alternative rock radio stations around the country.^[54] The plan worked; as Tony later remembered, "I realized that young people had never heard those songs. Cole Porter, Gershwin – they were like, 'Who wrote that?' To them, it was different. If you're different, you stand out."^[12]

During this time, Bennett continued to record, first putting out the acclaimed look back Astoria: Portrait of the Artist (1990), then emphasizing themed albums such as the Sinatra homage Perfectly Frank (1992) and the Fred Astaire tribute Steppin' Out (1993). The latter two both achieved gold status and won Grammys for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance (Bennett's first Grammys since 1962) and further established Bennett as the inheritor of the mantle of a classic American great.^[54]

As Bennett was seen at MTV Video Music Awards shows side-by-side with the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Flavor Flav, and as his "Steppin' Out With My Baby" video received MTV airplay,^[54] it was clear that, as The New York Times said, "Tony Bennett has not just bridged the generation gap, he has demolished it. He has solidly connected with a younger crowd weaned on rock. And there have been no compromises."^[56]

The new audience reached its height with Bennett's appearance in 1994 on MTV Unplugged.^[52] (He quipped famously on the show, "I've been unplugged my whole career.") Featuring guest appearances by rock and country stars Elvis Costello and k.d. lang (both of whom had an affinity for the standards genre), the show attracted a considerable audience and much media attention.^[54] The resulting MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett album went platinum and, besides taking the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance Grammy award for the third straight year, also won the top Grammy prize of Album of the Year.^[5][57] At age 68, Tony Bennett had come all the way back.

Painting[link]

Tony Bennett's career as a painter, done under his real surname of Benedetto, has also flourished.^[58][59] He followed up his childhood interest with serious training, work, and museum visits throughout his life. He sketches or paints every day, even of views out of hotel windows when he is on tour.^[57]

He has exhibited his work in numerous galleries around the world.^[57] He was chosen as the official artist for the 2001 Kentucky Derby, and was commissioned by the United Nations to do two paintings, including one for their 50th anniversary.^[57] His painting "Homage to Hockney" (for his friend David Hockney, painted after Hockney drew him) is on permanent display at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio.^[58] His "Boy on Sailboat, Sydney Bay" is in the permanent collection at the National Arts Club in Gramercy Park in New York, as is his "Central Park" at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.^[57] His paintings and drawings have been featured in ARTnews and other magazines, and sell for as much as $80,000 apiece.^[10][52] Many of his works were published in the art book Tony Bennett: What My Heart Has Seen in 1996. In 2007, another book involving his paintings, Tony Bennett in the Studio: A Life of Art & Music, became a best-seller among art books.^[30]

No retirement[link]

Since his comeback, Bennett has financially prospered; by 1999, his assets were worth $15 to 20 million.^[52] He had no intention of retiring, saying "If you study the masters – Picasso, Jack Benny, Fred Astaire – right up to the day they died, they were performing. If you are creative, you get busier as you get older."^[52] Indeed, Bennett has continued to record and tour steadily, doing 100 to 200 shows a year.^[10][52] In concert Bennett often makes a point of singing one song (usually "Fly Me to the Moon") without any microphone or amplification, demonstrating his skills at vocal projection.^[55][60][61] One show, Tony Bennett's Wonderful World: Live From San Francisco, was made into a PBS special. Bennett also created the idea behind, and starred in the first episode of, the A&E Network's popular Live By Request series, for which he won an Emmy Award.^[52][57] In addition to numerous television guest performances, Bennett has had cameo appearances as himself in films such as The Scout, Analyze This, and Bruce Almighty. In 1998 he made an unlikely but successful appearance at a mud-soaked Glastonbury in an immaculate white suit and tie.^[62] Bennett also published The Good Life: The Autobiography of Tony Bennett in 1998.^[57]

A series of albums, often based on themes (such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, blues, or duets), has met with good acceptance; Bennett has won eight more Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance or Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Grammys in the subsequent years, most recently for the year 2011. Bennett has sold over 50 million records worldwide during his career.^[57]

President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush pose with the Kennedy Center honorees: actress Julie Harris, actor Robert Redford, singer Tina Turner, ballet dancer Suzanne Farrell and Tony Bennett. December 4, 2005, at a reception in the Blue Room at the White House.

Bennett greets Stevie Wonder at the White House on February 25, 2009.

Accolades came to Bennett. For his contribution to the recording industry, Tony Bennett was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street.^[63] Bennett was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997, was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, and received a lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) in 2002.^[64] In 2002, Q magazine named Tony Bennett in their list of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die".^[65] On December 4, 2005, Bennett was the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.^[57] Later, a theatrical musical revue of his songs, called I Left My Heart: A Salute to the Music of Tony Bennett was created and featured some of his best-known songs such as "I Left My Heart in San Francisco", "Because of You", and "Wonderful".^[66] The following year, Bennett was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.^[67]

Bennett frequently donates his time to charitable causes, to the extent that he is sometimes nicknamed "Tony Benefit".^[68] In April 2002, he joined Michael Jackson, Chris Tucker and former President Bill Clinton in a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at New York's Apollo Theater.^[69] He has also recorded public service announcements for Civitan International.^[70] Bennett and Susan Crow founded Exploring the Arts, a charitable organization dedicated to creating, promoting, and supporting arts education. At the same time they founded (and named after Bennett's friend) the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens, a public high school dedicated to teaching the performing arts, which opened in 2001 and would have a very high graduation rate.^[2]

Danny Bennett continues to be Tony's manager while Dae Bennett is a recording engineer who has worked on a number of Tony's projects and who has opened Bennett Studios in Englewood, New Jersey. Tony's younger daughter Antonia is an aspiring jazz singer.^[12]

