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ARTS AND LEISURE DESK |
'AMERICAN IDOL'; It'll Always Be Good
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Published:
To the Editor:
Amid the endless discussions of why music is not selling, ''American Idol'' has
become one of the highest-rated shows on television. It does so by appealing to
the whole family. At a time when the world seems upside down, the generations
are watching together and enjoying one another's company. My premise has always
been to ignore demographics -- that there is room for everybody and all kinds
of music. I've been doing pretty well for the last 60 years following my own
advice.
So I was shocked by Sarah Hepola's implication that George and Ira
Gershwin's masterpiece ''Someone to Watch Over Me'' is somehow irrelevant to
the American audience and a younger generation [''Why 'Idol' Is Always Oldies
Night,'' May 23]. To deny the impact that this type of music has had on
American culture is to deny one of our country's greatest traditions and its
indelible contribution to the world.
Where is the harm in exposing young people to a genre that may be new to
them? As far as I'm concerned, we must do everything in our power to pass on
our classic musical traditions. Let's leave the ''new trends'' to Top 40 radio
-- they seem to be having enough problems on their own. As Count Basie used to
tell me, ''Why change an apple?''
''American Idol'' seems less stuck in the past than striving to stick with
what lasts.
TONY BENNETT
Manhattan