RAGS TO RICHES

Today in Song Lyric Sunday, Jim has challenged us
to write about a song by an artist or songwriter
who passed away in 2023. This is my response.

There aren’t too many people who haven’t heard of Tony Bennett and if you haven’t, there’s plenty of info you can find on Wiki. But perhaps you didn’t know he was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto in the Astoria district of Queens, New York. He was the son of immigrants …. John, a grocer from southern Italy, and Anna, a seamstress. Tony was the baby of the family, with older siblings, Mary and John Jr. With a father who was ailing and unable to work, the children grew up in poverty.

John Sr. instilled in his son a love of art and literature and compassion for human suffering. His father died when Tony was 10 and Anna worked all hours to support her three children. Watching her struggle, Tony made up his mind to be successful enough for his mother’s trials to end. His Uncle Dick, a tap dancer, provided an early glimpse of show business, and Tony was passionate about both singing and painting by the time he attended the School of Industrial Art (now the High School of Art and Design) in Manhattan.

Tony took bellboy jobs before becoming a singing waiter in a restaurant. He sang with army bands during World War II, but he was demoted and assigned to grave digging for fraternizing on Thanksgiving night with a black soldier who had been a schoolfriend. Twenty years after that episode, Tony was marching in Alabama with Martin Luther King. He was moved to become a pacifist following combat in Europe in 1945, an experience he described as “a front-row seat in hell”.

After demobilization, Tony took vocal classes at the American Theatre Wing School; a teacher there suggested he try imitating the phrasing of jazz instrumentalists and he began singing in nightclubs from 1946 under the stage name of Joe Bari. Comedian Bob Hope hired him in 1949 but, disliking the stage name, told him: “We’ll call you Tony Bennett.”

And so it began, the slow climb from “rags to riches”.

However, there’s something you won’t read about Tony Bennett anywhere but here. Read on.

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“Why don’t you invite Tony Bennett to the wedding?”

That’s something you might expect to hear Nancy Sinatra or Billy Joel say – certainly not me! But I did make that suggestion and here’s how it all came about.

It was probably around 2004 when my son, Bill, first met Tony Bennett. I say “first” because Bill had the pleasure of working with Tony numerous times .… at the tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center, the Grammy Awards, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and other gigs.

You see, Bill’s been a camera man/teleprompter for a lot of years; he’s had the great opportunity of working with celebrities ranging from Paul McCartney to Big Bird to Bill Clinton. His jobs are as varied as crayons in a jumbo Crayola box and just as colorful. I’m not going to bore you with names but the list is impressive. That’s how Bill met Tony.

These gigs – many of which are live – don’t happen in just one take. The crew and the performers (or “talent”, as they’re known in the business) can wind up spending a great deal of time on the set – certainly hours, sometimes days. Some performers prefer to remain aloof; others, like Tony Bennett, are the type who pull up a chair in the break room and eat lunch with the crew.

Now I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m bragging but I raised a good son. Bill is a hard worker, agreeable, unassuming, pleasant, good-looking and funny. Tony and Bill enjoyed working with each other very much – so much so that when Tony was asked to perform at the Rockefeller Center tree lighting again in 2005, he requested my son by name.

During down time at a rehearsal two years later (2007), Bill mentioned his upcoming wedding and Tony happened to be within earshot. He came over to congratulate Bill and they talked about “things” for a while. Tony wished Bill “a happy wedding day”, shook his hand and that was that – until I found out about it and I said what any mom would say:

“Why don’t you invite Tony Bennett to the wedding? He just might say ‘yes’.”

I gave Bill an invitation for him to give Tony the next day. He took it and placed it in his backpack …. where it stayed. Let’s just say my son is a bit more circumspect than me; he opted not to impose on Tony and did not extend the invitation. I was a bit bummed out but it was Bill’s decision to make, not mine, and in hindsight it was probably the right decision.

Still …. can you just imagine what a gas it would have been if Tony Bennett had shown up at my son’s wedding?

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Frank Sinatra was a good friend of Tony Bennett and he had a couple of great things to say about him, things like he was “the best singer in the business” and – my personal favorite – “that kid’s got four sets of balls”!

I saw Tony Bennett perform several times. I’ll never forget a concert we went to at Carnegie Hall about 25 years ago. A highlight of the show was when Tony sang “Rags To Riches”, one of his very early hits, without accompaniment or a mic, and we could hear him clear as a bell all the way up in the “nosebleed’ seats! What an amazing set of pipes! I was blown away by that performance.

To celebrate Tony Bennett’s life, his incredible talents and gifts to the world, I have chosen that memorable 70-year-old song. “Rags To Riches” is based on a famous Russian tune called “Volga Melody” (aka “Samara My Lovely”) by Yuri Shchetkov. Tony Bennett did the best-known version in 1953 with Percy Faith and his orchestra. It was #1 for eight weeks on the Billboard chart and became a gold record. It was also featured in the opening sequence of the 1990 film “Goodfellas”.

From 1953, this is “Rags To Riches” by the incomparable Tony Bennett.

Lyrics

I know I’d go from rages to riches
If you would only say you care
And though, my pocket may be empty
I’d be a millionaire

My clothes may still be torn and tattered
But in my heart I’d be a king
Your love is all that ever mattered
It’s everything

So, open your arms and you’ll open the door
To every treasure that I’m hoping for
Hold me and kiss me, and tell me you’re mine evermore

Must I forever be a beggar
Whose golden dreams will not come true?
Or will I go from rags to riches?
My fate is up to you

Must I forever be a beggar
Whose golden dreams will not come true?
Or will I go from rags to riches?
My fate is up to you

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Marc Shaiman / Mike Caren / Randolph S. Parker / Brian Scott / Vito Tisdale / William Hughes / Melvin Adams / L. Elroy
Rags to Riches lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music International Ltd.

“Rags To Riches”
Single by Tony Bennett
B-side	“Here Comes That Heartache Again”
Released	August 3, 1953
Recorded	March 17, 1953
Studio	Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City
Genre	Pop
Length	2:50
Label	Columbia
Producer(s)	Percy Faith
Tony Bennett singles chronology
(1953)”Someone Turned The Moon Upside Down” (1953)”Rags To Riches“ (1953)”Stranger In Paradise”

Tony Bennett died at his home in New York City on July 21, 2023, – just two weeks shy of his 97th birthday – following a seven-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease. His family said he kept singing right up to the end. Tony will never be forgotten and has been hailed as the “champion” and “legendary interpreter” of the Great American Songbook. 

Thank you for sharing in my tribute to Tony Bennett and “Rags To Riches”. Rest easy, Tony. As Bob Hope used to say, “Thanks for the memories”.

Gone But Not Forgotten

NAR © 2023

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