In August 2006, Bennett turned eighty years old. The birthday itself was an occasion for publicity, which then extended through the rest of the following year. Duets: An American Classic reached the highest place ever on the albums chart for an album by Bennett^[7] and garnered two Grammy Awards; concerts were given, including a high-profile one for New York radio station WLTW-FM; a performance was done with Christina Aguilera and a comedy sketch was made with affectionate Bennett impressionist Alec Baldwin on Saturday Night Live; a Thanksgiving-time, Rob Marshall-directed television special Tony Bennett: An American Classic on NBC, which would win multiple Emmy Awards;^[30] receipt of the Billboard Century Award;^[57] and guest-mentoring on American Idol season 6 as well as performing during its finale. He received the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' Humanitarian Award. Bennett was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award in 2006,^[57] the highest honor that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians.

The year 2008 saw Bennett making two appearances on "New York State of Mind" with Billy Joel at the final concerts given at Shea Stadium, and in October releasing the album A Swingin' Christmas with The Count Basie Big Band, for which he made a number of promotional appearances at holiday time. In 2009, Bennett performed at the conclusion of the final Macworld Conference & Expo for Apple Inc., singing the "The Best Is Yet to Come" and "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" to a standing ovation,^[71][72] and later making his Jazz Fest debut in New Orleans.^[73] In February 2010, Bennett was one of over 70 artists singing on "We Are the World: 25 for Haiti", a charity single in aid of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.^[74] In October he performed "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" at AT&T Park before the third inning of Game 1 of the 2010 World Series and sang "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch. Days later he sang "America the Beautiful" at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C.

Regarding his choices in music, Bennett reiterated his artistic stance in a 2010 interview:

"I'm not staying contemporary for the big record companies, I don't follow the latest fashions. I never sing a song that's badly written. In the 1920s and '30s, there was a renaissance in music that was the equivalent of the artistic Renaissance. Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer and others just created the best songs that had ever been written. These are classics, and finally they're not being treated as light entertainment. This is classical music."^[75]

In September 2011, Bennett appeared on The Howard Stern Show and named American military actions in the Middle East as the root cause of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.^[21] He stated, "To start a war in Iraq was a tremendous, tremendous mistake internationally", before asking, "But who are the terrorists? Are we the terrorists or are they the terrorists? Two wrongs don’t make a right." He disagreed with Stern's premise that the 9/11 attacks led to U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying, "They flew the plane in, but we caused it."^[76] Bennett also claimed that former President George W. Bush personally told him at the Kennedy Center in December 2005 that he felt he had made a mistake invading Iraq, to which a Bush spokesperson replied, "This account is flatly wrong."^[77] Following bad press resulting from his remarks, Bennett clarified his position, writing: "There is simply no excuse for terrorism and the murder of the nearly 3,000 innocent victims of the 9/11 attacks on our country. My life experiences, ranging from the Battle of the Bulge to marching with Martin Luther King, made me a life-long humanist and pacifist, and reinforced my belief that violence begets violence and that war is the lowest form of human behavior."^[78]

In September 2011, Bennett released Duets II, a follow-up to his first collaboration album, in conjunction with his 85th birthday. The album's pairing with Amy Winehouse on "Body and Soul" — reportedly the last recording she made before her death^[79] — charted on the lower reaches of the Billboard Hot 100, making Bennett the oldest living artist to appear there, as well as the artist with the greatest span of appearances.^[80] The single did well in Europe, where it reached the top 15 in several countries. The album then debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making Bennett the oldest living artist to reach that top spot, as well as marking the first time he had reached it himself.^[81] A model of Koss headphones, the Tony Bennett Signature Edition (TBSE1), was created for this milestone^[82] (Bennett having been one of the early adopters of the Koss product back in the 1960s).^[83] In November 2011, Columbia released Tony Bennett – The Complete Collection, a 73 CD plus 3 DVD set, which although not absolutely "complete", finally brought forth many albums that had not had a previous CD release, as well as some unreleased material and rarities.^[49][84] In December 2011, Bennett appeared at the Royal Variety Performance in Salford in the presence of HRH Princess Anne.^[85] In the wake of the premature deaths of Winehouse and Whitney Houston, Bennett called for the legalization of drugs in February 2012.^[86]

Personal life[link]

On February 12, 1952,^[87] Bennett married Ohio art student and jazz fan Patricia Beech, whom he had met the previous year after a nightclub performance in Cleveland.^[27] Two thousand female fans dressed in black gathered outside the ceremony at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral in mock mourning.^[10] Bennett and Beech had two sons, D'Andrea (Danny, born around 1954) and Daegal (Dae, born around 1955).^[88] They separated in 1965, their marriage a victim of Bennett's spending too much time on the road, among other factors.^[10] In 1971, their divorce became official. Bennett became involved with aspiring actress Sandra Grant while filming The Oscar in 1965, and on December 29, 1971 they married.^[87][88] They had two daughters, Joanna (born around 1969) and Antonia (born 1974), and moved to Los Angeles.^[88]

In the late 1980s, Bennett entered into a long-term romantic relationship with Susan Crow (born 1966),^[89] a former New York City schoolteacher.^[12][90] On June 21, 2007, Bennett married Susan in a private civil ceremony in New York that was witnessed by former Governor Mario Cuomo.^[90][91]

Awards and recognition[link]

Bennett performing at a Library of Congress event, May 2003

Bennett has won sixteen Grammy Awards and has also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award,^[92][93] as follows (years shown are the year in which the ceremony was held and the award was given, not the year in which the recording was released):