The Good Life (36 page)

There have been some other changes in my professional life lately. In 1997 Paul Langosch rejoined the trio, replacing Doug Richeson, who recently joined Phil Collins’s big band. That year the trio became a quartet when I added Gray Sargent on guitar. He’s phenomenal. One night I heard him play, and I called Ralph and said, “Wait till you hear this guy! I know you’ll agree with me that he could fit right in with what we’re doing.” He did. Gray is a swinging, graceful player, and he knows when to get funky and when to be delicate. He’s quite an old-movie buff, and he can quote the credits and the dialogue of almost any classic film—quite an entertaining diversion during those long hours on the road.

In the spring of 1998 it occurred to me that it had been four years since I’d had the MTV “breakthrough,” and some of the kids who had been in their twenties in 1994 would now be starting families of their own. I thought It would be cool if
I could do a record for
their
kids. As a parent and a grandparent, I’m always thinking about how important it is to expose young people to the best music and culture that the world has to offer—the earlier the better. That’s when I decided to do an album of children’s songs called
The Playground
, a title suggested to me by my great friend Professor Freddy Katz. The swinging beat I used on
Steppin’ Out
helped that album find favor with the MTV generation, who now tell me that their own children are dancing to “Steppin Out with My Baby” This was to be an album that children of all ages could dance to.

Many of the great “rhythm tunes” of the past work great as children’s songs. I didn’t want any jive nursery rhymes on this record, only first-rate songs of the same caliber that I’ve always prided myself on delivering in my “grown-up” albums, like Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer’s “Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive” and “Swinging on a Star” from
Going My Way
, and “Just Because We’re Kids.” As a special and personal tribute to my mom and my dad, I recorded “My Mom,” by Walter Donaldson, the song my dad sang to me on our stoop in Astoria.

My sister, Mary and I were having brunch one Sunday morning at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and we reminisced about the people in my life who are no longer with us. A lot of great artists have passed on, but I have to say that Frank Sinatra’s death hit me hard. It’s difficult to accurately describe the effect he had on my life. At his funeral in May 1998 it hadn’t really hit me yet that he was gone. It wasn’t until I was flying to Washington, D.C., a few days later that I realized that Frank had really left us and he wasn’t coming back, I accepted an award in Sinatra’s name from the Sons of Italy that had been scheduled months before his death, an honor that I was proud to accept on his behalf. A few nights later I stopped in at Rainbow and Stars in Rockefeller Center to pay my respects to Rosemary Clooney. She was celebrating her seventieth birthday that night, and she introduced me to the crowd by saying that with Frank gone, “the torch has now been passed on” to me. I was flattered, but no one will ever replace the Chairman of the Board. He was my best friend and I was his.

Lately I’ve been enjoying my life more than I have in years. I turned seventy-two last August, but I still love going on the road—I’m booked straight through the year 2000! I’ve never wanted to live extravagantly never wanted to own yachts or fancy cars, and most of my life I’ve lived simply. The one luxury I’ve afforded myself is a lovely apartment on Central Park South. The view is spectacular, a painters dream, and I spend a lot of time in front of my window. I’m looking forward to doing more painting in the future. It brings me an enormous amount of pleasure, and I’m thrilled to say that my paintings have been accepted as serious art by critics and fans alike. Rizzoli published a collection of my paintings called
Tony Bennett: What My Heart Has Seen
, in 1996. The publication of
What My Heart Has Seen
, is one of the proudest accomplishments of my entire career.

These days, I spend as much time with Susan and my dog, Boo, as I can, as well as with my family—something I rarely had the luxury to do earlier in my career when I was struggling to make things work. Mary is doing fine, and she has remained the wonderful lady she has always been throughout my entire life. Sadly her husband, Tom Chiappa, passed away a few years ago, and he is sorely missed by the entire family John continues to be my good friend and champion, and my children and grandchildren bring me great joy.

Daegal is a musical engineer and producer. He’s doing a great job running Hillside Sound Studio in Englewood, producing platinum records for great artists. His two boys, Austin and Jared, are wonderful kids. Danny’s daughter Kelsey is studying guitar and voice, and coincidentally wound up taking lessons from Maurice Finnell, one of the same teachers I had more than fifty years ago. She, like her father, started her first musical group before she reached the age of thirteen. Her sister, Rémy is studying acting at the Actors’
Studio in New York City, I can’t wait to watch my grandkids grow up.

