"It sounds so simple, but if you just be yourself, you're different than anyone else." 

• Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on Aug. 3, 1926, in Queens, New York
   
• Tony Bennett issued his debut album, Because Of You, in 1952. In 1962 Bennett recorded "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," a track from his album of the same name that reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was his first to land in the Top 5 on the Billboard 200.
   
• "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" earned Bennett his first career GRAMMYs for 1962 for Record Of The Year and Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male. He performed the song on "The Best On Record," a TV special in conjunction with the 5th GRAMMY Awards.
   
• Bennett was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year in 1995. He has been a steady presence at subsequent Person of the Year tributes, performing for honorees such as Barbra Streisand and Paul McCartney. The annual gala raises funds for MusiCares, which provides services and resources that cover a wide range of financial, medical and personal emergencies for music people.
   
• "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 1994. Bennett was honored with a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.  
   
• In 1999 Bennett and his wife, Susan, founded Exploring the Arts, a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening the role of the arts in public high school education.