12 Iconic People Tony Bennett Had Duets With

Few vocalists were as classic, and classy, as the late, great Tony Bennett. He rose to fame in the early '50s, in large part due to the jazz records he made for Columbia during that decade — but Bennett was nothing if not a versatile singer, and in 1962, it was a pop song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," that catapulted him to superstardom. It marked the true beginning of a career defined by Bennett's eagerness to always try new things, as he explained to The San Diego Union-Tribune in a 1997 interview. "I change from moment to moment. That applies to my whole repertoire," he said. "I know how to improvise and I really depend on the music around me to inspire me. So that every night ... you bob and weave, or zig and zag, and never do the same thing the same way, ever."

Part and parcel of this philosophy was Bennett's mile-long history of duets with other artists, which culminated in a pair of iconic, Grammy-winning releases: 2006's "Duets: An American Classic" and 2011's "Duets II." (Many of these performances were captured for PBS specials centered on the recording of the albums, and they are universally awesome.) The list of artists who have lined up to work with Bennett was ridiculously extensive, from George Michael to Lady Gaga to Michael Bublé — and among them have been more than a few that were nearly as iconic as the man himself.

For any singer, there is pretty much no higher praise than to be compared to Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul. She is the standard by which powerhouse vocalists like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey are measured; one can easily make the case that she's the greatest vocalist in the history of popular music, simply by pointing to the time she filled in for ailing opera legend Luciano Pavarotti to sing the ridiculously challenging aria "Nessun Dorma" at the 1998 Grammys at a moment's notice, and killed it. Hers is the kind of talent that can humble even the most talented singers — so it's a testament to Tony Bennett's greatness that she was humbled by him.

Franklin appeared on "Duets II" performing the 1982 James Ingram and Patti Austin tune "How Do You Keep the Music Playing," and in a joint interview with CBS News, the pair spoke quite highly of working with each other. "It's wonderful just to sing with such a legendary voice," Franklin said of Bennett. "I think we make really wonderful music together." Bennett then dropped a praise bomb on Franklin, saying, "There's two or three people in the world that sounds just the way I'd like to hear a singer sing the right way and she's one of the three." Franklin responded the way anyone else would have, simply saying, "Wow — thank you."

For a New York icon, it's a little ironic that it was an ode to the City by the Bay that became Tony Bennett's signature tune. "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" was penned by songwriters George Cory and Douglass Cross, and was offered to several singers before it was introduced to Bennett by his pianist Ralph Sharon in 1961. Bennett recorded it early the following year, and the rest, as they say, is history: It became a top 20 hit, won Grammy awards for record of the year and best male solo vocal performance, and became forever associated with Bennett.

On a 1963 episode of legendary actress and singer Judy Garland's CBS variety show, Bennett appeared to duet with her on the tune; it was a sweet, heartfelt performance during which the pair's friendship was obvious. In his 2012 memoir "Life Is a Gift: The Zen of Bennett," Bennett remembered Garland, who tragically passed away at only 47 in 1969, in the fondest of terms. "One of the best compliments I ever received was from Judy," he wrote. "She said that I was 'the epitome of what entertainers were put on Earth for. Tony was born to take peoples' troubles away' ... Given my respect for Judy and her talent, this was high praise indeed, and I always cherished her statement."

"For Once in My Life," penned by Motown songwriters Ron Miller and Orlando Murden, has long been the subject of controversy due to it being unclear who was actually the first to sing the song — but for Tony Bennett, who recorded the tune for a 1967 album of the same title, there's little question who sang it the best. Stevie Wonder, who scored a hit with his version in 1968, appeared on "Duets" to sing it with Bennett, and on the occasion of the recording, Bennett remembered being unsurprised that Wonder had enjoyed slightly more success with the song than he had. "I introduced the song," Bennett said. "I recorded it, and Stevie was smart enough to put a beat behind it, an uptempo [beat], and it became a million-selling record."

During their performance, Wonder engaged in some slightly subdued yet characteristically muscular vocal acrobatics, which seemingly pushed Bennett to reach for the top of his own range, resulting in a stunningly powerful rendition of the tune. In the accompanying interview, Wonder pointed out something that's often overlooked about Bennett. "You were fighting about conditions of oppression, civil rights and social injustices ... long before it was popular," he told Bennett. "You stepped out, and you spoke on it ... I have to say that I have much respect for you as a human being."

Musicians don't come much more iconic than the great Paul McCartney, who was coming up with a little band called The Beatles at the time that Tony Bennett was already a superstar. Bennett tapped McCartney to sing with him on his first "Duets" album, and the pair selected a classic standard: "The Very Thought of You," penned by a major contributor to the Great American Songbook, Cole Porter. In their sit-down for the "Duets" PBS presentation, McCartney explained that Porter was a bridge between the artists of Bennett's generation and his own. "[People] expected me to have more contemporary heroes," he said, "But he's the great writer." Bennett agreed, saying, "That's what we try to tell all the young people — if you don't know the past, how can you know the future?"

The duo's rendition of "The Very Thought of You" is, of course, pure elegance and sophistication, and in "Artists on Recording Techniques," Bennett waxed fondly about his time working with McCartney. "Paul's got it," he said. "He's just a natural, and I love him. He's got a great sense of humor and a great heart." Upon Bennett's death, McCartney took to Instagram to pay tribute to his friend, writing, "He was always a wonder to behold. Thanks Tony for the joy you brought to our world."

Billy Joel is another artist who is inextricably linked with the Big Apple, so it's only fitting that he has partnered with Tony Bennett on multiple occasions. On the 2001 album "Playin' WIth My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues," the Piano Man teamed with Bennett on a tune that, while one of Joel's signatures, seems custom-made for Bennett: the wistful, melancholy anthem "New York State of Mind." Of course, a New York icon like Bennett lending his voice to Joel's classic tune added an extra element of poignancy and elegance — and in 2008, during a concert at Shea Stadium, Bennett even joined Joel onstage to perform the song, sending the ginormous crowd into an absolute frenzy.

Their partnership continued on "Duets," for which Joel sat in with Bennett on "The Good Life," which had been a hit for the latter in 1963. Despite the fact that the two were quite familiar with each other by this time, Joel expressed amazement in the interview segment for the "Duets" PBS presentation that Bennett does not, in fact, play the piano — or any other instrument. "Tony sings like he's a player," Joel said. "He's hearing all the notes in the chord. He's got a full palette to pick from." In reference to Bennett's voice, Joel marveled, "He's obviously learned his instrument well."

Perhaps the most poignant of all Tony Bennett's duets: a rendition of the standard "Body and Soul" recorded for "Duets II" with the late, great Amy Winehouse. As detailed by the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Far Out Magazine), those in Bennett's circle were a touch hesitant to invite Winehouse down to the studio, as it was well-known that she was at the time struggling mightily with the alcohol addiction that would soon claim her life. Bennett insisted, and he recalled that when Winehouse arrived, she was sober, professional — and terrified to even be in Bennett's presence. "She said she was nervous because she had never recorded a song with someone she considered one of her idols," Bennett told the Inquirer. "After running through a few bars, she said she hadn't recorded for a long time — her only reference to the problems she'd been living through."

During the performance, one can actually see Winehouse's nerves melting away as Bennett begins to sing, at times closing her eyes and smiling from ear to ear. When it's her turn at the microphone, it's clear that whatever she may have been going through at the time, she is fully, completely in the moment — and her legendary voice had never been in better form. The recording scored a Grammy for best pop duo-proup performance — and it was, unfortunately, Winehouse's last. 

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