Keep the Music Playing

For Big Band crooner Tony Bennett, age and even an Alzheimer's diagnosis have done little to slow his zest for life. Earlier this month, the Grammy Award winner set a Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to release an album of new material. When he released Love for Sale on October 1, Bennet clocked in at 95 years and 60 days -- hurrah!

Love for Sale is a project Bennett completed with Lady Gaga celebrating the music of Cole Porter. The release comes 10 years after Bennett and Lady Gaga recorded the single Lady is a Tramp in 2011, followed by the 2014 album Cheek to Cheek. In a lifetime of work, Bennett has earned 19 Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In the past decade alone, he has sold more than 10 million records.

In addition to this month's Guinness World Record, Bennett holds world records for the following:

  • Oldest person to reach No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with a newly recorded album (Cheek to Cheek at age 88)

  • Longest time between UK top 20 albums (39 years)

  • Oldest person to enter the UK top 20 album chart (Duets: An American Classic at age 80)

  • Longest time between the release of an original recording and a re-recording of the same single by the same artist (68 years 342 days)

Bennett's website attributes his longevity and drive to a lively childhood home filled with relatives. After his father died when he was 10, Bennett was raised in the Astoria section of Queens by his mother, Anna; his home was surrounded by adoring relatives who encouraged Bennett's love of music and became his first fans. For more about Bennett, visit https://www.tonybennett.com/. And for an emotional duet with Aretha Franklin, look here: How Do You Keep the Music Playing.

Scripture reminds us that our lives are to be lived richly and mindfully regardless of our age and circumstances. As much as our western American culture fears the aging process, Bennett is an example of a life fully lived, debunking the cultural assumptions that prevent so many of us from embracing God's plan for our life. Remember Paul's nudge to the church in Philippi to follow his example of pressing on towards the goal despite life's impediments:

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20-21)

What cultural assumptions are you setting aside this week so you can live more fully with a Kingdom lens?

God bless,

Jennie

Rev. Dr. Jennie A. Harrop