Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse’s letters to Tony Bennett heading to auction
nme.comTony Bennett from the likes of Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse are set to go to auction next month.A trove of items that belonged to the late singer are set to go up for sale at Julien’s Auctions on April 18, including letters and rarities addressed to him from Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, Madonna, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones and Barbra Streisand and more.The legendary American singer died on July 21 in his hometown of New York, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
He was aged 96.The item expected to fetch the most at the auction is a typewritten thank you letter from civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. – which is predicted to reach around $25,000.Dated April 5, 1965, the letter sees King discuss the historic Selma civil rights march to Montgomery.
He also thanks Bennett for singing for the marchers and mentions his “good friend, Harry Belafonte” who told King of the difficulty Bennett had in rearranging his schedule to perform (via Variety).“It is astonishing to have the opportunity to view all these items in a collection such as this, which represent Tony’s remarkable life, but also embody a part of our shared American history,” said Tony’s son and long-time manager, Danny Bennett (as per Variety). “Beyond his musical legacy, which is unparalleled and will continue to remain relevant, his lifetime of positive engagement impacted so many people and events.
He did everything with such artistry, compassion and integrity which is a testament to the extraordinary person he was each and every day.”David Goodman, CEO of Julien’s Auctions, added: “The world was blessed beyond words to have had the incomparable Tony Bennett in it.
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