Just Getting Started
By Tony Bennett and Scott Simon
Narrated by Joe Barrett
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
“For my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business, the best exponent of a song. He excites me when I watch him. . . . He moves me. He’s the singer who gets across what the composer has in mind, and probably a little more.” — Frank Sinatra
“As breezy and meaningful as one of his trademark songs as readers learn about the man by the company he kept and the heroes he worships. Bennett’s ethereal still lifes and landscape paintings adorn this simple yet profound and gracious homage.”— Booklist
Tony Bennett was one of our most vibrant musicians ever to grace the stage. In his previous book, Life Is a Gift, Tony reflected on the lessons he had learned over the years. In Just Getting Started, he pays homage to the remarkable people who inspired those lessons.
In his warm and inviting voice, Tony talks about who and what have enriched his own life, including Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Cole Porter, Amy Winehouse, Fred Astaire, Lady Gaga, members of his family, significant places, and more. Just Getting Started chronicles the relationship Tony enjoyed with each one of these legends, entertainers, humanitarians, and loved ones, and reveals how the lessons and values they imparted have invaluably shaped his life.
As enchanting and unforgettable as his music, Just Getting Started is a beautiful compilation of reflections every Bennett fan will treasure, and a perfect introduction for those just getting to know this remarkable star and humanitarian.
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett (1926 – 2023) grew up in Astoria, Queens, during the Great Depression. After serving as an infantryman in World War II, he studied singing and signed with Columbia Records in 1950, releasing his first hit with the label in 1951. Over the course of his career, which spanned more than sixty years, he sold millions of albums that achieved gold and platinum status both in the United States and worldwide, and won twenty Grammy Awards.
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Reviews for Just Getting Started
12 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fascinating talented man who is both interesting and humble, reflects on a huge variety of people who have influenced or had an effect on his life.Each chapter is short and covers a different person.A great entertaining book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Oh what a lush and beautiful book this is! What I thought was going to be a biography of one of my favorite crooners, turned out to be not a life story at all. Although within the pages of Tony Bennet’s new book “Just Getting Started” you will indeed learn interesting tidbits about his own life, this book is about many other people. Divided into 42 chapters, Tony reminisces and tells heart-felt stories of many famous celebrities; actors, singers, musicians, as well as politicians, notable places, famous painters, and beloved family members. All of these marvelous stories are about people and places that have strongly influenced Tony’s life; all people who he is eternally grateful to have had in his very long and successful career. Judy Garland, Bob Hope, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, his best friend Frank Sinatra, and many, many more, all have chapters that will bring readers back to the golden era of entertainment. Told with humbleness, charm and often humor, readers will not only get an intimate view into Tony Bennett’s life but will fall in love with him just for his big heart and gratitude to those that have helped him become the legend he is today. At 91 he is still going strong, and as the title says, “Just Getting Started”. In addition, if the story isn’t wonderful enough, the presentation of the book itself is simply divine. Before each chapter there is a color portrait of one of his many hundreds of gorgeous watercolor paintings. The end papers both back and front also have lavishly bright colored collages of his celebrity portraits as well. I cannot rave enough about this sensational book! ***** 5 stars from this fan!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent easily readable book. Bennett has short chapters on various individuals (Sinatra, Sammy Cahn, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington, his father) which include his reminiscences of these individuals and their influence on his life. Each chapter includes a photograph of one of Bennett's paintings as well as the inside front and back covers. They are all very interesting to look at. There was one error in the book where it was mentioned that Johnny Mercer was buried in Hollywood but he is interred in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia. Bennett's co-author/editor should have caught this. Bennett's positive attitude and enthusiasm, not only for music, but for life, comes through loud and clear in this work.