Tony Bennett Celebrates His 85th Birthday on August 3rd

NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Legendary performer Tony Bennett celebrates a milestone birthday on August 3rd when he turns 85. But "the best is yet to come" with news that the singer has just completed recording with Lady Gaga and Aretha Franklin for his highly anticipated DUETS II CD adding to a celebrated list of artists previously announced including Michael Buble, Norah Jones, John Mayer, Queen Latifah, Carrie Underwood, Amy Winehouse and many others.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110801/NY45257 )

Lady Gaga joined Tony for a rendition of the Rogers and Hart song, "The Lady Is A Tramp" and Bennett and Franklin collaborated on the Alan and Marilyn Bergman classic, "How Do You Keep The Music Playing." Both tracks were recorded live in the studio in New York City at the end of last month. A full listing of the artist and song roster follows this release.

Pre-orders for DUETS II are available Tuesday, August 2nd on iTunes and Amazon and bn.com. iTunes, in an exclusive offering, will allow fans to receive Tony's duet with Michael Buble, "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," instantly upon placing a pre-order for the album on iTunes. Additionally, the video for the Bennett/Buble track is available free this week on iTunes and showcases the great vocal chemistry between the two artists. Pre-orders through www.tonybennett.com will get fans an exclusive video of Tony and k.d. lang's duet of "Blue Velvet," as well as an instant MP3 download of the track. DUETS II will be in stores on September 20.

VIEW DUETS II GUESTS SUCH AS ARETHA FRANKLIN, JOHN MAYER, CARRIE UNDERWOOD, MICHAEL BUBLE AND SHERYL CROW WISHING TONY A HAPPY 85TH BIRTHDAY: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay1MsL-oY88

Bennett's official 85th birthday celebration will be held on Sunday, September 18th following his debut performance at the Metropolitan Opera House. The elegant invitation only supper will take place directly after the concert and will be hosted by Alec Baldwin with a special performance by Sir Elton John. The event honors Bennett's Exploring the Arts organization which funds and supports arts education in all five boroughs in New York City. In advance of the event, over $1.5M has already been raised. (For more information on the event: TonyBennett85@eventassociates.com) Tony Bennett has had a long-standing commitment to arts education in New York City. Ten years ago with his wife Susan Benedetto, he founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts (FSSA) one of the most well regarded and prestigious high schools in the country. It is located in his hometown of Astoria, Queens.

In support of Exploring the Arts, Tiffany & Co. is donating for auction a unique "Breakfast At Tiffany" with Tony Bennett in-store event that also includes tickets to Tony's Metropolitan Opera concert and birthday gala, a personalized Tony Bennett giclee art print, as well as a $10,000 Tiffany private shopping experience and tour of the famed store. This exceptional auction package will be launched exclusively on charitybuzz starting on August 3rd and for more details please go to www.charitybuzz.com/tonybennett. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to Exploring the Arts and Tiffany will also be a table sponsor at the September 18 birthday gala. Additionally, Tiffany, the jeweler synonymous with true love recently introduced a new website and iPhone® App, as What Makes Love True, which has quickly become the resource for romantics around the world. Within the "Art of Romance" section, Tiffany features a playlist of Tony's top ten favorite love songs which can be viewed now at www.whatmakeslovetrue.com.

On Bennett's August 3rd birthday, he is scheduled to appear on the "The Today Show" and "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon." On September 23th, Tony will appear with Carrie Underwood on the season premiere of "Bluebloods" on CBS. The two will perform their song from DUETS II, "It Had To Be You."

Tony will perform a benefit event hosted by AARP to support their "Drive To End Hunger" initiative at the Staples Center on September 24th.

Several national television appearances are slated for DUETS II week of release and throughout the fall. DUETS II is the follow-up to the multi-platinum CD, DUETS, released in conjunction with Tony's 80th birthday in 2006 which won three Grammy Awards and was the singer's best selling CD to date. Phil Ramone produced the original DUETS as well as the forthcoming DUETS II CD.

    DUETS II:  ARTIST AND SONG ROSTER

    ANDREA BOCELLI                    STRANGER IN PARADISE
    MICHAEL BUBLE                     I WANNA BE AROUND
    MARIAH CAREY                      WHEN DO THE BELLS RING FOR ME?
    NATALIE COLE                      WATCH WHAT HAPPENS
    SHERYL CROW                       THE GIRL I LOVE
    ARETHA FRANKLIN                   HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING?
    JOSH GROBAN                       THIS IS ALL I ASK
    FAITH HILL                        THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT
    NORAH JONES                       SPEAK LOW
    LADY GAGA                         THE LADY IS TRAMP

    k.d. lang                         BLUE VELVET
                                       ONE FOR MY BABY (AND ONE MORE FOR THE
    JOHN MAYER                         ROAD)
    WILLIE NELSON                     ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET
    QUEEN LATIFAH                     WHO CAN I TURN TO?
    ALEJANDRO SANZ                    YESTERDAY I HEARD THE RAIN
    CARRIE UNDERWOOD                  IT HAD TO BE YOU
    AMY WINEHOUSE                     BODY AND SOUL

ABOUT TONY BENNETT:

Entering his seventh decade as a recording artist with over 100 albums and 15 Grammy Awards including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Bennett has earned his legendary status many times over. He remains the Columbia recording artist with the greatest longevity at the label. His 2007 prime-time special, "Tony Bennett: An American Classic," won seven Emmy Awards. A visual artist as well, three of his original paintings are part of the permanent collection at the Smithsonian. His humanitarian efforts are renowned and the United Nations honored him with their Humanitarian Award in 2007. He has published three books - his autobiography, "The Good Life" and two books of his paintings, "Tony Bennett: What My Heart Has Seen," and "Tony Bennett In the Studio; A Life of Art and Music." Bennett founded, in association with the Department of Education in New York City, the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts - a public arts high school in his hometown of Astoria, Queens. With his wife Susan, he established Exploring the Arts, a charitable organization which supports arts education in NYC public high schools. Exploring the Arts supports seven additional public high schools throughout New York City.

www.tonybennett.com

www.exploringthearts.org

www.benedettoarts.com

SOURCE RPM/Columbia Records

SOURCE: RPM/Columbia Records

CONTACT: Fran DeFeo, Columbia Records, +1-212-833-5784, Fran.defeo@sonymusic.com; Liz Rosenberg, Liz Rosenberg Media, +1-212-991-4290, liz@lizrosenbergmedia.com; Sylvia Weiner, RPM Productions, +1-908-301-1779, sweiner@rpm-productions.com

Web Site: http://www.tonybennett.com