My daughter Joanna is acting and working as a decorative art designer in New York City and doing beautiful work. Antonia recently graduated from the Berklee School of Music and is getting started as a jazz singer. She’s really got it.

My mother once told me that my children would bring me the greatest pleasure I would ever know in my life, and, as usual, she was right. They are all magnificent people.

After writing this book and taking it all in, I realized two things: I can’t ask for more out of life, and the more I learn the less I know. But believe me, I have plans. Life’s been good to me. I’ve been blessed to be able to do the two things I love best—sing and paint. The love and appreciation I receive from, the public has kept me going for the last fifty years, and if I’m lucky I’ll keep going for another fifty.

To my family: Mary Tom, and. Nina Chiappa; John, Pat, John, Jr., Ann, Lynn, and Patti Benedetto; Joanna and Antonia; Danny Jan, Kelsey, and Rémy; Dae, Anita, Austin, and Jared; Cosmo Amedeo; Mary Lou Futia. And for all her love and support, Susan Crow.

Everyone at RPM Music Productions, including Sandi Rogers, Trish Bleier, Kerri Fersel, and with special thanks to Judy Blatt for her constant dedication. And also to Michael Lipsky of Lipsky Miller.

For their dedication: Sylvia Weiner; Ben Harrison and everyone at Project X; Debbie Silverman for all her help in Chicago.

My Columbia Records family and everyone at Sony Arnold Levine for some of my best album covers. And a special thanks to the field staff who’ve always been the greatest to me straight through the years.

Rob Heller and everyone from the William Morris Agency.

Sumner Redstone, Tom Freston, Judy McGrath, Van Toffler, Alex Coletti, and everyone at MTV.

Much appreciation to Rick Krimm, John Cannelli, Doug Herzog, Traci Jordan, and Joni Abbott.

Everyone at Automatic Productions for their great job producing Live
by Request
.

Elliot Hoffman; Peter Matorin; and Jeffrey Greenberg at Beldock, Levine and Hoffman.

Jay Krugman, Lee Rolontz, Ken Ehrlich, Pierre Cossette, Tisha Fein, the family of Herbert Black, Mario and Mathilda Cuomo, and Sean Kennedy at Congressman Gephardt’s office. Dayl and Marion Crow; Jim Bessman; Dr. Lou Zona; Eleanor Ettinger; Mig Atwell; Jerry Rush; Mario Sirabella; Joel Moss; Al di Scipio; and Joel Smirnoff, the first violinist of the Juilliard String Quartet.

Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Dee Anthony, Louis Bellson, Derek Boulton, Ruby Braff, Les Brown, John Bunch, Ralph Burns, Rosemary Clooney, Joe Cocuzzo, Rudy DeHarak, Gene di Novi, Gino Empry Marion Evans, Mort Farber, Bob Farnon, Fred Katz, Frank Laico, Johnny Mandel, Abby Mann, Peter Matz, James MacWhinney Mitch Miller, Glenn Osser, Arthur Penn, Jack and Jane Rollins, Annie Ross, Joe Soldo, Gary Stevens, Geri Tamburello, Roger Vorce, Stan Weiss, Jack Wilson, and Torrie Zito.

Bill Coffil, George Duley Marlin Merrill, Max Kramer, Frank Trowbridge, Jack Elliot, Charles Eichen, Dick Stott, George Masso, Janie Thompson, Lin and Janie Arison, Red Mitchell, Charlie Forsythe, and Charlie Russo.

My friends at WQEW, including Stan Martin, Jonathan Schwartz, and Bob Jones.

My friends Dick Golden, Ron and Joyce Della Chiesa, Michael Bourne of WBGO, and ChaChi LoPrete of WBCN.

My friends Frank Military Everett Kinstler, Basil Baylin, David Hockney John Cholakis, and Betty Frasier.

My quartet: Ralph Sharon, Clayton Cameron, Paul Langosch, and Gray Sargent, Also, to my production manager, Vance Anderson, and sound engineer, Tom Young.

Everyone at Pocket Books, including Gina Centrello, Emily Bestler, Donna Ruvituso, Donna O’Neill, Lisa Feuer, Linda Dingler, Twisne Fan, Joann Foster, Julie Gayle, and Al Madocs.

With special thanks and much appreciation to my editor, Jane Cavolina, as well as Danny, Kerri Fersel, and Janet La Valley for their hard work in editing and compiling this book.

U.S. SINGLES