“Profiles” is an EngAGE Blog category devoted to occasional posts about older people who have made a significant creative impact in our world. Today’s subject: TONY BENNETT.
From Rolling Stone:
The Library of Congress announced on Tuesday that Tony Bennett will receive the next Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The award, named in honor of George and Ira Gerswhin, celebrates artists for “promoting the genre of song as a vehicle of cultural understanding, entertaining and informing audiences, and inspiring new generations.” . . . Bennett, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, has released charting albums in seven different decades. He’s also won 19 Grammys, including Album of the Year for 1995’s MTV Unplugged and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. He still records regularly, hitting Number One on the Billboard Albums Chart with “Cheek to Cheek,” a 2014 duets record with Lady Gaga, and following that with “The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern” in 2015.
If you’re in New York, you can see an exhibit of forty pieces of Tony Bennett’s art grouped into themes Tony has pursued over years–his love of Manhattan, his world travels, and his salute to fellow musicians–along with highlights of his extraordinary career as captured on TV. Show runs through July 9th. The Paley Center also will be presenting a free screening of “Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best Is Yet to Come” each Saturday during the exhibit at 4:00 pm. More info here.
