Tony Bennett had one of the greatest singing voices of all time. But that’s not the only reason he became a musical icon. He was also simply one of the most charming people to ever hold a microphone. With a warm smile and a smooth sound, Bennett became one of the most iconic lounge singers of the 20th century.
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Here below, we wanted to explore three songs that Bennett made famous. A trio of tracks that are as lovely as satin and as memorable as a first date. Indeed, these are three eternal Tony Bennett lounge songs that have stood the test of time and will play forever.
[RELATED: Tony Bennett Dies at 96]
“I Left My Heart in San Francisco” from I Left My Heart in San Francisco (1962)
This is Tony Bennett’s signature song. It somehow boasts a melancholy and welcoming tone. You at the same time feel for his pain and want him to help find his heart back in the Bay Area. Released on his 1962 LP of the same name, this track hit No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 but it has had a life well past its original release and it remains a fan favorite even since Bennett passed away last year. On the lovely offering, he sings,
The loveliness of Paris seems somehow sadly gay
The glory that was Rome is of another day
I’ve been terribly alone and forgotten in Manhattan
I’m going home to my city by the Bay
I left my heart in San Francisco
High on a hill, it calls to me
To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars
“The Lady Is a Tramp” from Perfectly Frank (1992)
A show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms, this has become a classic lounge song and so it only stands to reason that Bennett would record his own classic version for his 1992 LP Perfectly Frank. But it was years later when Bennett recorded another rendition, this time as a duet with the big-voiced pop star Lady Gaga for his 2011 album Duets II, which is charming and equally stunning. On his 1992 version, he sings,
She gets too hungry for dinner at eight
She loves the theater but she never comes late
I never bother with people that I hate
That’s why this chick is a tramp
She doesn’t like crap games with barons and earls
Won’t go to Harlem in ermine and pearls
And I definitely won’t dish our dirt with the rest of those girls
That’s why the lady is a tramp!
“Body and Soul” with Amy Winehouse from Duets II (2001)
Speaking of duets, on the same album that Bennett recorded with Gaga, he recorded a rendition of the song “Body and Soul” with another powerful singer, Amy Winehouse, who also just happened to adore Bennett as an artist and person. The song, which was originally written in 1930, even earned the two a Grammy for Best Pop Duo or Group Performance. And on it, they sing,
[Verse 1: Tony Bennett]
My heart is sad and lonely
For you, I sigh, for you, dear, only
Why haven’t you seen it?
I’m all for you, body and soul
[Verse 2: Amy Winehouse]
I spend my days in longin’
And wonderin’ why it’s me you’re wrongin’
I tell you I mean it
I’m all for you, body and soul
Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images
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