{"id":16720,"date":"2019-09-26T16:47:18","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T20:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=16720"},"modified":"2020-05-07T17:45:41","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T21:45:41","slug":"interview-tony-bennett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/interview-tony-bennett\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Bennett"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; width: 100%; height: 450px;\" src=\"\/\/e.issuu.com\/embed.html?backgroundColor=%23fefefe&amp;d=oct19_flipbook&amp;hideIssuuLogo=true&amp;pageNumber=18&amp;showOtherPublicationsAsSuggestions=true&amp;u=portlandmagazine\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\">He&#8217;s bringing his heart to Portland October 24 at Merrill Auditorium.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16738\" src=\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/oct19-tony-300x246.jpg\" alt=\"Tony Bennett Exploring the Arts dinner 2007\" width=\"300\" height=\"246\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/oct19-tony-300x246.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/oct19-tony-768x629.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/oct19-tony-1024x839.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/oct19-tony-200x164.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/oct19-tony-427x350.jpg 427w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">W<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"s2\"><strong>hat\u2019s your favorite lobster dish?<\/strong><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/span><span class=\"s2\">I happen to love all kinds of seafood\u2014in particular, mussels with a bit of garlic. I think keeping seafood preparation as simple as possible is best, especially when it\u2019s caught fresh and served right away.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong><i>Many Portland families come from Southern Italy. Our Italian Heritage Center celebrates this in a big way. Which song of yours will speak to them most?<\/i><\/strong><b><i><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><\/span><span class=\"s2\">How interesting\u2014I was not aware of that. My family originated from Southern Italy as well, in the town of Podargoni, which is the Reggio Calabria region. I was told that my father would go up to the top of the mountain overlooking the village in the valley and sing \u201c\u2019O Sole Mio,\u201d and his voice was so powerful that everyone could hear it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\">M<\/span><span class=\"s2\">usic is such a big part of Italian culture. When I was growing up, our Italian-American family would come to our house on Sunday afternoons. After the meal they would form a circle, and my brother, sister, and I would perform for them. It was during those Sunday afternoons that I discovered how much I loved to perform for people and make them happy. In fact, my first stage name was Joe Bari, which I took from the city in Southern Italy of the same name. When I met Bob Hope and he asked me to join his show at the Paramount Theatre in New York City, he asked me my name. I said, \u201cJoe Bari,\u201d and he said, \u201cThat sounds like a fake name. What\u2019s your real name?\u201d I told him, \u201cAnthony Dominick Benedetto.\u201d He said that\u2019s too long for the marquee\u2014let\u2019s Americanize it and call you Tony Bennett. So, the first time I ever heard the name Tony Bennett was when Bob Hope introduced me that way to the audience at the Paramount Theatre. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s2\"><i>What\u2019s your favorite Italian saying?<br \/>\n<\/i><\/span><\/strong><span class=\"s2\">Pasta.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><i>Growing up, you couldn\u2019t miss hearing Rudy Vall\u00e9e on the radio. He grew up in Westbrook, Maine. Ever meet him?<\/i><\/strong><b><i><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><span class=\"s2\">No, I never met Rudy Vall\u00e9e, but I am familiar with the song that he first recorded. I made a recording of \u201cSweet Lorraine\u201d in 1965 to pay tribute to Nat King Cole, who did a beautiful rendition of it. It became his signature song. Nat was a dear friend. As he had just passed away, Bobby Hackett and I decided to make a recording of \u201cSweet Lorraine\u201d to honor him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s2\"><i>As a painter, you know the work of Andrew Wyeth, John Marin, Marsden Hartley, Louise Nevelson, Rockwell Kent, Marguerite Zorach, Robert Indiana, Jamie Wyeth. Have any of them inspired you?<br \/>\n<\/i><\/span><\/strong><span class=\"s2\">Yes, I certainly know many of those painters, and it doesn\u2019t surprise me that the state of Maine inspires so many visual artists. It\u2019s such a beautiful country with nature everywhere you look. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p9\"><span class=\"s2\">Nature never disappoints when you choose to paint it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong><i>Portland, Maine, has been called the San Francisco of the East. If you were to sing an unforgettable song about Portland, Maine, what would the first line be?<\/i><\/strong><b><i><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><\/span><span class=\"s2\">Well, I am not really a songwriter\u2014I am a song interpreter\u2014but I think it would be a song celebrating the natural beauty of Maine\u2019s surroundings.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">&#8220;Hey Mr. Benedetto, please sing\u2026&#8221;<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Portland\u2019s <strong>Italian Heritage Center <\/strong>members celebrate Tony Bennett\u2019s<br \/>\nmusical legacy and their own family origins through these requests.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cReturn to Me\u201d<br \/>\n<em>Jim DiBiase, Manoppello, Abruzzo<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cMambo Italiano\u201d<br \/>\n<em>Francesca DiBiase, Roccamorice, Abruzzo<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cLa Luna Ammenzu O\u2019 Mari\u201d<br \/>\n<em>Philip Rotolo, Sambuca, Sicily<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cNel blu, dipinto di blu (Volare)\u201d<br \/>\n<em>Gina Ferrante, Lettomanoppello, Abruzzo<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cTu Vuo\u2019 Fa\u2019 L\u2019Americano\u201d<br \/>\n<em>Rocco Ferrante, Lettomanoppello, Abruzzo<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201c\u2018O surdato \u2018nnammurato\u201d<br \/>\n<em>Vinni Fierro, Bisaccia, Avellino<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cOh! My PaPa\u201d<br \/>\n<em>Stella Main, Lacedonia, Avellino<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cCalabrisella Mia\u201d<br \/>\n<em>Assunta F Savage, Catanzaro, Calabria<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cAmore Scusami\u201d<br \/>\n<em>Marianne Reali, Reggio Calabria<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cAl di La\u201d<br \/>\n<em>Marie Pardi, Lacedonia, Avellino<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Forget San Francisco. He&#8217;s bringing his heart to Portland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[314,8,943],"tags":[324,25,482,481],"class_list":["post-16720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-after-dark","category-featured","category-personalities","tag-after-dark","tag-interview","tag-merrill-auditorium","tag-tony-bennett"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16720"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18684,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16720\/revisions\/18684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}