Tony Bennett at the London Palladium: BBC Session

He may have left his own heart in San Francisco, but Tony Bennett stole many more via his deeply smooth voice. So when his death, at the age of 96, was announced last month, fans around the world – young and old – went into mourning.

Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto in New York in August 1926, he’s one of those artists who transcends criticism and will continue to be regarded as the king of cool.

“It’s a thrill that a new generation of people want to hear my songs,” he said many years ago while drawing a distinction between himself and other veteran performers. “I think I’m different to somebody like Tom Jones as my music is really from the golden age of popular songs. I feel very victorious that I have been able to keep my integrity and still be successful commercially.

“It’s great that songs by Jerome Kern, George Gershwin and Duke Ellington can communicate so much to young people.”

But life wasn’t always kind. He grew up in the working-class area of Astoria, the son of a grocer and a seamstress. His father died when young Anthony was just 12 years of age, forcing him to leave school to help support the family. He worked as an elevator operator before becoming a singing waiter, but the Second World War curtailed any hopes of stardom.

He saw action in France and Germany, and later wrote in his autobiography: “It was a nightmare that’s permanent… I saw things no human being should ever have to see.” However, in a weird way it turned out to be the making of him – Bennett was able to use the GI bill to study music, learning lessons that improved his voice and kept it in good shape for the rest of his long life.

He then “auditioned for a revue that Pearl Bailey was in. Bob Hope heard me in the show and asked me to come up and sing at the Paramount Theatre with him. He didn’t like my stage name, which was Joe Bari, and asked me what my real name was. I told him and he said: ‘That’s too long for the marquee. We’ll call you Tony Bennett’.” And with that, an icon was born.

Apart from a dip during the 1970s when his music fell out of favour, Bennett remained at the top of the musical tree. He was so admired that performers from the pop world clamoured to work with him, resulting in fruitful collaborations with the likes of Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga.

Bennett was also appreciative of his UK fans: “British audiences are very loyal and I’m thrilled that I now have my regular fans who have been joined by younger people,” he once remarked. “Their enthusiasm is sprinkled throughout my audiences and in a way it has acted as a rejuvenation.”

Now we’re being treated to an evening of programmes dedicated to his memory, which should prove, to paraphrase another of his trademark tunes, we’ve still got him under our skin.