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Bennett, who is planning an all jazz album with Lady Gaga, has some fatherly - or even grandfatherly - advice for young artists.

"Fame is very threatening. You might be very famous and then go right down and broke because of some artist that comes along who's better.

"You're supposed to be the business for a long time. You shouldn't think of fame, you should think of quality, then you stay in the business all the time," he said.

He also has some pointed advice for record companies, with whom he had his share of scrapes in the 1960s when they forced him to sing contemporary rock songs.

"Record companies should trust artists more, rather than order them to sing trite music, something that will be forgotten in two weeks or 10 weeks and go to the junkyard," he said.

Every day, Bennett, while reflecting on the ups and downs of his long life and career, enjoys his other passion: painting. He paints under his real name, Anthony Benedetto, creating mostly landscapes and cityscapes.

"Rembrandt said there's only one master and that's nature and the more you become an artist and study nature, you realize that nobody in the world, including Rembrandt, ever painted as good as nature. Nature is the boss. We are nature ourselves. Nature is our god, that's how I feel about it," he said.

Bennett came up from "complete poverty" and has been a social activist most of his life, taking an active part in the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1960s.

He calls famous people who don't want to acknowledge their poor roots "failures".

Bennett and his wife Susan established a non-profit organization, Exploring the Arts, that has raised millions of dollars to support arts program in New York public schools.

"When you come from humble beginnings and become famous you should help other people from humble beginnings and support them. You can't forget them. You can't just close the door and forget your background," he said.