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Duets: An American Classic

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Duets: An American Classic
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 26, 2006 (2006-09-26)
RecordedFebruary – June 2006
StudioBennett Studios, Abbey Road Studios, Capitol Records, Studio at the Palms
GenreJazz
Length65:56
LabelColumbia
ProducerPhil Ramone
Tony Bennett chronology
The Art of Romance
(2004)
Duets: An American Classic
(2006)
A Swingin' Christmas
(2008)
Singles from Duets: An American Classic
  1. "Just in Time"
    Released: 2006
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Rolling Stone[2]

Duets: An American Classic is a studio album by Tony Bennett, released in 2006 via Columbia label.[3]

Background

The album was released in conjunction with Bennett's 80th birthday the previous month. The songs selected were mostly ones that Bennett had played a major role in introducing into the Great American Songbook.

Unlike some other celebrity duets efforts where performances were recorded separately and then combined by producers, such as Frank Sinatra's 1993 Duets, Bennett was physically present with each of his partners during recording. The vocals were performed live as the band was playing.

Charts

The album debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200, selling around 202,000 copies in its first week.[4] It spent five consecutive weeks in the Top 10 and was certified Gold in less than four weeks. It also reached No. 1 in Canada. The sequel album, Duets II, was released in 2011 in conjunction with Bennett's 85th birthday.

Grammy Awards

The album won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards.

Track listing

Australian bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Duet partnerLength
20."Steppin' Out With My Baby"Irving BerlinDelta Goodrem 
Singapore bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Duet partnerLength
20."If I Ruled the World"Leslie Bricusse, Cyril OrnadelLeehom Wang 

Personnel

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[5] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[6] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[7] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[8] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[10] Platinum 1,500,000[9]
Summaries
Worldwide 3,000,000[11]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Duets: An American Classic at AllMusic
  2. ^ Rolling Stone
  3. ^ Tony Bennett.com
  4. ^ Caulfield, Keith (September 28, 2011). "Tony Bennett, 85, Achieves First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  5. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2006 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  6. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Tony Bennett – Duets". Music Canada. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  7. ^ "The Irish Charts - 2006 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  8. ^ "British album certifications – Tony Bennett – Duets". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 11, 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Duets in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  9. ^ Rosen, Craig (February 11, 2012). "Keeping Score". Billboard. p. 27.
  10. ^ "American album certifications – Tony Bennett – Duets". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  11. ^ Graff, Gary (September 12, 2011). "Q&A: Tony Bennett Talks 'Duets II'". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2020.