(Reuters) – Six facts about singer Tony Bennett, who has died at the age of 96:
* Bennett’s long-time pianist, Ralph Sharon, suggested he work “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” into the repertoire. Sharon had found the sheet music for the song, written by George Cory and Douglas Cross, in a drawer as he was packing for a trip.
* Bennett had a stock response for people who asked if he ever grew tired of singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”: “Do you get tired of making love?”
* Bennett called Frank Sinatra his best friend, role model and hero, even though they did not meet that often. Both grew up in Italian families in the shadow of the Manhattan they later conquered – Sinatra in Hoboken, New Jersey, Bennett in the New York City borough of Queens. Both rose to fame singing what Bennett called “The Great American Songbook” of popular song.
* Bennett sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, recorded hundreds of songs and won 20 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award.
* In the fall of 2006 Bennett scored the highest-charting album of his career, thanks to the No. 3 debut of “Duets: An American Classic” on the Billboard 200.
* Painting was a passion for Bennett. His works have been exhibited in galleries throughout the world, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington.
(Writing by Paul Grant; Editing by Bill Trott, Diane Craft and Andrew Heavens)
