Tony Bennett with Antonia Bennett

Tony Bennett, the show business legend and multiple Grammy Award-winning crooner whose career spans more than six decades, celebrated his 85th birthday with “Duets II” in September 2011. This made him the oldest artist ever to have a #1 CD on the Billboard album charts. His long list of achievements includes seventeen Grammys (including the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award), Kennedy Center Honors and the Billboard Magazine Century Award for his outstanding contributions to music. His signature tunes such as “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” and “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” have become part of the fabric of American culture.

Tony Bennett got his break around 1950 when Bob Hope saw him performing in Greenwich Village and Mitch Miller later signed him to Columbia Records. His career proceeded through the rock ‘n’ roll era including Broadway hits and nightclub and recording acts, working with the likes of Count Basie. Clive Davis in the late 60s pointed him toward the pop music material that would help guarantee his success to the present day. In 2006, he released “Duets: An American Classic,” which included performances with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Barbra Streisand and others. It won three Grammy Awards and went on to become one of the best-selling CDs of the year and Bennett’s career.

This October marked the release of “Viva Duets,” with Bennett performing hits with Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan and Christina Aguilera. A new documentary film, “The Zen of Bennett,” by his son/manager Danny Bennett, and his autobiography, “Life is a Gift,” were also just released in November 2012. Bennett established Exploring the Arts to support arts education in public high schools and in 2007 was honored by the United Nations for his humanitarian efforts with the Citizen of the World award.