Ralph Sharon obit

Ralph S. Sharon, bandleader for Tony Bennett

 

He was not on the list.

Sept. 17, 1923 – March 31, 2015

 

Ralph S. Sharon, longtime pianist and bandleader for singer Tony Bennett, died Tuesday in his home in Boulder, Colo. He was 91.

Mr. Sharon had a long-standing relationship with the Buffalo area and was a frequent visitor here. In 1973 he married Lackawanna native Linda H. Noone, whom he met while touring with Bennett when she worked at Melody Fair in the 1960s.

Born in London, England, to an English father and an American mother who was an accomplished piano player, Mr. Sharon developed a love of American jazz.

He made his professional debut in 1946 with Ted Heath, then worked with Frank Weir’s orchestra and led his own sextet before he came to the United States in 1953 to further his career as a jazz pianist.

Clarinetist Tony Scott took Mr. Sharon under his wing and introduced him to leading jazz musicians. He recorded with many of them and was accompanist for jazz singer Chris Connor. Then he met Bennett.

“I was skeptical,” he told an interviewer in 2009. “But I met this guy and he sang a few things and I played a few things. I thought, ‘This guy sounds pretty good.’ At the end, he said, ‘How’d you like to come with me?’ I said, ‘Come with you where?’ He said, ‘Everywhere.’ ”

Mr. Sharon worked with Bennett for nearly 50 years. His family said he was responsible for finding Bennett’s signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

He also worked with Robert Goulet and Rosemary Clooney, among others, and performed on at least eight Grammy Award-winning records.

Mr. Sharon became an naturalized citizen in 1958 and lived in New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles before moving to Boulder in 2002 to be near his son’s family.

He continued performing with a trio in the Denver area until three months ago.

In addition to his wife, survivors include a son, Bo, founder of Lucky’s Markets, and two grandsons.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in Our Lady of Victory Basilica, South Park Avenue and Ridge Road, Lackawanna.