Tony Bennett, President’s Medal recipient and iconic singer, dies at 96

Tony Bennett, a guest lecturer, renowned jazz and pop singer and a recipient of the President’s Medal and an honorary doctorate of music, died in New York last week. He was 96.

Bennet promoted and fostered the creation of a GW broadcast beginning in 2002 and served as a guest lecturer for the School of Media and Public Affairs, according to a Wednesday University release. His popularity as a jazz singer helped the global spread of the “American songbook,” a category of popular jazz music from the early 20th century, which earned him 20 Grammy Awards for songs, such as “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” and albums, including “Love for Sale,” which he produced with American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga.

Bennett was born in Queens, New York in 1926 and briefly attended the School of Industrial Art, but dropped out at age 16 to work as a copy boy for the Associated Press while performing as a singing waiter and in small shows using the stage name “Joe Bari,” according to a New York Times obituary. The U.S. Army drafted Bennett in 1944 during World War II. He went on to serve as a soldier on the front lines in Germany and sang for Army bands until he was discharged in 1946.

Bennett began studying at the American Theater Wing while performing at nightclubs in Manhattan and Queens in 1946, where singers like Pearl Bailey and Bob Hope discovered and promoted him. In 1950, he signed with Columbia Records and began touring, recording several albums and hosting his own variety show, where he promoted his music in 1956.

In 2002, Bennett helped launch GW Presents American Jazz — a broadcast hosted on Sirius XM Radio Saturdays at 10 a.m. — by introducing Dick Golden, a jazz artist and the broadcast’s host, to Michael Freedman, a professorial SMPA lecturer. The project was launched to honor American pianist Duke Ellington because GW is a community partner of the Duke Ellington School of Arts, a local high school for arts education.

“For me, it was a very fulfilling role to help nurture and cultivate Tony Bennett’s relationship with George Washington University and to create a radio platform that spotlighted the University’s association with the legacy of Duke Ellington, jazz and the American Songbook,” Golden said in the release.

Bennett also attended post-broadcast brunches on Sundays, where he talked with students and taught as a guest lecturer several times in Freedman’s classes, according to the release. In 2001, Bennett received an honorary doctorate of music degree and received the President’s Medal for his work in arts education in 2015.

“The legendary Tony Bennett leaves a remarkable legacy, not only through his hit music but also his devoted support of the arts and education,” University President Ellen Granberg said in the release. “He was an outstanding recipient of the GW President’s Medal and honorary degree. Our university is fortunate to have been one of many beneficiaries of his time and talent.”

Throughout Bennett’s career, he produced several No. 1 hit songs like “Because of You” and “Cold, Cold Heart,” which were recognized for their lyrics and his “elusive” voice. He also collaborated with singers like Aretha Franklin and Willie Nelson, sold more than 60 million records and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award in 2001. He founded “Exploring the Arts,” a foundation that provides funding for arts education in New York City schools, and the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, a public high school for studying art in Queens.

Bennett is survived by his wife Susan, his children Danny, Dae, Johanna and Antonia and his nine grandchildren, CBS News reported last week.