Veteran superstar Tony Bennett celebrated his 85th birthday by playing a star-studded gig in New York City on Sunday night (18Sep11) with Sir Elton John and Aretha Franklin.
The singer reached the milestone age last month (03Aug11), and on Sunday he put on a spectacular show at the Metropolitan Opera House in Manhattan to mark the occasion in front of an audience including Bruce Willis, Robert De Niro, Richard Gere, Alec Baldwin and Whoopi Goldberg.
Bennett was introduced to the stage by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and the star performed with a number of special guests, including Sir Elton John who sang with the music legend on If I Ruled the World, and Franklin, who performed How Do You Keep the Music Playing? from Bennett's new Duets II album.
The concert was followed by an afterparty hosted by Baldwin with a further performance from Sir Elton and video tributes to Bennett from famous faces including U.S. President Barack Obama, Sheryl Crowe and Lady Gaga, who sang Happy Birthday in his honour, according to Showbiz411.com.
Proceeds from the concert were handed to the Exploring The Arts charity set up by Bennett and his wife Susan Benedetto.