Tony Bennett dead at 96: Iconic singer who won 20 Grammys and sold over 50million records worldwide passes away

LEGENDARY singer Tony Bennett, whose career spanned eight decades, winning 20 Grammy Awards and selling over 50million records worldwide, has died at age 96.

Bennett died on Friday morning in his hometown of , his publicist Sylvia Weiner confirmed to the .

The U.S. Sun exclusively learned that Bennett's wife, Susan, was by his side when he took his last breath after his health took a turn for the worse in the days leading up to his death.

A source told The U.S. Sun: "Yesterday, things took a turn for the worse and it was clear to his loved ones that they should be around him.

"His loving wife and caretaker, Susan, was by his side throughout his final days.

"He ultimately passed away early Friday morning."

A cause of death has not been revealed. He was two weeks shy of his 97th birthday.

The I Left My Heart in San Francisco singer's page paid tribute to the icon, sharing: "Tony left us today but he was still singing the other day at his piano and his last song was 'Because of You,' his first #1 hit.

"Tony, because of you we have your songs in our heart forever."

In February 2021, Susan told that the iconic singer was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2016.

“Life is a gift, even with Alzheimer’s,” he tweeted in 2018.

Despite his illness, he continued to perform live and record new records through 2021.

QUEENS BOY

The singer was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926 - the son of an immigrant father, Giovanni, who settled in New York City after making the journey from southern .

His mother, Anna, was born in New York after making the sea voyage from Italy in the womb.