How the late Tony Bennett wowed Phl audiences with ‘sheer lung power’

Tony Bennett, the legendary American singer behind the enduring classic I Left My Heart in San Francisco, died on Saturday at age 96.

Some 10 years ago — or September 2013 to be exact — the singer described by Billboard as “one of the world’s finest interpreters of the Great American Songbook” was able to share his music with Filipino fans via a concert at the PICC Plenary Hall.

Ovation Productions, Inc., the concert promoter of Bennett’s Manila show at that time, recalled how they lost no time in bringing the music icon the moment the opportunity came up.

As a concert promoter who “still does the old standards or the middle of the road type of acts” such as The Lettermen, Jack Jones, Pat Boone and Frankie Valli, Engelbert Humperdinck, etc., Ovation president Renen de Guia said that “Tony Bennett was right up there on top of them all.”

“I was presented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring him over and I quickly confirmed without even batting an eyelash as he might change his mind,” De Guia recalled. “There was no hesitation.”

Bennett was “easy to work with,” he further noted.

When their team welcomed Bennett at dawn right at the tarmac of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), De Guia recalled, “There was no VIP lounge available that time, the arrival interview was held at a shuttle bus where all the press people were standing, including Tony Bennett himself. He was easy to work with, no out-of-the-ordinary technical and hospitality requirements.”

What would become a highlight during Bennett’s Philippine concert was when he showed to all and sundry the “vocal titan” that he was. “When he took down his microphone and sang one song completely without any electronic audio amplification, just his sheer lung power reached each corner of the 3,500-capacity PICC Plenary Hall,” said De Guia. “It was an amazing experience. And this was when he just turned 86 years old a few weeks earlier.”

Despite his stature in the global music industry and being perhaps used to high praises, Bennett appeared to be appreciative of every little expression of admiration from fans.

Said De Guia, “I told Tony Bennett how, as a young boy in the 1960s, I’d play his record at home on our stereo so loud for all the neighbors to hear. How I’d sing along to his song I Left My Heart in San Francisco while husking the floor, my daily household chore. And our home was in, guess where, San Francisco del Monte! Haha. He was pleased to know that his promoter was a real fan.”

Bennett reportedly became a singing star in the ‘50s and recorded his signature song I Left My Heart in San Francisco in the early ‘60s. He would win 20 Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award.

Some of his greatest hits ever were Stranger in Paradise, Fly Me To The Moon, Rags to Riches, The Good Life, Because of You, etc.

He was also “perpetually cool enough to win over younger generations of fans well into the 21st century,” a Reuters report said. He was already in his late-80s when he did a 2014 album of duets with Lady Gaga and embarked on a world tour with her in 2015. He also collaborated with a diverse range of artists, from former Beatle Paul McCartney, jazz songstress Amy Winehouse, soul queen Aretha Franklin, to country star Willie Nelson and U2’s Bono.

In early 2021, Reuters further said that Bennett revealed he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, but that he continued recording after the diagnosis, later on tweeting, “Life is a gift — even with Alzheimer’s.”

US media outlets reported on Saturday that Bennett died at his home in New York City due to age-related causes.