‘Conan,’ ‘Goodfellas’ and MTV: How Tony Bennett Revived His Career
In the 1970s, Tony Bennett’s career and life were in disarray.
He was performing mostly in Las Vegas, a declining city that glued him to a bygone era. His music was out of vogue — his last Top 40 single had been in 1965. He was using cocaine heavily. And his finances were in ruin, prompting the Internal Revenue Service to threaten to take his home.
Well into the 1980s, it seemed that everything was going wrong for the singer.
Then came a comeback for the ages.
The rebirth of Mr. Bennett, who died on Friday, ensured that he would remain one of the most revered singers of American popular music for generations to come. And he did it by staying true to his calling as a champion of the standards known as the Great American Songbook.
Mr. Bennett managed a career resurgence in the late 1980s and ’90s without changing much about his music. All it took was meeting members of a new audience where they were: late-night talk show appearances, a cameo on “The Simpsons” and a memorable performance on “MTV Unplugged” in 1994 that led to constant airplay on the network and a surprise Grammy for album of the year.
Source: The New York Times
