Top 30 Tony Bennett Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “If you follow your passion, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

— Tony Bennett

2. “I’ve taken stuff from people, too. You know though, if you steal from one person, you’re just a thief. But if you steal from everyone, that’s research.”

— Tony Bennett

3. “Regardless of religion or race or ethnic background we are all human and we are all on this planet together. So what better reason do you need to not tolerate any form of violence against another human being?”

— Tony Bennett

4. “I have to say I owe my career to the master composers of the Great American Songbook who have written such high-quality songs – the best popular music ever composed.”

— Tony Bennett

5. “Someday, when I’m awfully low, and the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you, and the way you look tonight.”

— Tony Bennett

6. “When the uncreative tell the creative what to do, it stops being art.”

— Tony Bennett

7. “I think if you have a passion for what you do then there are no limitations on how long or how much you can accomplish.”

— Tony Bennett

8. “The bottom line of any country is: what did we contribute to the world? We contributed Louis Armstrong.”

— Tony Bennett

9. “My goal as a creative person is to express truth and beauty in whatever I do.”

— Tony Bennett

10. “I think one of the reasons I’m popular again is because I’m wearing a tie. You have to be different.”

— Tony Bennett

11. “If you are creative, you get busier as you get older.”

— Tony Bennett

12. “I knew very early that somehow I would sing and draw and paint my whole life.”

— Tony Bennett

13. “To work is to feel alive.”

— Tony Bennett

14. “I’m still learning about music. The best way to learn is to listen to the audience. When you listen to the audience, they will tell you what they like. I wish these big corporations, instead of telling the audience what they should have, would listen.”

— Tony Bennett

15. “Life teaches you how to live it – if you live long enough.”

— Tony Bennett

16. “It helps to know there is going to be continuity.”

— Tony Bennett

17. “Don’t try to be just like some other singer hitting it big – find your own style and be honest in your performances. And never underestimate your audience.”

— Tony Bennett

18. “I have an awful lot to learn. My dream is to get better and better as I get older.”

— Tony Bennett

19. “I can’t ask for more out of life, and the more I learn, the less I know.”

— Tony Bennett

20. “I’m not the type of person who likes to look backwards. I’ve always felt compelled to move forward and I’ve never been one to dwell in the past. All the people I’ve met, all the places I’ve been, and all the things that I’ve done have simply been part of who I am.”

— Tony Bennett

21. “Every city I go to is an opportunity to paint, whether it’s Omaha or Hawaii.”

— Tony Bennett

22. “No-one will ever sound as good as Judy Garland as far as I am concerned.”

— Tony Bennett

23. “It’s the kind of turn that happened to the great country of Germany, when Nazis came over and created tragic things, and they had to be told off. And if we continue this kind of violence and accept it in our country, the rest of the world’s going to really take care of us, in a very bad way.”

— Tony Bennett

24. “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.”

— Tony Bennett

25. “I am very much inspired by the great masters of entertainment: Bob Hope, George Burns, Jimmy Durante – who never thought about retiring. When people ask me if I plan to retire, I say, “Retire to what? I am doing what I love best right now!””

— Tony Bennett

26. “I have been very fortunate to have been able to make a living from what I love to do best – performing and singing for people.”

— Tony Bennett

27. “That song helped make me a world citizen. It allowed me to live, work and sing in any city on the globe. It changed my whole life.”

— Tony Bennett

28. “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.”

— Tony Bennett

29. “I plan to do my next two albums with Lady Gaga. She is quite a talent.”

— Tony Bennett

30. “I still insist that American performers are the best performers in the world.”

— Tony Bennett

31. “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.”

— Tony Bennett

32. “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.”

— Tony Bennett

33. “I think in all of the arts there are just certain people that have a gift. I think it’s a certain spirituality, it’s a God-given gift that just certain individuals have.”

— Tony Bennett

34. “More than anybody else I’d like to thank Count Basie for teaching me how to perform.”

— Tony Bennett