The year was
1975.
Ken Beachler
(recently deceased) was head of the Lecture-Concert Series at Michigan State University.
He understood that a new concert hall was desperately needed for the future of
concerts and theater at MSU, replacing the current venue; the barn-like,
depression-era Auditorium.
After years
of discussion, the site was chosen that would later become Wharton Center for
Performing Arts, however private donations were needed to make it happen.
Beachler
wanted to plan a flashy benefit concert with big stars to kick off the fund-raising
campaign. Tony Bennett (who was at the
height of his career) along with Lena Horn were chosen to give a concert at the
MSU Auditorium followed by a gala dinner afterwards.
The tickets
were sold, Bennett and Horn were booked, and the town was excited. But one day before the big event was to take
place, a huge rainstorm which caused a “100 year flood” descended on the East
Lansing area and the Auditorium was flooded and unusable. Everyone was
convinced that the event had to be cancelled.
After some
quick deliberations, a stage was quickly built in the Munn Ice Arena (not the
perfect venue for a gala concert), and Tony Bennet and Lena Horn, unfazed by
the disruption, gave a stunning benefit performance on April 19. 1975 bringing Wharton
Center closer to reality than just a dream.
Tony Bennet,
who just died at age 96, has been back to MSU several times to perform at Wharton
Center, the hall to which he donated his talents to create.
Through the
years I have had the privilege of interviewing many great artists, but the conversation
I had with Tony Bennett leading up to his performance in 2001 was the most
memorable. We talked for a long time,
and I found him to be amazingly sincere and authentic. He was warm and
forthcoming and as the conversation continued, we were as relaxed as two old
friends sharing stories.
He spoke
about his days as a singing waiter and how he got into the music business,
starting as a jazz singer in small clubs, and now performing in huge auditoriums.
A true artist, Bennett was also a respected painter, presenting art shows in
many cities throughout the US.
Some
headlines in the press called him a “crooner”, a description I feel sells him
short. Tony Bennett was a musician of great depth. If you listen to how he
interprets “I Left My Heart In San Francisco”, his signature song, you will
hear the melodies handled with the great tenderness and nuance of a virtuoso violinist.
In addition
to his sensitivity with a lovely ballad like “San Francisco”, Bennett could
swing with the best of them with upbeat tunes. His love of the music and of performing for an
audience always shined through.
At age 60 or
so, Bennett’s career began to wane. The standards that he sang were out of
vogue, and rap and hip hop were taking over the music business. He had a talk
with his son Danny Benedetto (Tony’s real last name) who had become a record
producer. Danny was convinced that if his dad were marketed correctly, the
younger generation would “discover” the great singer.
Tony wanted
to give it a try. Danny lined up great
artists to sing duet albums with Bennett (k.d. Lang, Elvis Costello) and he
appeared on MTV with an Unplugged show. His career was reborn with gusto. He appeared on talk shows and when Frank
Sinatra retired, he passed his mantel as best male singer to Bennett. In 2014 Bennett
released an album with Lady Gaga which became a huge hit, and the two became
lasting friends.
In the last
few years, sadly, Alzheimer’s took its toll on Bennett. He was not able to
recognize most people and his memory was gone. But in a very moving “60 Minutes”
program (https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tony-bennett-and-lady-gaga-in-2021-60-minutes/Bennett),
he appeared with Lady Gaga one last time in concert, and the music miraculously
brought his brain back to life again. He
remembered all the words to his favorite songs and sang them with heartbreaking
beauty. It was a powerful display of the power of music, and of Tony Bennett’s
genuine love of performing.
Please read
the review that I wrote of his 2001 concert at Wharton Center.
Tony
Bennett just sings.
He
doesn’t write the songs, doesn’t arrange them, doesn’t play piano or guitar,
doesn’t dance and doesn’t act.
All he
does is sing.
But he
sings so well, that he captivated a filled Wharton Center on Friday night. His
magic of communication turned the Great Hall into a small intimate
nightclub. Bennett brought with him a
quartet (piano, guitar, bass and drums) that had such skill that they were able
to match the great subtlety and sensitivity he brought to each song.
At an
amazing 75 years of age, Bennett has lost little of what he had when he wowed
audiences in the 50s and 60s. In fact,
he sounds better than when he was at Wharton last. In a tribute to women singers,
he sang a shimmering version of Barbra Streisand’s “People” and he held the
final high note for an achingly long time, demonstrating impressive control.
With age,
Bennett’s voice is now a burnished bronze, but he still is able to pull every
nuance from a melody and its lyric. At times, he sang just above a whisper,
caressing each note. But the very next
tune he would belt forth with full power.
He is a
very gracious performer, giving much, well deserved credit to his musicians –
and each one was remarkable. Lee Musiker
had a silky touch on the piano but gave his solos a wonderful harmonic
spread. Guitarist Gary Sargent added the
perfect lead ins for every phrase, and drummer Clayton Cameron was an artist of
the first order. Bennett featured him on a solo using only brushes which was
stunning.
Although
Bennett has been doing this kind of gig for 51 years, it still seems fresh and
wonderful. His upbeat attitude and
personality and obvious love for life, gives his performances a warmth and
sincerity that is rare to hear. This
positiveness, however, seemed to get in the way a bit when he sang the dark
Ellington tune, “Mood Indigo”. Bennett just doesn’t seem to be downhearted
enough to sing the blues convincingly.
The
entire concert was elegant. Bennett
looked smashing in a blue silk suit.
Each musician was individually lit, and the use of light throughout the
show truly highlighted the entire experience, without getting in the way.
Bennett
has beaten all the odds. No one would
have thought that he could be at the height of his career in the year 2001 at
age 75. He has outlasted all of his
contemporaries, and in the end, he sings better than any of them ever did. Most
of the songs he sang were the standards, but he sings each one as if it’s his favorite,
with fresh energy, excitement and meaning.
Tony
Bennett is an inspiration.
