Tony Bennett has retired from performing, his son and longtime manager Danny Bennett has confirmed.
Just a week after the legendary crooner joined frequent collaborator Lady Gaga for two sold-out shows at Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall, his son says that the 95-year-old performer will no longer return to the stage.
The much-anticipated New York shows — “One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga” — were being billed as the singer’s final shows in the Big Apple. He was, however, still scheduled to keep touring and performing at other venues along the East Coast.
But after an announcement that he would cancel the remainder of his 2021 tour, his son said that the Astoria, Queens-born singer was effectively retiring from the stage.
“There won’t be any additional concerts,” Danny Bennett told Variety. “This was a hard decision for us to make, as he is a capable performer. This is, however, doctors’ orders.”
The Grammy Award-winning musician, whose chart-topping career span seven decades, said earlier this year that he had been living with Alzheimer’s disease for the last four years, in an interview with AARP Magazine.
“His continued health is the most important part of this,” his son explained. “And when we heard the doctors — when Tony’s wife, Susan heard them — she said, ‘Absolutely not.’ He’ll be doing other things, but not those upcoming shows. It’s not the singing aspect but, rather, the traveling. Look, he gets tired. The decision is being made that doing concerts now is just too much for him. We don’t want him to fall on stage, for instance — something as simple as that.”
Danny Bennett, who has managed his father for over 40 years, said that he still the voice that has earned him 20 Grammys — including a Lifetime Achievement Award.
“We’re not worried about him being able to sing. We are worried, from a physical stand point… about human nature,” he added. “Tony’s 95.”
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