Just spotted that Tony Bennett has died

During a career that spanned seven decades, the crooner sold millions of records and won 20 Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award.

I was lucky enough to see him perform live at the Royal Albert Hall many years ago and was blown away by his energy and his sense of humour. He was a giant of popular music.

@TheMacPsych Oh no! I’m glad he made many duets and collaborations late in life. He leaves a great legacy. 🎵🌹

@odd Definitely.

@odd He really seemed to enjoy performing - I honestly think that’s why he kept going. An incredible career.

@pimoore I’ve been listening to the MTV Unplugged album all evening. Such a great performance!

@TheMacPsych I’m actually not familiar with that one somehow, but I’ll have to rectify this.

@pimoore Yes, me too. Bing is my number one favorite, but Frank and Tony are all right too. 🎵

@odd Bing is another classic voice from that era, nobody did baritones like him. Sammy Davis Jr. was another powerful voice, with a huge vocal range—probably the greatest out of them all. The sheer amount of vocal talent from the first generation crooners was incredible. In listening to an online radio station that plays their music, I’ve also been introduced to some excellent second generation crooners like Robbie Williams and Matt Forbes (along with the better known Connick Jr. and Bublé).

I deeply respect that these gentlemen are honouring the genre and keeping it alive. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong time period.

@odd I should add that same station also exposed me to female voices like Ella Fitzgerald and Rosemary Clooney, who can croon with the best of them. Truly a remarkable genre of music. If you’d like to check it out, fittingly the name of the station is The Ratpack. I use the Broadcasts app on iOS/Mac to listen, it’s free and excellent.

@pimoore Yes to all of that. I’d be interested in checking out that station if you can share?

@pimoore Thanks! You were ahead of me.

@pimoore I’m currently using Triode, but when searching for The Ratpack I couldn’t find anything. Do you have the URL? I like Triode so much and if I can avoid installing another app I would prefer that.

@odd Ask and ye shall receive:

ice55.securenetsystems.net/DASH5

It’s part of the Dash Radio Network if for some reason the above link doesn’t work.

@pimoore Thanks, Pete! I couldn’t get the link to work in Triode, so I tried the link from the website, and it didn’t get an error, but it wouldn’t connect/ load, so I caved and installed the Dash app. Think I’m going to try the one you mentioned earlier too. 😃👍📻

@odd Broadcasts is an excellent app, I’ve had literally no issues with it on any device. Triode is what I had used previously (at the free tier) but frequently had connectivity issues, with music stopping suddenly or refusing to play in the first place.

@pimoore I’ve liked Triode since they sold it right out, no subs., but yes, I’ve had some connectivity problems myself occasionally. I didn’t know that Steven Troughton-Smith had made a Internet Radio App until today. This will be my main Internet Radio app from now on. Much thanks! 🥳

@odd You’re welcome, and clearly my work here is done! 😉