Bennett retires from performing at age 95
Tony Bennett has official retired from performing after more than 70 years. His son, Danny Bennett, who’s been his father’s manager for more than 40 years, canceled his remaining tour dates on Thursday (Aug 12th) due to age and health concerns. He was scheduled to perform a run of casino dates from September through December that were rescheduled due to the pandemic, but Danny says those will no longer happen.
“There won’t be any additional concerts,” his son tells Variety. “This was a hard decision for us to make, as he is a capable performer. This is, however, doctors’ orders. His continued health is the most important part of this, and when we heard the doctors — when Tony’s wife, Susan heard them — she said, ‘Absolutely not.’ He’ll be doing other things, but not those upcoming shows. It’s not the singing aspect but, rather, the traveling. Look, he gets tired. The decision is being made that doing concerts now is just too much for him. We don’t want him to fall on stage, for instance — something as simple as that. We’re not worried about him being able to sing. We are worried, from a physical stand point… about human nature. Tony’s 95.”
Bennett performed his final shows last week with Lady Gaga at New York City’s Radio City Hall dubbed “One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga.” The concerts were announced as his final New York City performances, but are now his final ever. The two-night engagement at NYC’s famed concert venue kicked off on Bennett’s 95th birthday, August 3rd. The shows were in support of the pair’s second collaborative album Love For Sale due October 1st via Interscope/Columbia Records. The Cole Porter tribute album is also Bennett’s final recorded project.
Last week, his label, Sony Music Entertainment, also endowed a bench in Bennett’s name in Central Park, his most cherished spot in his hometown of NYC. The Adopt-A-Bench program supports the Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit that manages and cares for Central Park.
Earlier this year, Bennett’s family announced that the 19-time Grammy winner had been diagnosed with age related dementia in 2016 and yet continued to tour internationally and released several albums.
