Tony Bennett was born in Astoria, Queens, New York in 1926 to working-class Italian parents.
Bennett began his career at an early age, singing on street corners and working in Italian restaurants to bring extra income to his household after his late-father passed when he was only ten years old.
During his life, Bennett would become a successful painter, aside from his job in entertainment. When known as a jazz singer, he would use the stage-name: Tony Bennett. When he was resuming his career as a painter, he used his given name: Anthony Benedetto.
Tony Bennett has talked candidly about his struggle in reading sheet music as a result of his dyslexia. Bennett described his eyes bouncing from place to place on the page, and claimed that music had to come instinctively and intuitively to him. Bennett described his learning style as one that required time to process and digest material.
When Bennett was just 16 years old, he ended up dropping out of high school to focus on providing for his family. When Bennett was 75 years old, he and his wife founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts. A highly-rated public high school affiliated with New York City’s Department of Education. The school has a 96% graduation rate.
We want to thank the late Tony Bennett for the 96 years of life that he dedicated to uplifting those around him, and for working to be more than just a success story!