LENOXVILLE, Pa. — "It was pretty remarkable. He started off just singing in bars and nightclubs and made it to a pretty incredible level," said Robert Keating.
For decades the voice of late singer Tony Bennett reached the ears of millions, something his cousin Keating was never shy to talk about.
"In fact, one time we were having a party here, and I need sheet music to sing Perry Como another Italian crooner, always had sheet music, and I joked maybe I'm related to Perry Cuomo and not Tony Bennett because he remembered all the lyrics and I forget them all," Keating said.
Bennett passed away Friday morning at the age of 96 at his apartment in New York City.
At one time, Keating's mother and cousin Tony lived in a family-owned apartment building.
"So he and my mom would run into each other in the elevator and they hadn't seen each other since they were little, but the very first time when he walked in the elevator and saw my mom he looked at her and said hello, Flora," Keating explained.
He says the stories of his famous relative and his ties to our area were always a favorite for discussion.
"Well, I know he came to Scranton earlier on a train that was known as the Pheobe Snow, and he'd come and perform in Scranton young in his career," Keating said.
After decades apart, the two were finally able to meet when Bennett performed at the F.M. Kirby Center back in 2012; creating a memory Keating and his son Tyler still cherish to this day.
"We are turned to leave, and he grabs the top of Tyler's head, and as you can see, he has very curly, great head of hair, and he says your son has one heck of a head of hair," he said.
Keating says another famous crooner once said Tony Bennett had the best singing voice of their generation.
The man who said that, according to Keating, was Frank Sinatra.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel.