Author Topic: Tony Bennet and his last performance at 95: Music IS who he is --pure emotion. (Read 1028 times)

Scotty · « **on:** January 30, 2022, 07:10:07 PM »

This is an amazing story. Tony Bennet has dementia. This is his last performance. Anderson Cooper was at his apartment
to interview him (and to get to hear him sing). Read the description of how he responded to the beginning notes of the songs
he knew so well).

If it can create such magic for a dementia patient, why would any of us not hang onto playing our wonderful instrument as long as possible?
Music can help create synapses in the brain--we already know this. Lady Gaga has somehow managed to become the best partner Mr. Bennett has ever had in her understanding of his condition. Who knew? I loved this story, despite feeling so sad for him and his family. So play your songs; play what makes you feel good and keep those synapses connecting, and making your
emotional connection to the music you love. You don't need an 'expert' to tell you what works for you.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/anderson-cooper-on-witnessing-tony-bennett-s-final-act/ar-AATj78o?ocid=msedgntp

scotty

SlideMeister · « **Reply #1 on:** January 30, 2022, 07:25:42 PM »

Yeah, the older I get, the more I love music.

Scotty · « **Reply #2 on:** January 30, 2022, 08:01:09 PM »

Me too, Age. I thought I loved it before, but I'm now absolutely IN love with the songs I connected with and which I've had imprinted in my head for most of my adult life. Still room for more good music, though. I keep finding more good songs written
by new artists which touch me.

scotty

SlideMeister · « **Reply #3 on:** January 30, 2022, 10:14:32 PM »

Lately I've been studying and comparing arrangements of different artists. Fascinating stuff. The arrangements in my noggin are like pre-schoolers by comparison. It's painfully easy to see, an AR man, I ain't.

. But I sure can marvel at the artistry,

Danny G · « **Reply #4 on:** January 31, 2022, 09:44:50 AM »

Love Tony Bennet but can't stand Anderson Cooper.

brorat · « **Reply #5 on:** January 31, 2022, 10:02:24 AM »

Quote from: Danny G on January 31, 2022, 09:44:50 AM

Love Tony Bennet but can't stand Anderson Cooper.

Could not agree more!!

John M G · « **Reply #6 on:** January 31, 2022, 08:15:06 PM »

There is a very interesting book, Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks that relates how well we retain our music part of brain for a much longer period than would seem possible. Even with dementia.
I'd highly recommend it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musicophilia

Bernie9 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 01, 2022, 04:35:10 AM »

I can attest to that. I used to play at nursing homes where some appeared almost comatose until I would play a tune that somehow connected to them. They would suddenly come to life and show obvious joy. It is a very rewarding experience.

brorat · « **Reply #8 on:** February 01, 2022, 05:44:46 AM »

Quote from: Bernie9 on February 01, 2022, 04:35:10 AM

I can attest to that. I used to play at nursing homes where some appeared almost comatose until I would play a tune that somehow connected to them. They would suddenly come to life and show obvious joy. It is a very rewarding experience.

I’m so looking forward to getting past current COVID restrictions so I will be able to play for senior centers and nursing homes. My own mom spent her entire life involved in church music as a choir director/organist/pianist. Later in her life she suffered from dementia and lost most precious memories. But throughout that awful period, she still played piano for her Sunday School class. My sister would help mom to the piano and open the hymnal to the song to be played, and mom’s eyes would light up as she saw the music, and she would begin to play. Music was mom’s magic during the final years.
Now…through this cool little instrument called the chromatic harmonica…I’m beginning to know some of the magic that my mom felt.

Danny G · « **Reply #9 on:** February 01, 2022, 09:04:07 AM »

I played at several nursing homes with the Rubber Capital Harmonica Club until I moved out here in the woods.
After I retired in 2006 my Mother in Laws health declined and I started playing at her nursing home. It wasn't long before I started getting calls from other adult care facilities asking me to play. Then when Judy and Al Smith retired from playing these kinds of gigs Al recommended me to a few places and I was playing pretty often. Then Covid raised its ugly head and put the brakes on all of that. I really enjoyed playing for those folks, many of them became friends. I don't miss loading and unloading sound systems. About an hour of setup and teardown for each gig. This past year my Mother in Law and my son, who also was in a nursing home died. And that's another thing, you make friends with the residents and because a lot of these folks have serious health problems, its depressing to find out that the missing person or people in the audience are no longer with us. I'm not so sure I'll ever want to play nursing homes again.

brorat · « **Reply #10 on:** February 01, 2022, 10:52:49 AM »

Quote from: Danny G on February 01, 2022, 09:04:07 AM

This past year my Mother in Law and my son, who also was in a nursing home died. And that's another thing, you make friends with the residents and because a lot of these folks have serious health problems, its depressing to find out that the missing person or people in the audience are no longer with us. I'm not so sure I'll ever want to play nursing homes again.

