In January of 2009, at the last of the Macworld Keynotes delivered by Apple, the show was closed out by a two song performance by Tony Bennett. Andy Ihnatko mentioned it on a recent MacBreak Weekly.
He sang The Best is Yet to Come and I Left My Heart in San Francisco.
For a few years before this, Apple used its very large influence in the music world driven by the iTunes Music Store, to invite an artist to come sing at the end of the keynotes. Other performers included John Mayer and Andy Newman (who also had a connection to Steve Jobs/Pixar via the Toy Story movie songs.) And of course, who could forget U2, but that was not at a Macworld.
Tony got to put the capper on a incredible run of Macworld Keynotes, which saw the introduction of the iLife and iWork, the famous four computer grid, numerous Macs and iPods, the Apple TV, and, of course, the iPhone.
At the start of that run you have Gil Amilio bringing Steve Jobs up on stage to demo NextStep, and at the end you have Phil Schiller filling in for Steve while he is on a medical leave.
Apple had always had a tense relationship with IDG, the parent company that owned the Macworld trade show. There was a lot Apple did not like about the show, like the need to introduce something new the week after the Christmas holidays, the very expensive booth build out, the need to pull staff away from HQ, and the inability to set their own schedule. By 2009 Apple was strong enough to walk away.
The show did continue for a few years without any Apple presence, but was a shadow of its former glory, as trade shows in general also started to decline.
Dented Universe 