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The Roundtable

Tony Bennett - in memoriam

By Joe Donahue

Published July 21, 2023 at 11:45 AM EDT

Tony Bennett and Joe Donahue

For decades, singer Tony Bennett was a class unto himself and a bastion of The American Songbook. He has died at the age of 96.

Bennett delighted his fans around the globe with timeless classics such as "Because of You," "Rags to Riches," and his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." From success as a crooner through his generation-spanning duets, his career was remarkable for both its constancy and duration.

Joe Donahue spoke with Tony Bennett in 2014, prior to a concert he was performing at Tanglewood. We air a portion of that conversation this morning in memoriam.

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Joe Donahue

Joe talks to people on the radio for a living. In addition to countless impressive human "gets" - he has talked to a lot of Muppets. Joe grew up in Philadelphia, has been on the area airwaves for more than 25 years and currently lives in Washington County, NY with his wife, Kelly, and their dog, Brady. And yes, he reads every single book.

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