Maps of Music

Tony (1957)

Where the lyrics of Tony take you, and where it was really made.

Ray Conniff conducted most of this album, but 'Lost in the Stars' was led by Percy Faith.

Key places

Recorded at the CBS studio in New York (1957)

Recording site Columbia 30th Street Studio — The album was recorded at the CBS studio in New York City in 1956, according to the Italian track listing. The point marks the studio building, not an exact room. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Tony is the fourth studio album by American singer Tony Bennett
• Released in 1957 by Columbia Records
• The album contains twelve standards
• Durations on the English track listing add up to 33:27
• On November 8, 2011, Sony Music Distribution included the CD in the box set The Complete Collection

Recording

• Recorded at the CBS studio in New York City in 1956
• English track listing dates: June 6, September 11, 12 and 13, 1956
• Ray Conniff conducted the orchestra on most tracks
• Percy Faith conducted track 11, 'Lost in the Stars'
• Gil Evans is credited as arranger
• Dick Hyman plays piano on 'Lost in the Stars'
• The string section includes multiple violinists and violists

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · 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

• William Ruhlmann's AllMusic review praised the album for Bennett matching the arrangements with his vocal performances
• Ruhlmann noted the jazzy horns and sweet strings of the arrangements, with Bennett keeping pace with them
• Billboard's February 1957 review placed the album in its review spotlight on popular albums
• Billboard's review said Bennett sings a dozen standards backed by modern and tasteful arrangements by Ray Conniff

Reappraisal

• AllMusic's Ruhlmann singled out the side-ending 'I Can't Give You Anything but Love' for its strong performance
• Ruhlmann wrote that the strings of Percy Faith give lush, wistful support to the ballads on the second side

Records

• Billboard album chart: number 14 in 1957
• Billboard entry date: February 23, 1957, with nine weeks on the chart
• Cashbox albums chart: debut in the March 2, 1957 issue, two weeks on the chart
• Cashbox peak: number 25
• 2011: CD included in The Complete Collection box set

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Most of the album was conducted by Ray Conniff, while Percy Faith led the orchestra on 'Lost in the Stars'.
• Recording sessions were spread across June and September 1956.
• The Italian track listing gives September 11, 1956 as the recording date for 'You Can Depend on Me' at the CBS Studio in New York.
• The 2011 box set The Complete Collection included this album's CD.
• The Italian page notes that its track durations came from a 2014 album also titled Tony, released by Jazz Wax Records.

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

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