It's the way of all flesh, you know. Aging takes its toll. Like I said, it's the way of all flesh. When the time came and he finally had to step down, the thing that kept him going disappeared.

I was able to put something back. I was able to be of help to [Frank Sinatra] when he needed my help - and he did need somebody's help.

Tony Bennett is still giving concerts, still singing. It's keeping him alive. He's in his late 80s now and he keeps going and going. I maintain, God bless him, it's this devotion to duty and working and being in front his audience.

I think in my generation, when I came along in the early '60s, the type of music that was in vogue in society in those days had moved on to another kind of music. I was trying to sell antiques in a modern appliance store.

So what's happening with the audio/visuality, for the first time we are doing the music - the people who would come to the concert love the music - they loved him and loved his music - for the first time in concert it's not only the music. Now it's time to know the man. We know the music, but what was the man like?

I've never heard of any one single artist being the subject in an ongoing series of radio programs for decades. Bearing this in mind, that's the kind of thing Frank Sinatra brings out in his audience, his followers. It's personally satisfying to me because his music by and large was the greatest quality of lyrics, melody, orchestration and, of course, his magnificent approach to telling a story.

Frank Sinatra was very devoted to what it was he did. At the end of his life, what he had left - there have been accolades, mementos, festivals, superlatives, all that stuff. He's done movies, TV, done this, done that - what he had left was a love of his audience, and that kept him alive.