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Singer Tony Bennett Officially Retires From 70-Year Career, Cancels Remaining Tour Dates

Bruce Haring
·2-min read

The long concert career of singer Tony Bennett is finally finished after 70 years.

Bennett’s son, Danny Bennett, his manager for more than 40 years, canceled his remaining tour dates on Thursday. He said on Friday that Bennett’s two recent dates with Lady Gaga at New York’s Radio City Music Hall would be his last.

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Earlier this year, Bennett’s family revealed that the 19-time Grammy-winner was diagnosed with dementia in 2016.

The younger Bennett cited doctor’s orders as the reason, although acknowledging his father was still capable of performing at age 95. The move has been made to avoid any falls or other onstage mishaps, he said. According to AARP The Magazine, the singer rarely speaks, and “when he does, his words are halting; at times, he seems lost and bewildered.”

Bennett will always be known for his signature song, “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.” It spent 21 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1962, peaking at No. 19. His other hits included 1951’s “Because of You” and 1953’s #1 hit, “Rags to Riches” and #2 “Stranger in Paradise,” as well as the 1954 top-10 hit “There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight.”

Bennett had a career revival in the 1990s. He appeared at the 1993 MTV Music Video Awards, presenting a trophy to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, following that up in 1994 with an MTV Unplugged that spotlighted duets with k.d. lang and Elvis Costello.

That resulted in the album MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett, which won the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance Grammy and Album of the Year.

Last year, he issued The Playground and an autobiography, The Good Life.

There is one last item on the Bennett agenda. On Oct. 1, his second duet album with Lady Gaga, Love For Sale, will be released.

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