Tony Bennett: America is Culturally Void
Posted August 22, 2006 — in Music News
Legendary singer Tony Bennett has slammed his home country of America for not contributing anything other than jazz music to world art and culture. The if I ruled world crooner feels that Europe and Asia offer far more culturally than America does.
Bennett says, “I have travelled around the world to Asia and Europe. They show you what they have contributed to the world. The British show you theatre, the Italians show you music and art, the French show you cooking and painting, and the Germans show you science. “The only thing that the United States, which is still a young country, has contributed culturally to the world is jazz - elongated improvisation. It’s tragic.”
And Bennett feels that Americans don’t even appreciate the impact of jazz in popular culture. He says, “Fifty years from now people will be bowing to Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, just like impressionist painters like Monet, who were starving in their day. The Americans don’t even know what they have come up with.”
No doubt that the indicators are here. A cultural shift needs to happen and hopefully is happening that will bring forth great music and art.
And how did he get to Asia and Europe? Oh, by plane? Wait, I thought the Germans contributed Science.
There is so much wrong with his statement, especially with Bob Dylan right below this article. I think Dylan was a pretty fair contribution to art that America made, don’t know about Tony.
Comment by Rick — August 23, 2006 @ 12:25 am
The internet. The consumer automobile. If science in Germany counts as culture, these things count.
Comment by Keith Freund — August 23, 2006 @ 1:14 am
it’s not the fiftys tony.
Comment by ditchwater — August 24, 2006 @ 12:45 pm