In this lavishly illustrated biography from the LIFE Unseen series, LIFE partners with Sony Music Entertainment to give readers an intimate look into the life of legendary performer Tony Bennett. Through rare and never-before-seen photography from the depths of Sony's archives and contributions from the icon himself, this book is an essential collectible for the musician's fans old and new alike. LIFE Unseen Tony Bennett takes readers through every stage of Tony Bennett's journey, from newly-returned WWII veteran to American idol and Civil Rights advocate. With a foreword by acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese and an introduction by LIFE's managing editor, Robert Sullivan, readers will experience the surprising story of an incredible artist and monumental figure in the history of entertainment, who, in his ninth decade, is enjoying his best years and his best self.

LIFE partners with Sony Music Entertainment and its vast archive of photography to launch a new series of special books: LIFE Unseen, surprising looks at some of our most legendary stars. We kick off the series with Johnny Cash, who passed away 10 years ago, but it seems like he has never left us. There have been iconic American performers whose lives seemed even larger than their stage personas. Then there was Johnny Cash, unique and-yes-transcendent. He is seen as a country singer, but he is also in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Gospel Hall of Fame. Coming out of Arkansas, rebellious and an early adherent of rockabilly (he was part of Sun Studios' Million Dollar Quartet, along with Elvis, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis), he found his audience. Cash was also a TV star and he formed supergroups with other top recording artists. Movies were made about the Man in Black, and he would have been calcified as a "legend" had he not been so genuine. LIFE was at its apex when Cash "arrived," and this special volume includes that great photography, interviews with Cash and his family-as well as his soul mate, June Carter Cash, in a special section-and, of course, the never-before-seen imagery. Johnny Cash lives on through his eternal music and personal story-and through this tribute that presents, perhaps even reveals, the Man in Black, Johnny Cash, as you've never seen him.

A wonderfully warm, resonant, and captivating autobiography from iconic singer and entertainer Tony Bennett. He’s that regular guy from Astoria, Queens, who left his heart in San Francisco. He’s the postwar heartthrob who inspired hundreds of young girls to wear black outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral on his wedding day. He’s the darling of the MTV generation who made music history when, at the age of 68, he won the coveted Grammy Award for Album of the Year. He’s the consummate artist known worldwide for his paintings. He’s Tony Bennett, and here, this legend shares his amazing life story. “Tony Bennett has not just bridged the generation gap, he has demolished it,” praised The New York Times. From his appearance with the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the 1993 MTV Video Awards to his Radio City Music Hall concert with Lady Gaga, Bennett was the hottest—and coolest—pop-culture icon for today’s younger listeners, while remaining beloved by their parents and grandparents. Multiple generations have experienced the Tony Bennett magic—the mesmerizing spell of a singer in love with singing, who embraces his audience with a soulful serenity communicated by both the man and his music. Honored with countless awards and with more than ninety albums to his credit, no other recording artist has attained Bennett’s stature—or garnered the half-century of memories shared in The Good Life. From Sinatra, Judy Garland and Ella Fitzgerald, to k.d. lang and Elvis Costello, Bennett shares his unique takes on the most fascinating talents of our time. Here is the story of his lifelong love affair with art, music, and performing—from his childhood in Depression-era Queens, where opera and Billie Holiday flowed freely; to his stint as a singing waiter; to soaking up the New York jazz scene in the 1940s. With crisp wit and firmly grounded emotion, Bennett captures the people and places that shaped his sublime performances. The dozens of hits he introduced to the great American songbook, including “Because of You,” “Rags to Riches,” “Cold, Cold Heart,” and his signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” remain a legacy of truth and beauty for the classic art of intimate singing. In this unforgettable self-portrait, we get to know Tony Bennett as he really is: an unpretentious and thoughtful human being. Through all of his personal and artistic challenges, he was, in his own words, “a humanist” whose Zen-like philosophy of life remains an inspiration for all ages. Like the fascinating story he shares in The Good Life, Tony Bennett was one of a kind, an American treasure, an enduring artist seasoned with experience and self-knowledge, and a true class act.

The legendary singer and recording artist shares his life story including his many triumphs and tragedies.

The legendary singer reflects on his career, the recurring themes in his life, and the inspiration that shapes his music and his art, in a musical memoir enhanced by reproductions of his own artwork and a CD containing some of the author's favorite songs.

Tony Bennett is the man Frank Sinatra called 'the best singer in the business', and whose 1995 Grammy Awards for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance' for MTV Unplugged moved the New York Times to say, 'Tony Bennett has not just bridged the generation gap, he has demolished it.' He has legions of fans over a staggeringly large age span and in a recording career spanning five decades he has made 40 albums. His autobiography is rich with the stories of his long career and of the personalities he has known and includes the highs and lows, the successes and excesses of what has ultimately been a blessed life.

The stories, tales, and memories of Life-Arc Teaching Tales deal with the instructiveness of teaching, as well as the hammered, ironic learning of getting through any lifetime.