American crooner and jazz singer Tony Bennett has died at the age of 96.
Bennett became the torchbearer for the Great American Songbook over his seven-decade career, best known for his 1962 classic I Left My Heart In San Francisco.
On Friday, publicist Sylvia Weiner confirmed Bennett’s death to the Associated Press, saying he died in his hometown of New York.
He released more than 70 albums during his career, which won him a host of Grammys and a lifetime achievement award.
In 2014, he collaborated with Lady Gaga on the album Cheek To Cheek, which saw the pair tackle a series of jazz standards.
He retired from performing in 2021 after revealing he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.
Bennett was born in Queens, New York, in 1926, the grandson of immigrants from the impoverished Italian province of Calabria.
He enjoyed a glorious career since first finding success in the 1950s, performing traditional pop standards and big band music.
