Legend Tony is still melting hearts

Gig of the week Tony Bennett Bridgewater Hall tonight
HE may be 83, but legendary singer Tony Bennett is showing no signs of slowing down.

The New Yorker, who served as an infantryman during the Second World War, had his first number one with “Because of You” in 1951.

His most famous hit — “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” — was released in 1962 but incidents in Tony’s personal life saw him drop off the radar until the late 1980s when he staged a spectacular comeback. Over the years he has won 15 Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards and sold over 50 million records worldwide.

Tony grew up listening to Al Jolson, Judy Garland and Bing Crosby as well as jazz acts like Louis Armstrong.

He was drafted into the US Army in November 1944, and served in Germany during the final stages of the war.

Tony got his big break in 1950, when he cut a demo of “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and was signed to Columbia Records.

In the 1970s, Bennett formed his own record label and released two albums with jazz pianist Bill Evans but the label folded in 1977.

As the 70s ended, Tony was facing a second divorce, had no recording contract and was failing to get gigs. He had also developed a drug problem and was fighting the seizure of his LA home.After a near fatal cocaine overdose, Tony’s son Danny became his manager, got his expenses under control and started to secure gigs for his dad. In 1986, he resigned to Columbia Records.

American audiences had grown tired of disco and rock and responded positively to Tony’s retro classic singing style and clothing.

It wasn’t long before Tony — who was credited with smashing the generation gap and making crooners popular again — was topping the charts with his albums.

Despite amassing a personal fortune of $20 million, Tony says he will continue to perform until the day he dies.