Former Presidents Obama and Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are among the notable names paying tribute to Tony Bennett in the hours after news of “The Best Is Yet to Come” crooner’s death.
Bennett died Friday in New York at 96.
Obama called Bennett an “iconic songwriter and entertainer,” saying he “charmed generations of fans.”
“He was also a good man — Michelle and I will always be honored that he performed at my inauguration,” Obama said, sharing a photo on Twitter of the couple posing with Bennett and his wife, Susan Benedetto.
In a joint statement issued Friday, the Clintons said they “loved and admired” Bennett and “marveled at the breadth of his talent and depth of his commitment to creating a better world.”
The couple said Bennett’s artwork even has a place in their house.
“Tony was a serious painter, whose works proudly hang in our home,” the Clintons said, praising him for marching with Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965 as well as for his philanthropic work.
“We will always be personally grateful to Tony for performing at the 1993 Inaugural and for lending his talents, time and again, to support the work of the Clinton Foundation,” the pair said.
“With his singular voice and generous spirit, he lived his remarkable life with perfect pitch,” the Clintons added of Bennett, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.
Pelosi called Bennett her “dear friend,” saying she was privileged to “share many special moments” with the Grammy Award winner.
The 83-year-old lawmaker noted that Bennett was among the guests she invited to sit in the House gallery when she was reelected Speaker in 2019.
“His iconic song ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’ will live on forever as one of our City’s official anthems — and in the American canon,” Pelosi said.
Bennett, Pelosi said, “is a national treasure.”
—Updated at 2:23 p.m.