I'm so sorry for your losses, Danny. I certainly understand how you feel. I guess I just have a view that dying is part of life. Of course I am sad to lose family and friends to death at any age! However, I just want to know that maybe I was able to provide a small amount of joy in someone's life before they succumbed to the inevitable end. I have this talent ... however small and insignificant ... that I can use to make someone smile. I think it's my duty to give it a shot!
I knew about the death of your son, but I don't think I ever told you how sorry I am to know that. Mea culpa. You have been, and continue to be in my thoughts.

SlideMeister · « **Reply #11 on:** February 01, 2022, 06:08:59 PM »

I still do most of my public playing in various waiting rooms.

smojoe · « **Reply #12 on:** February 01, 2022, 06:22:10 PM »

[Oh my goodness!] Danny, I had NO idea. I wonder where I could have been if this was mentioned before. Other than having my head up my butt. Both Cass and I are very very sorry. And as someone whom has lost their children, we can appreciate your grief. And, btw, there IS no closure. So we have to live for the living. Bless you.

joe

Scotty · « **Reply #13 on:** February 07, 2022, 01:59:23 AM »

Quote from: Danny G on January 31, 2022, 09:44:50 AM

Love Tony Bennet but can't stand Anderson Cooper.

That's your choice of course. I'll express MY voice as one who happens to really like Anderson Cooper (what's not to like?) His interaction with his own Mother (Gloria VanderBilt) - and honesty about what it was really like growing up as her son - who got out on his own to make his own way in life was extremely interesting to me. As she aged, he took very good care of her...the incredible kindness he felt for and showed her - moved me very much. Despite my own mother's abusiveness, I did whatever
was necessary to take care of her as well when she had dementia. I felt he was the perfect person to interview Tony Bennett at this time. Besides, the story wasn't about him, but about how a famous dementia patient could fall right back into singing those songs ingrained in his memory, and how music connects synapses.

scotty

truckpartsaus · « **Reply #14 on:** February 07, 2022, 04:23:07 AM »

Quote from: A.J. Fedor on January 30, 2022, 07:25:42 PM

Yeah, the older I get, the more I love music.

The older I get, the harder it gets for me to hear it.

SlideMeister · « **Reply #15 on:** February 07, 2022, 09:24:57 AM »

Yeah, that's gotta suck.
You just made me think: My daughter was born deaf, my grandfather was almost deaf when he was killed at 84, my dad was hard of hearing at 68 and my two older sisters wear hearing aids. So far, @ 77, I just have this tinnitus @63K

Scotty · « **Reply #16 on:** February 09, 2022, 05:07:47 AM »

I knew about your daughter, Age - but not about the rest. I have no idea what I'd do if I couldn't hear music any longer.
It truly is 'life' to me (along with listening to the birds' singing and my cats talking to me). So sorry about the tinnitus
and for those here who have any degradation of their hearing. For once, there's something I've been lucky in --so far.

scotty

Grizzly · « **Reply #17 on:** February 09, 2022, 11:47:44 AM »

Two of my choir members lost the ability to match pitch, even though they both wore hearing aids and could understand speech. It's something both had trouble accepting; the one still alive in his 90s tries, sings to me over the phone. Both touching and sad. The other, since passed, had to be convinced by her audiologist that things were bad and would never improve.

Dementia, fortunately, is not in the picture.

My tinnitus isn't very bad, but my left ear seems to be fading a bit. Time for a checkup.

Tom

truckpartsaus · « **Reply #18 on:** March 02, 2022, 08:21:12 AM »

Yeah my hearing has had it, probably from listening to too much Led Zeppelin in the 70s through my head phones.😂 I have a set of hearing aids but somehow never have them in while my wife’s talking. 😂😂😂

SlideMeister · « **Reply #19 on:** March 02, 2022, 05:11:22 PM »

I gotta find her email address and tell her what ya sed there mate!

Gnarly He Man · « **Reply #20 on:** March 02, 2022, 08:54:36 PM »

Quote from: truckpartsaus on March 02, 2022, 08:21:12 AM

Yeah my hearing has had it, probably from listening to too much Led Zeppelin in the 70s through my head phones.😂

Just listened to Four Sticks for the first time— that’ll give you hearing loss.