The elegant black carpet was rolled out and a slew of stars swaggered into the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood last Thursday (11/9) to celebrate the 80th birthday of living legend Tony Bennett [ tickets ], who's already back on the road.

The soiré e was hosted by Billy Crystal and featured performances by Kelly Clarkson, Marc Anthony, Stevie Wonder and Madeleine Peyroux, according to the Los Angeles Times. Other luminaries included Quincy Jones, Bruce Willis, George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez.

Bennett called the celebration, "Unforgettable," telling the Associated Press, "I'll never forget this night as long as I live."

His birthday was actually in August, prompting Wonder to quip from the stage, "It's the longest birthday I've ever known in my life," the Times reported.

Bennett has been performing for nearly six decades and shows no signs of slowing down. He's got tour dates set through January (see itinerary below), and he released a new album of duets in September. The crooner recently told the AP there's really no secret to his sustained success.

"I just kept performing and I've been sold out for 45 years around the world. I get commissioned to sing everywhere around the world," he explained. "I think the public has been so wonderful to me right through the years that it just kind of makes me feel so gratified and I just want to give them all that love back."

On his latest album, "Tony Bennett: Duets/An American Classic," Bennett shares the mic with Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Bono, Billy Joel, James Taylor, George Michael, Celine Dion, Elvis Costello, Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, k.d. lang, Diana Krall, Michael Buble, Juanes and John Legend. Trumpeter Chris Botti and violinist Pinchas Zukerman are also guests on the record, which debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The sparkle-eyed octogenarian, who has managed to bridge the generation gap, has sold more than 50 million records world-wide, scored 13 Grammy awards and was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, according to his website.