I have a simple life. I mean, you just give me a drum roll, they announce my name, and I come out and sing. In my job I have a contract that says I'm a singer. So I sing.
tso-life
My favorite song is I Left My Heart in San Francisco because it's become my signature song. I sang it for six American presidents and five command performances... it's made me a world citizen.
I still insist that American performers are the best performers in the world.
I've been so fortunate because I never really had ups and downs as far as my career. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I've been sold out all over the world.
thetimestime
I know the history of the record business so well because I followed Billie Holiday into the record studios. It was so primitive compared to the sophisticated business today.
businesshistoryholidays
Intimate singing had a wonderful style in the '30s and '40s. It came out of Broadway and the jazz of Louis Armstrong and Billie Holliday. But Sinatra created the best romantic era that we've ever had.
I think one of the reasons I'm popular again is because I'm wearing a tie. You have to be different.
We're in an era where the demand is for immediate hits that are destined to become obsolescent. Six months later, everyone forgets the artist and the tune. It's become like a con job. Producers, engineers, lawyers and accountants all make money, but the artists don't.
We used to do seven shows at day at the Capitol Theater in Washington and the Paramount in New York. The manager said you are doing the young crowd in the morning, the senior citizens in the afternoon, the engaged and married couples in the evening. And he said just sing good songs and everyone would like it. I stayed with that.
[Luckily for his audiences, Bennett doesn't tire of singing] I Left My Heart. ... that song made me a world citizen. And when I do it, it always feels like the first time.
The young people look great on television. They're youthful and have a lot of zip and energy, but when you see them live, they can only do about 20 minutes because they haven't got the training to hold an audience for an hour and a half or so.
people
To work is to feel alive.
work