Departures

Tony Bennett

A jazz crooner who became one of the most prominent and enduring stewards of the Great American Songbook, Bennett died July 21 in New York City at age 96. Bennett earned 20 Grammy Awards and sold more than 50 million records during a career that debuted in 1936 when a 10-year-old Bennett sang at the official opening of the Triborough Bridge. After serving in World War II, Bennett gained mass popularity in the 1950s belting out pop and jazz standards. But by the 1970s the singer saw his star fade as music tastes shifted. Unlike other artists who chased trends, Bennett never dropped his slick suits or his Porter and Gershwin repertoire, and discovered a new audience in the 1990s and beyond.

Reeves Callaway

Callaway, an automotive pioneer whose Corvette modifications resulted in the fastest street-legal car for decades, died July 11. He was 75. The son of a textile executive who founded Callaway Golf, Reeves Callaway blazed his own career path, tuning racing vehicles for pay after failing to become a professional driver himself. After Car and Driver favorably reviewed Callaway’s modified BMW, he founded Callaway Cars out of his garage. His Corvette tunes proved so popular that General Motors sold Callaway packages through dealers with a standard warranty. In 1989, his modified Corvette made 880 horsepower and set a production speed record of 254.76 mph, a mark that stood for 21 years.