Tony Bennett’s ‘Ladies’ Runs Close To His Heart

Tony Bennett’s Grammy-winning “Unplugged” has given the seemingly ageless 69-year-old pop-jazz vocalist the welcome challenge of topping that success.

Bennett and his label, Columbia Records, already have a head start exposurewise, as Bennett’s new album, “Here’s To The Ladies,” due in stores this week, was preceded by an A&E Network “Biography” and guest appearances on “Sesame Street” and “Cybill.”

The album release will be accompanied simultaneously by a Sony home video program that includes material from the A&E bio and unreleased footage.

“Here’s To The Ladies” returns to the concept-album approach Bennett employed prior to “Unplugged” with titles, such as “Perfectly Frank” and “Steppin’ Out,” that showcased material identified with Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire, respectively.

According to SoundScan, the June 1994 “Unplugged” has sold 465,000 units, while “Steppin’ Out” has sold 318,000 copies since its October 1993 release. “Perfectly Frank,” issued in September 1992, has sold 506,000 copies.

The new disc contains 18 tracks associated with great female pop and jazz vocalists, including Dinah Washington, Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Blossom Dearie, and Ethel Merman.

The origins of “Here’s To The Ladies” run close to Tony Bennett’s heart.

“I suddenly realized where I learned my singing - from the lady singers,” Bennett says. “I remembered how my aunt and sister sang in the kitchen, and I started kicking around the idea of an album of famous girl singers and their signature songs like ‘People’ or ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow.”’