Tony Bennett’s son Danny has shared the American jazz legend’s last words before his death on July 21.
Danny, who is father-of-four Bennett’s eldest son and was his manager, sat down with American breakfast show TODAY to reminisce about the icon’s incredible career that spanned over seven decades.
Danny, whose mother is Bennett’s former wife Patricia Beech, who was married to from 1950 until 1970, said: “His last words to me (were), ‘Thank you’.
“Can’t say it better than that.”
Beech and Bennett also shared son Dae Bennett. In 1971, the singer married Sandra Grant, sharing daughters Joanna and Antonia Bennett. They divorced in 1984.
Danny, who was joined by the late star’s third wife, Susan Benedetto, whom he married in 2007, said that as his father’s manager he helped to introduce him to a new generation of fans, which he achieved by doing collaborations with the likes of Lady Gaga.
Together, he and Gaga bagged two Grammy awards — for the 2014 Grammy-winning album Cheek to Cheek and their 2021 album, Love For Sale.
“He came into my office one time. And he said, ‘I was watching MTV.’ He goes, ‘I think I can do that.’ And then walked out. And I was like, all right,” Danny recalled.
“I put him on these shows that were, you know, 60,000 kids at RFK Stadium, between Nine Inch Nails and PJ Harvey,” he revealed. “And, you know, it was a little nerve-wracking.
“He turned to me and he said, ‘Can I ask you a question?’ And he goes, ‘You think Frank (Sinatra) would do this?’ And I said No ....’.”
In 2016, the singer, whose cause of death is unknown, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, but while he remembered very little about his stellar career, his wife Benedetto said he still knew the lyrics to his songs and belted one out before his death.
When asked what the last song he sang was, she said: “Because of You,” his very first hit.
“The music never left him,” she added.
When Bennett was first diagnosed with the disease, said Benedetto, she and Danny thought it would mean the end of his career.
“But Tony’s like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. You know, I wanna keep singing,’” she said. “He woke up happy every day.”
Bennett, who won 19 Grammy awards, released more than 70 albums and collaborated with some of the world’s biggest singers, including Aretha Franklin, Paul McCartney and Celine Dion.
