Maps of Music

Duets: An American Classic (2006)

Where the lyrics of Duets: An American Classic take you, and where it was really made.

Unlike many duet albums, Tony Bennett sang with each guest in the same room, with the vocals performed live as the band played.

Key places

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios (2006)

Recording site Abbey Road Studios — The source lists Abbey Road Studios among the recording locations for this album. The point sits at the studio's coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Jubilee line to St John's Wood station, then about a 5-minute walk.

Recorded at Capitol Studios (2006)

Recording site Capitol Studios — The source names Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, Studio A, as a recording location for this album. The point uses the studio's coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording studio in Las Vegas (2006)

Recording site Studio at the Palms — The source lists Studio at the Palms among the studios tied to this album. Only the city-centre coordinate is available, so the exact building is not fixed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Duets: An American Classic is a studio album by Tony Bennett, released in 2006 on the Columbia label
• Duet album featuring guest vocalists across 19 tracks
• Released in conjunction with Bennett's 80th birthday
• Included as a CD in the box set The Complete Collection, issued by Sony Music Distribution on 8 November 2011

Background

• Most songs were ones Bennett had played a major role in introducing into the Great American Songbook
• Unlike Frank Sinatra's 1993 Duets, where performances were recorded separately and then combined by producers, Bennett was physically present with each partner during recording
• The sequel, Duets II, came out in 2011 in conjunction with Bennett's 85th birthday

Recording

• The vocals were performed live as the band was playing
• Recorded and mixed by Dae Bennett; mastered by Bob Ludwig
• Pinchas Zukerman played violin on track 2; Chris Botti played trumpet on track 13
• Bill Charlap played piano on track 18; Jorge Calandrelli served as orchestrator and conductor
• Phil Ramone is credited as producer

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926, in Long Island City, Queens, New York City.
• Grew up in poverty after his father, a grocer, became unable to work and died when Tony was ten.
• Sang for money from age 13 as a singing waiter in Italian restaurants in Queens.
• Attended New York's School of Industrial Art but dropped out at 16 to help support his family.

Military service

• Drafted into the U.S. Army in November 1944 and fought as an infantryman in the final stages of World War II.
• Stayed in Germany with the occupying force and sang with an Army Special Services band under the name Joe Bari.

Career

• Studied bel canto at the American Theatre Wing on the GI Bill; Pearl Bailey and Bob Hope helped launch him, and Hope shortened his name to Tony Bennett.
• Signed with Columbia Records in 1950; first number-one hit "Because of You" in 1951.
• Shifted toward jazz singing in the late 1950s; "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (1962) became his signature song.
• Declined commercially during the rock era and struggled with addiction and debt until a comeback in the late 1980s, managed by his son Danny.
• The 1994 MTV Unplugged album won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Later career

• Collaborated with Lady Gaga from Cheek to Cheek (2014) through Love for Sale (2021).
• Won 20 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and sold more than 50 million records worldwide.
• Received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2005 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• Co-founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens with Susan Crow.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200, selling around 202,000 copies in its first week
• Spent five consecutive weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard 200
• Certified Gold in less than four weeks after release
• Reached number one in Canada on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart
• Reached number one on the Ultratop 50 chart and placed fourth on the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand chart

Records

• Won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards
• Bennett's duet with Stevie Wonder, For Once in My Life, also won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
• Included as a CD in the 2011 box set The Complete Collection, issued by Sony Music Distribution on 8 November 2011
• Sequel Duets II released in 2011 for Bennett's 85th birthday

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Bennett sang alongside his partners in the same studio rather than recording parts separately, a contrast the source draws with Sinatra's 1993 Duets.
• The album's vocals were recorded live with the band playing, not overdubbed afterward.
• For Once in My Life, the duet with Stevie Wonder, won its own Grammy in the pop collaboration category.
• The sequel Duets II was timed to Bennett's 85th birthday in 2011.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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