There's a moment near the end of the Oscar-nominated movie "Selma" (2014) where black and white footage and photos of the participants in the actual 1965 Selma to Montgomery March are shown.

Wait. Is that Tony Bennett?

"The" Tony Bennett?

Indeed. And seeing a young Tony Bennett walking arm-in-arm with Voting Rights Movement marchers has an impact.

You see the Selma March and you see Tony Bennett in a different light. And yet it's Bennett being Bennett: Confounding expectations.

Bennett performs at 8 p.m. May 1, State Theatre Center for the Arts, Easton.

In the past few years, the 18-time Grammy Award-winner may be more known for his teaming with Lady Gaga for "Cheek To Cheek," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Album charts.

That made Bennett the oldest music artist, at 88, to have an album top the Billboard 200. The CD, released in 2014, received a Grammy in the Best Traditional Pop Album category. Bennett and Gaga teamed for a concert April 26 at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Bennett has played the Lehigh Valley on numerous occasions, including Sands Bethlehem Event Center in 2013, Lehigh University Zoellner Arts Center in 2011, Allentown Fair in 1995 and Miller Symphony Hall in 1992 and 1987.

Bennett's recording and performing career is mind-boggling. His hits stretch back more than 60 years to "Because Of You," which was No. 1 for 10 weeks in 1951.

Other chart-toppers for Bennett included "Cold Cold Heart," also in 1951, and "Rags To Riches," No. 1 for eight weeks in 1953, and "Stranger In Paradise," No. 1 in 1953.

Bennett was one of the first pop crooners to delve into jazz, including the albums, "The Beat Of My Heart," in 1957, and "Basie Swings, Bennett Sings," first male pop vocalist to sing with the Count Basie Band, in 1958.

What became Bennett's signature song, "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," released in 1962, received Record Of The Year and Best Male Solo Vocal Performance Grammys, and is ranked No. 23 on the list of the most historically significant Songs of the 20th Century.

Bennett attracted a whole new generation of fans after his appearance on "MTV Unplugged" in 1994.

He was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2005.

Bennett's career took another upswing with the 2006 release of "Duets: An American Classic," on which he sang with Bono, Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel, Elton John and Sting.

In 2012, Bennett sang "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" for an estimated 100,000 at City Hall in the City by the Bay to commemorate the 2012 World Series win by the San Francisco Giants.

Tickets: State Theatre Box Office, 453 Northampton St., Easton; statetheatre.org, 1-800-999-STATE, 610-252-3132