In latest days, Tony Bennett—who died Friday on the age of 96—reportedly sang one final tune whereas sitting at his piano. It was “Because of You,” his first hit, launched in 1951, and the only that propelled him to greater than seven many years of fame, fortune, and legend. But it was all the time greater than a stepping stone. Where many artists downplay their early work, Bennett stored “Because of You” near his coronary heart. There is far to recollect Bennett for, from his civil-rights activism to his stewardship of traditional American pop songs. Without “Because of You,” none of it might need occurred.
When Bennett first recorded the tune, he was a 24-year-old child from Queens whose slim discography had yielded little success. He had fought in World War II, collaborating within the liberation of Nazi focus camps. As a part of the postwar occupying pressure, he sang in Army bands. His profession started in earnest at Columbia Records (then the house of Frank Sinatra), however nearly stalled out earlier than it started. He was on the verge of being dropped by the label when, in 1951, the orchestra chief Percy Faith randomly picked “Because of You” out of a pile of sheet music for Bennett to file.
“Because of You” has an attention-grabbing provenance. It was co-written by a Hammerstein—however not Oscar, the lyricist who famously collaborated with Richard Rodgers. Instead, it was written by Oscar’s far much less notable uncle, Arthur, alongside together with his inventive associate Dudley Wilkinson. At first, the tune went nowhere, Hammerstein model however. But Faith’s probability choice modified all that. His recommendation to Bennett: “Just relax. Use your natural voice and sing the song.” Better counsel was by no means given. Prior to that, Bennett, by his personal admission, had been unsuccessfully making an attempt out an overwrought type. “Then,” he mentioned, “we decided I would just sing honestly and sincerely.”
Bennett introduced an eventful younger life—childhood hardship, the horrors of conflict—to bear on the heartbroken lull of “Because of You.” Faith’s orchestra curls round Bennett’s trembling voice and weightless cadence, knowledgeable by the singer’s lifelong adoration of jazz. There’s gravity to it, although. When he sings, “And I can smile because of you,” the subtext is easy however crushing: The object of his love is the one factor that may hold his spirit from collapsing. But the energy of that love is sufficient.
In his ebook The B Side: The Death of Tin Pan Alley and the Rebirth of the Great American Song, Ben Yagoda calls Bennett “the most justly celebrated singer of standards”—but “Because of You” was nearly unknown, as was Bennett, when he recorded it. That obscurity didn’t final lengthy. The single bought greater than one million copies. It floated for weeks from sandwich-shop jukeboxes and sitting-room radios throughout the nation. Because of You turned the title of Bennett’s debut album; it set the stage for his rise, and for the resurgence of a mature pop type whose enchantment transcended teenybopper fads and reached a extra world-weary viewers.
Like a lot of his contemporaries, together with his pal Sinatra, Bennett grudgingly capitulated to the business pressures of rock music—however solely briefly. As he remarked in his memoir The Good Life, “I thought the world was losing its mind” when rock began conquering the pop charts within the ’60s. His two albums from 1970, Tony Sings the Great Hits of Today! and Tony Bennett’s “Something,” have been slowed down by half-hearted interpretations of the Beatles and Stevie Wonder. From that low level, he determined to double down on his ardour for jazz, even because the jazz world itself was pivoting away from dreamy crooners through the fusion-heavy ’70s. Likewise, he by no means gave up on “Because of You.” It remained a staple of his reside units and a fan favourite, a young reminder of the fragile energy and ageless heat he possessed even in his youth.
Later many years grew kinder to Bennett; by the flip of the century, the world had totally embraced him as soon as once more. “Because of You” was, partially, accountable for the revival of his recognition; his rendition of this tune with ok. d. lang helped make his 2006 album, Duets: An American Classic, a platinum-selling triumph. It additionally paved the way in which for the ultimate chapter of Bennett’s adorned profession, through which he sang with youthful artists reminiscent of Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga, guaranteeing his resonance for generations to return.
Bennett won’t have realized that “Because of You” can be his swan tune, however it couldn’t have served as a greater bookend. If by some coincidence it had been his solely hit, it could nonetheless echo with ache. As historical past would have it, although, the tune was each the opening of and the epitaph to his profession. “Because of You” made Bennett a star—and largely due to him, well-liked music retains a physique of tune whose romance will endlessly make us swoon.