Tony Bennett's Almost Birthday

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

Tony Bennett's birthday is on August 3 (he'll be a majestic 88), but I couldn't wait until then to celebrate. While roaming YouTube the other night, I dipped into Tony's 1960s TV appearances. If you like what you see below, I'll tell you at the end of this post where you can see much more if you're in New York on Aug. 4...

Here's Tony with Andy Williams...

Here's Tony on Andy Williams' TV show singing Johnny Mandel's The Shadow of Your Smile...

Here's Tony with Bobby Hackett...

Here's Tony with Perry Como (if Como's comedy wears thin, slide the bar to 10:00)...

And here's Tony on Steve Allen's TV show in 1960 with the Les Brown Orchestra...

On Monday, Aug. 4, author and Wall Street Journal jazz writer Will Friedwald will be presenting a video tribute to Tony at New York's Bunga’s Den, a club at 137 W 14th St. (between 6th and 7th avenues.) from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Will, who in 1998 co-authored Tony's The Good Life memoir, will be talking about the singer and working his laptop to project rare clips of Tony on a big screen. None of the clips have been on YouTube. To reserve a seat, RSVP to Bob Levis (click to email). There's a $10 cover charge and a $10 drink minimum.

Used with permission by Marc Myers