Tony Bennett, the timeless singer whose career spanned more than seven decades and included collaborations with artists from Lady Gaga to Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, has died at age 96. His publicist confirmed Bennett’s death to The Associated Press.

In a 2014 interview with the NewsHour's Jeffrey Brown, Bennett said he continued to perform in his later years because of the desire to always improve and grow — something that was instilled in him as a young child.

"I was blessed with a wonderful Italian-American family. My father died when I was 10 years old. And all my relatives, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, they would come over every Sunday. And my brother, my sister and myself would entertain them," he recalled. "So they created a passion in me of always trying to improve."

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