US crooner Tony Bennett dies at 96

NEW YORK: Tony Bennett, the last in a generation of classic American crooners whose ceaselessly cheery spirit bridged generations to make him a hitmaker across seven decades died on Friday in New York, US media reported. He was 96.

Raised in an era when big bands defined US pop music, Bennett achieved an improbable second act when he started winning over young audiences in the 1990s -- not by reinventing himself but by demonstrating his sheer joy in belting out the standards.

At age 88, Bennett in 2014 became the oldest person ever to reach number one on the US album chart through a collection of duets with Lady Gaga, who became his friend and touring companion as younger stars rushed to work with the singing great.

Bennett, who revealed in 2016 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer´s disease, died in his hometown, his publicist Sylvia Weiner announced, without revealing a cause. Tributes quickly poured in from the music, political and acting worlds.

“Without doubt the classiest singer, man and performer you will ever see. He´s irreplaceable. I loved and adored him,” Elton John wrote on Instagram. Senator Chuck Schumer remembered Bennett as a “true son of Queens whose music reminder us of so many of the good things in life.” “Thank you. We´ll miss you,” Schumer wrote.