I had a different upbringing - my dad worked three jobs. You know, it wasn't as easy as they had it.

I studied with Stella Adler and I didn't like the representational aspect of most opera singers. Most of the opera singers had not a false, but over theatrical way of presenting.

In an Italian household, there were two figures for me growing up - you had the Pope and you had Frank Sinatra, and, of course, Tony Bennett. And not necessarily in that order.

Phil Ramone and Quincy Jones were very close. Phil Ramone was one of the greatest record producers of all time. I don't know if they talk about him enough in the film, but he produced [Frank] Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, all of Billy Joel, Paul McCartney - Phil Ramone was one of the major record engineers and producers.

My grandmother told a story that when they used to leave from Southampton to go into the City, because he had apartment buildings in Queens - I was born in Astoria, Queens - they had apartment buildings in Queens and Manhattan, different businesses, and she wanted to pick blueberries on the side of the road and he wouldn't stop, so my grandma used to throw her purse out the window. She never had less than $4,000 cash, back in the 20s, and he would then stop the car and she would pick blueberries. And, he never had a record.

There was something in the bel canto, not just opera, but a certain style of Italian singing that I responded to deeply.

That's what [Frank] Sinatra did. He was the first artist to come out in a major way against anti-Semitism and racial bigotry. And those are huge things back in the 50s and 60s and 70s - and he was doing this in the 40s.