By Jerry Pearce

In 2006, with the upcoming release of Tony Bennett’s first collaborative album with multiple artists, the wonderful “Duets: An American Classic,” Columbia Records saw fit to enforce the legend of their longtime employee and legendary vocalist with the joint release of two compilation titles featuring a wealth of Bennett’s classic earlier work for the label.

The discs, “Greatest Hits of the 50s” and Greatest Hits of the 60s,” constitute a collection of Bennett’s chart-topping hits and well-known performances during the decades in question, considered the peak of his work as a recording artist, though Bennett’s voice has remained in wonderful shape and his recorded work prolific and plentiful as the years have endured. The two “Hits” titles also include some other uncommon material from Bennett’s extensive catalogue, and remain as perfect introductory music programs for those interested in discovering how Bennett became as popular a singer as he remains to be this day.