Tony Bennett

Legendary Singer Tony Bennett Talks About His Special Album Release, Duets: An American Classic

Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett has long been regarded as one of the greatest pop vocalists. He has sold over 50 million albums in his 60-year career, and he has won 13 Grammy Awards and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. This past August, Bennett turned 80, and he amazingly remains in prime form as a singer & artist. To celebrate his birthday milestone, Bennett has recorded a special, 18-song album called Duets: An American Classic, which has just been released.

The album contains memorable duets with many of the biggest artists in the music business. Bennett performs duets of his classic songs with Bono, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, James Taylor, Sting, Tim McGraw, Elvis Costello, the Dixie Chicks, Diana Krall, Michael Buble, Juarnes, k.d. lang, John Legend and George Michael. The album also includes guest instrumental appearances by trumpeter Chris Botti and violinist Pinchas Zukerman.

Duets/An American Classic was recorded in three cities earlier this year: Capitol Records Studio in Los Angeles; Bennett’s own studio in Englewood, NJ, and Abbey Road Studios in London. Veteran producer Phil Ramone supervised the sessions in which each guest artist performed live and directly with Bennett. The music tracks were also played live by Bennett’s touring quartet, which consists of Lee Musiker on piano, Gray Sargent on guitar, Paul Langosch on bass and Harold Jones on drums. In additional, the album features stellar orchestral tracks which were arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

Bennett truly enjoyed his experience of singing duets with these top artists. “Each duet artist brought their own soul and sensibility to their song performance, and it was a wonderful gift for my birthday to be able to record with these talented musicians,” said Bennett.

Bennett took time out to discuss several of the album’s recording sessions, reflecting on the songs, and what it was like performing with his duet partners:

“Smile” (with Barbra Streisand): “This was a bulls-eye as far as I’m concerned. Barbra’s always good, but this sounded to me like a home run, in the way our voices blended. And what I like about ‘Smile’ is that it’s timeless. ‘Smile’ is what it’s all about: ‘You find life is still worthwhile, if you just smile.’”

“Put On A Happy Face” (with James Taylor): “Part of my personal philosophy as an entertainer is to stay optimistic about things, that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel no matter how bleak things get. What I like about what happened with James Taylor, is that I never knew he was such a great improviser. But he’s a natural – as good as any jazz soloist I’ve ever heard. He’s very spontaneous and never sings the same way twice, and there’s always a new thought coming into his mind. There’s a nice, natural way about him, and he’s so intelligent.”

“The Very Thought Of You” (with Paul McCartney): “’The Very Thought Of You’ is a gorgeous song that Paul specifically wanted to do with me – and it was a knockout doing it with him. We did it at Abbey Road, so right away he got very nostalgic, telling me where John and the rest of the Beatles stood when they recorded there. When I first came to Britain, I was at Wembley Stadium and they told me to give some awards to some new artists – two big groups. One was the Beatles and one was the Rolling Stones, so I gave them their first music awards. And when I looked at the Beatles – who were just getting popular – I looked at the guy in the middle and felt instinctively that he was going to make it because he had that look and spirit about him, and it was Paul. And I still feel the same way – it was very easy to sing with him.”

“For Once In My Life” (with Stevie Wonder): “Ron Miller – a very nice guy – composed ‘For Once In My Life.’ I was at a supper club in Detroit – The Rooster Tail – and Ron said, ‘I have a song you might like.’ I heard it and said that I’d love to record it, and he was thrilled. Then Stevie Wonder, who was still very young, put a beat behind it when Motown was coming into its own, and he sold millions. So this is such a wonderful thing that we both recorded it together. Stevie slipped in three notes of ‘I Left My Heart In San Francisco’ into his harmonica solo and we all got a laugh. I consider Stevie Wonder one of the great jazz artists of all time – and such a thoughtful, beautiful human being.”

“Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” (with Sting): This song was the first record I made on Columbia after (legendary A&R exec) Mitch Miller heard my demo and signed me up at the same time as Rosemary Clooney. We were the first American Idols. What happened with Sting – and what I hope for with any duet – is to be different. Our voices are different, and it’s that contrast that makes for a good duet. The perfect example is Ella Fitzgerald with Louis Armstrong – gruff with sweet. What I love about Sting is right away you know if I’m singing or Sting is because of the contrast, and that’s what I wanted to get on all the duets. And I loved his interpretation. It’s completely different than the way I’m singing, and that difference makes for a good duet.”

“The Best Is Yet To Come” (with Diana Krall): “Diana’s a great jazz singer, and her piano playing gets better and better every year. She just sat down at the piano and played, and it was just so natural and perfect, and there was a lot of ad-libbing and it ended up being a joy.”

“The Good Life” (with Billy Joel): “Working with Billy was terrific. I like Billy personally, we get along great, and I consider him a major talent. He’s just a natural, and he knew exactly what to do.”