King of the Maitre’D’s
My Life Among the Stars
Jannetta, Louis
ISBN 13: 978-1-897381-06-9
Case bound; Hardcover; 9 x 10
Tony Bennett
As an Italian and as a wannabe singer, I always had the greatest respect for Tony Bennett. I remember seeing him at the Casino Theatre on Queen Street in Toronto when I was a kid. He was just a teenaged Anthony Benedetto himself then, but had already attracted some attention, especially among Italians, when he performed beside New York’s Mayor Fiorello La Guardia at the opening of the Tri-borough Bridge in 1936. When he came to town in those early days, he came to my old stomping grounds—the district around St. Agnes Church where all the Italians lived—not to sing, but just to hang around and feel at home.
He made even more of an impression on me, as he did on so many others, in the early 1950’s. He became a hit parade sensation with songs like “Because of You,” “Rags to Riches,” “Stranger in Paradise,” and so many others. I loved them all. He had the greatest voice for popular standards I had ever heard, a lovely tenor that gradually deepened over the years. When rock ‘n roll came in and he didn’t get on the charts as often, I bought all his albums. I was never too much of a jazz fan, but I loved his work with Count Basie and other artists in the late fifties and early sixties.
It was just around the time I took over the Imperial Room that Tony made a big comeback on the pop charts with “I Left My Heart in San Francisco, the beautiful ballad that became his signature tune.
I knew he was having a terrific career on the concert circuit and on recordings at the time, but I was so happy he had returned to the mainstream prominence I thought he deserved. Another Italian boy made good. I was even happier when he followed that up with hits like “I Wanna Be Around,” “The Good Life,” “Who Can I Turn To,” and “If I Ruled the World.”
We first had him at the Imperial Room in December 1971, and he inadvertently did me a great service. This was the time when my policy of booking the stars was under attack. We were then featuring the Follies Royale, the tacky show some people at Canadian Pacific’s head office thought we should have after it had been a success at the Chateau Champlain. I had been arguing, supported by Gordon Cardy most of the time, that the Imperial Room was not for revues. But we didn’t have any choice or any control in the matter. The Follies was dictated by Montreal….
My Life Among the Stars
Jannetta, Louis
ISBN 13: 978-1-897381-06-9
Case bound; Hardcover; 9 x 10
Tony Bennett
As an Italian and as a wannabe singer, I always had the greatest respect for Tony Bennett. I remember seeing him at the Casino Theatre on Queen Street in Toronto when I was a kid. He was just a teenaged Anthony Benedetto himself then, but had already attracted some attention, especially among Italians, when he performed beside New York’s Mayor Fiorello La Guardia at the opening of the Tri-borough Bridge in 1936. When he came to town in those early days, he came to my old stomping grounds—the district around St. Agnes Church where all the Italians lived—not to sing, but just to hang around and feel at home.
He made even more of an impression on me, as he did on so many others, in the early 1950’s. He became a hit parade sensation with songs like “Because of You,” “Rags to Riches,” “Stranger in Paradise,” and so many others. I loved them all. He had the greatest voice for popular standards I had ever heard, a lovely tenor that gradually deepened over the years. When rock ‘n roll came in and he didn’t get on the charts as often, I bought all his albums. I was never too much of a jazz fan, but I loved his work with Count Basie and other artists in the late fifties and early sixties.
It was just around the time I took over the Imperial Room that Tony made a big comeback on the pop charts with “I Left My Heart in San Francisco, the beautiful ballad that became his signature tune.
I knew he was having a terrific career on the concert circuit and on recordings at the time, but I was so happy he had returned to the mainstream prominence I thought he deserved. Another Italian boy made good. I was even happier when he followed that up with hits like “I Wanna Be Around,” “The Good Life,” “Who Can I Turn To,” and “If I Ruled the World.”
We first had him at the Imperial Room in December 1971, and he inadvertently did me a great service. This was the time when my policy of booking the stars was under attack. We were then featuring the Follies Royale, the tacky show some people at Canadian Pacific’s head office thought we should have after it had been a success at the Chateau Champlain. I had been arguing, supported by Gordon Cardy most of the time, that the Imperial Room was not for revues. But we didn’t have any choice or any control in the matter. The Follies was dictated by Montreal….
1 comment:
I've always been a huge Tony Bennett fan.
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