‘I just sing good songs’

By Jerry Fink

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008 | 2 a.m.

The voice on the phone is unmistakable — unhurried and whiskey smooth.

It’s urbane and gracious, and you can still hear a slight edge from growing up poor in Queens, N.Y.

Tony Bennett quit high school in the early ’40s and sang to help support his family. In the ensuing seven decades, Bennett has sold more than 50 million albums and won 14 Grammy awards.

He turned 82 on Aug. 3, celebrating quietly with family and friends.

“It’s not 85 and it’s not 90,” Bennett says from his New York home. “It’s 82.”

He marked his 80th with a bang: releasing his most successful album, “Duets — An American Classic,” which sold more than 2.5 million copies; an Emmy-winning TV special, “Tony Bennett: An American Classic”; and a PBS documentary produced by Clint Eastwood, “Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends.”

It seems longer ago, but “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” became Bennett’s signature song in 1962.

The road to “San Francisco” ran through Hot Springs, Ark., a picturesque resort community in the Ouachita Mountains 60 miles southwest of Little Rock. Bennett had a weeklong engagement at the Vapors Theatre Restaurant.

“I’ll never forget it,” Bennett says.

His accompanist, Ralph Sharon, had found a song by composer George Cory and lyricist Douglass Cross, written in 1954 but never recorded. Sharon said, “I think you might like it.”

They rehearsed the song in the afternoon in the Black Orchid bar.

“There was a bartender there and he said, ‘I don’t want to interrupt you, but if you record that song I’m going to be the first one to buy the record,’ ” Bennett says. “We laughed about it and then went up to San Francisco, the next engagement.”

They put the new song in the middle of the show at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill.

“Everybody said, ‘Oh my god, you’ve got to record that song,’ ” Bennett says. “We thought it was going to be a local hit, but it took off internationally. I’ve been commissioned to sing it all over the world. It institutionalized my whole career.”

You can hear the institution Friday and Saturday at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Do you ever get tired of performing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”?

Do you get tired of making love?

I see your point. Are you working on any projects right now?

“Duets” was the last album I did. It sold millions of records. Now I’m doing a Christmas album with Count Basie’s band, all happy songs.

Your singing seems so effortless. Your voice is as strong now as ever. How do you do it?

I was taught by some very good singers at the American Theatre Wing after the Second World War. When I came out of the service under the G.I. Bill of Rights I joined the American Theatre Wing, which became The Actors Studio. They gave me the best teachers in every department of entertainment so I had a very good foundation and lived by the rules of what my teachers taught me.

What’s your secret to eternal youth?

I like entertaining people. I really enjoy it. It makes me feel good to know they enjoyed themselves. I have no desire to retire. The reviews say I never sounded better. Everything’s positive. I’m in a mellow state. I sing and paint, that’s all that I do. When I’m not performing, I’m painting. I’ve been painting as long as I’ve been singing. I paint and study every day. Every couple of years I’ll do a show somewhere and it usually works out well. Everyone seems to like my painting.

How do you relax?

I play a lot of tennis. In Vegas, Marty Hennessy (of the Marty Hennessy Junior Tennis Foundation) and I put on a benefit every year to help victims of child abuse.

Your relationship with Vegas goes back to the early days of your career.

Yeah. My first engagement I played there was the El Rancho. Milton Berle put me on the show with him. I played every room on the Strip at one time or another.

You must like Vegas.

I love it. The climate. The people. Everything about it. It’s great for singing. The weather is dry so there’s no phlegm in your throat.

When you listen to music, whom do you listen to?

I listen to all kinds of music, but I listen to Puccini a lot. I like classical music. I love to listen to Sinatra and Nat (King) Cole and to great jazz bands like Basie’s. I like anything that sounds good to me.

Your career is still going strong. Is your son, Danny, still your manager?

He’s been my manager for 23 years. He changed my whole career — when he took over I was in the terrible predicament of spending more than I made. My son is very sharp. He came running up to me and said, “Dad, you gotta do something. This is not right.” I said, “Somehow or other I had been ripped off by different people. Why don’t you manage me?” He said, “Let me get this straightened out,” and he did. Within four or five years he made me financially solvent for the rest of my life.

He introduced you to a whole new generation of fans.

Right. He got me on “MTV Unplugged” and we found out all the young kids liked me as much as the parents did.

Does your daughter, Antonia, still perform with you?

At times. But she’s also writing songs as well. I’m doing very well. I’ve got a great family. They’re nice people, good kids, and now they’re all grown up and they’re dynamite to be around.

You’ve won a lot of awards. Which is the most meaningful to you?

The Humanitarian Award the United Nations gave me (last year). It taught me there’s a big world out there and we should respect every country, not only our own.

Do you spend a lot of time touring these days?

Not as much as I used to. I do about five dates a month. Out of 30 days, I perform five.

What venues do you prefer?

I like quality places, like in Vegas. I like great clubs. I love Carnegie Hall best of all. But Radio City Music Hall here in New York is great, and Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh. There are beautiful halls all over the world.

No more smoke-filled nightclubs?

They’re gone. That’s another era. That’s where it all started.

Do you miss that?

Actually, yeah. Frank Sinatra used to say he and I were the saloon singers. It was great to learn about what kind of music fans liked and everything.

Have the changes in the music business bothered you?

No. I just keep doing the same thing I’ve been doing since the ’50s. I’m anti-demographic. I just sing good songs I know people like. I lay it on them and hope that they enjoy it. It’s working. I’ve been sold out all these years, throughout the world. I’m very fortunate.