Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), better known by his artist name, Tony Bennett, was a retired American singer born in Queens, New York. His work included the vocalization of jazz and blues of old classical music, falling under the genre of Easy Listening.

Before starting off his music career with his 1952 debut album, Because of You. He was drafted into the U.S. military in 1944, eventually serving in World War II by March 1945. Through the release of Because of You, he entered the music scene introducing his singing capabilities with jazz elements.

A few years later, in 1955, Bennett made his first studio album Cloud 7 in collaboration with guitarist Chuck Wayne and trumpeter Charles Panely.

Throughout Bennett’s music career, he most notably worked on a lot of projects with Ralph Sharon, a jazz pianist, and on occasion, he would work with the Ralph Sharon Trio.

The song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” originally written by George C. Cory, Jr. and Douglass Cross grew to be one of Bennett’s greatest hits. This track was released as a single along with “Once Upon a Time,” and due to its success, Columbia Records and Bennett created a project revolving around “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” which would be released in 1962. Seven years later, in October of 1969, San Francisco adopted this song as one of their two official anthems representing their city. Finally, on March 7, 2001, RIAA ranked “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” as the 23rd best song of the 20th century.

In 1994, Bennett made a special appearance in Season 5, Episode 2 of MTV Unplugged, creating a live album consisting of old-time classics. MTV Unplugged was released on June 28, 1994, 27 days after it first aired on television.

Bennett created his first duo album with Lady Gaga in 2014, titled Cheek to Cheek. Cheek to Cheek was very well critically acclaimed, winning “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album” at the 2015 Grammy Awards. Bennett’s final studio album, second collaborative project with Gaga, named Love For Sale was performed live, showcasing a few songs before the album’s initial release, and this would be marked as Bennett’s last appearance of an MTV Unplugged episode, first airing on December 16, 2021. This final project also won the 2022 Grammy Awards for “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album,” giving Bennett five total wins in this category, twenty in total.

On July 21, 2023, he died at the age of 96.