Tony Bennett on MTV With Back-to-Back Videos in September and October

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- September was an historic month for singer Tony Bennett who scored several music industry "firsts," becoming the oldest artist ever to have a #1 Album on the Billboard Album Charts while landing in Billboard's Hot 100 Singles charts with "Body and Soul," his duet with Amy Winehouse.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110915/NY68889 )

This month Bennett makes news again with two back-to-back music videos in rotation on MTV Networks, with "The Lady Is A Tramp," Tony's new video with Lady Gaga, being added just weeks after his "Body and Soul" video with Amy Winehouse premiered on the network in September.  "The Lady Is A Tramp," from Bennett's chart-topping DUETS II CD, was added on MTV, mtvU, MTV HITS, and MTV.com beginning today, October 5. 

Click here to view "The Lady Is A Tramp" video:  http://www.mtv.com/videos/tony-bennett/697418/lady-is-a-tramp.jhtml

Tony Bennett's return to #1 on the Billboard album charts for DUETS II, as well as his return to the Billboard Hot 100 with the single for "Body and Soul," has been due greatly to the impact of his longstanding relationship with and support by MTV Networks.  Mr. Bennett and MTV have shared a number of truly unforgettable moments including his first appearance on the "MTV Video Music Awards" stage in 1993 and his historic performance for MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett, which took home a pair of Grammys--including Album of the Year--at the 1995 Grammy Awards.  The success continues in 2011, when Tony paid special tribute to the late British songstress Amy Winehouse at this year's VMAs, where he unveiled exclusive footage from Winehouse's final recording session at Abbey Road Studios in London for their duet, "Body and Soul."  MTV exclusively worldwide premiered the video on-air for "Body and Soul" in primetime with heavy rotation across MTV, MTV HITS, mtvU, VH1 and promotion on MTV.com and on all of MTV's digital and social platforms.  

DUETS II features a celebrated roster of many of today's greatest artists--including Lady Gaga, Michael Buble, John Mayer, Carrie Underwood, Andrea Bocelli, Norah Jones and Amy Winehouse--performing with Tony, showcasing his catalog of greatest hits.  DUETS II is a follow-up to Bennett's highly successful DUETS CD, which was released for the singer's 80th birthday, received three Grammy Awards and became his best-selling record to-date.  

Recent media comments on Tony Bennett and DUETS II:

 "WINNER OF THE WEEK: The moral to this week's column is: The music business is simple! All you have to do to hit Number One is perform relentlessly high-quality material for almost 70 years, never yield to fads or trends, become a beloved pop icon, then fly to studios around the world to make a duets album with … gigantic superstars less than a third of your age. That was Tony Bennett's formula, and it worked perfectly." - Rolling Stone

"…an uninterrupted vocal masterclass that would humble most modern performers." -  GQ.com

"Tony Bennett, in his 61st year as a recording artist, proved his timelessness last week as his DUETS II became the pop vocalist's first No. 1 album."  - Variety

"Billboard's headline says it all: 'Tony Bennett Becomes Oldest Living Artist to Top Billboard 200."  - The New York Times

"Eighty-five-year-old Tony Bennett certainly isn't letting his age get the best of him. After breaking a few records last week by becoming the oldest living person to ever appear on the Billboard hot 100 singles chart with his stellar Amy Winehouse duet 'Body and Soul,' he scored another success for the books the Albums chart today." -  Entertainment Weekly

"…the man still swings and croons with the best of them at any age." - Christian Science Monitor

SOURCE Columbia Records/RPM Records