Duets: An American Classic

Duets: An American Classic
Duets: An American Classic
Studio album by Tony Bennett
Released	September 26, 2006
Recorded	February – June 2006
Studio	Bennett Studios, Abbey Road Studios, Capitol Records, Studio at the Palms
Genre	Jazz
Length	65:56
Label	Columbia
Producer	Phil Ramone
Tony Bennett chronology
Singles from Duets: An American Classic
	"Just in Time"; Released: 2006;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
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

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Duet partner	Length
1.	"Lullaby of Broadway"	Al Dubin, Harry Warren	Dixie Chicks	3:03
2.	"Smile"	Charles Chaplin, John Turner, Geoff Parsons	Barbra Streisand	4:41
3.	"Put On a Happy Face"	Charles Strouse, Lee Adams	James Taylor	3:15
4.	"The Very Thought of You"	Ray Noble	Paul McCartney	4:01
5.	"The Shadow of Your Smile"	Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster	Juanes	4:34
6.	"Rags to Riches"	Richard Adler, Jerry Ross	Elton John	2:40
7.	"The Good Life"	Sacha Distel, Jack Reardon	Billy Joel	3:20
8.	"Cold, Cold Heart"	Hank Williams	Tim McGraw	3:17
9.	"If I Ruled the World"	Leslie Bricusse, Cyril Ornadel	Celine Dion	2:56
10.	"The Best Is Yet to Come"	Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh	Diana Krall	3:39
11.	"For Once in My Life"	Ron Miller, Orlando Murden	Stevie Wonder	3:24
12.	"Are You Havin' Any Fun?"	Sammy Fain, Jack Yellen	Elvis Costello	2:45
13.	"Because of You"	Arthur Hammerstein, Dudley Wilkinson	k.d. lang	4:04
14.	"Just in Time"	Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Jule Styne	Michael Bublé	2:17
15.	"The Boulevard of Broken Dreams"	Dubin, Warren	Sting	3:23
16.	"I Wanna Be Around"	Johnny Mercer, Sadie Vimmerstadt	Bono	3:01
17.	"Sing, You Sinners"	Sam Coslow, W. Franke Harling	John Legend	2:18
18.	"I Left My Heart in San Francisco"	George Cory, Douglass Cross		3:55
19.	"How Do You Keep the Music Playing?"	Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand	George Michael	5:23
Total length:				65:56

Target bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Duet partner
20.	"I've Got the World on a String"	Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler	Diana Krall
21.	"Steppin' Out With My Baby"	Irving Berlin	Michael Bublé
22.	"I Left My Heart in San Francisco"	Georgy Cory, Douglass Cross	Judy Garland
23.	"The Lady Is a Tramp"	Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers	Frank Sinatra

Australian bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Duet partner	Length
20.	"Steppin' Out With My Baby"	Irving Berlin	Delta Goodrem

Singapore bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Duet partner	Length
20.	"If I Ruled the World"	Leslie Bricusse, Cyril Ornadel	Leehom Wang

Personnel

Tony Bennett, guest artists - vocals
Bill Charlap - piano (track 18)
Pinchas Zukerman - violin (track 2)
Pamela Sklar - flute (tracks 5, 11, 13)
Lawrence Feldman - flute (track 3)
Chris Botti - trumpet (track 13)
Paul Langosch - double bass
Gray Sargent - guitar
Harold Jones - drums
Jorge Calandrelli - orchestrator, conductor
Lee Musiker - piano, arranger, musical direction
Phil Ramone - producer
Torrie Zito - conductor, brass arrangement
Diane Lesser - oboe, English horn (tracks 5, 6, 11, 13)

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

^ Duets: An American Classic at AllMusic
^ Rolling Stone
^ Tony Bennett.com
^ Caulfield, Keith (September 28, 2011). "Tony Bennett, 85, Achieves First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2006 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Tony Bennett – Duets". Music Canada. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
^ "The Irish Charts - 2006 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
^ "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.
^ Rosen, Craig (February 11, 2012). "Keeping Score". Billboard. p. 27.
^ "American album certifications – Tony Bennett – Duets". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
^ Graff, Gary (September 12, 2011). "Q&A: Tony Bennett Talks 'Duets II'". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2020.

[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.

[AustraliaTony_BennettDuets:_An_American_ClassicalbumCertRef-5] "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2006 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 11, 2020.

[CanadaTony_BennettDuetsalbumCertRef-6] "Canadian album certifications – Tony Bennett – Duets". Music Canada. Retrieved March 11, 2020.

[IrelandTony_BennettDuets:_An_American_ClassicalbumCertRef-7] "The Irish Charts - 2006 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved March 11, 2020.

[United_KingdomTony_BennettDuetsalbumCertRef-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.

[United_StatesTony_BennettDuetsalbumCertRef-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.

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