ANOTHER CHAPTER FOR TONY BENNETT.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Daily News Staff Writer

Tony Bennett has thought about writing his life story from time to time during his 50 years in show business. But the stories Bennett wanted to tell - memories of his loving family, tales from the recording studio and thousands of concert appearances, lessons learned from friends famous and otherwise - didn't interest most publishers.

``They wanted me to write a scandal book and snitch on my friends and enemies,'' Bennett says with a laugh. ``I always said, `No, thank you.' It's not like I really felt the need to write a book anyway. I've always kind of concentrated on today and then loosely sketched out the future. And I've been so busy that I've never really had time to retrogress.''

Bennett found the time when Simon & Schuster approached him last year and pitched an idea. Write a book, call it ``The Good Life'' (after one of the many songs Bennett made famous) and include whatever stories you want. Bennett agreed, and once he got going with co-author Will Friedwald, he realized just how much living he had packed into his 72 years on the planet.

And he's not slowing down much, either. Bennett and his beaming smile seem to be everywhere you turn these days. Switch on the television and Bennett is singing with Elmo (of ``Tickle Me'' fame) on VH1's ``Storytellers'' series and taking calls on another edition of A&E's ``Live by Request.'' His latest album, a collection of songs for young and old called ``The Playground,'' has been selling well, as has ``The Good Life,'' which hit bookstores last month. It's enough to give a fan's Visa check-card (another current Bennett promotion) a serious case of meltdown.

Singing remains Bennett's first love. He continues to tour the world (he'll be at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on Saturday and the McCallum Theater in Palm Desert Dec. 13), performing many of the same songs he was singing for audiences when Harry Truman was in the White House. Bennett's emphasis now, as it was then, is on quality. He will not sing a song that he doesn't love. It's a commitment that ensures that the material as well as the enthusiasm is always top-notch.

``I learned that from my mom,'' Bennett says in his smoky speaking voice. ``During the Depression, she would take in dresses to sew. The more she sewed, the more money she would make. And we needed the money because my father was ill, and there were three of us children.

``Even so, at least twice a day my mom would take a dress and throw it off to the side and say, `I will not work on a bad dress.' And funny enough, that became part of my education. When I went into music, I found myself bucking all these producers who wanted me to sing cheap songs so they could make a fast buck. Me, I just wanted to build a catalog and have everything sound right. And it was all because of my mom.''

The young Bennett (then named Anthony Dominick Benedetto - Bob Hope gave him his stage name) formed many other lifelong traits during his early years in Queens, N.Y. Even though his father died of congestive heart failure when he was 10, Bennett remembers his childhood as a wonderful time full of sunny optimism and loving relatives who encouraged him to pursue his love for performing.

``All my life, I've traveled around the world and hung around museums and musicians and painters trying to learn things on a daily basis,'' Bennett says. ``But in writing the book, I realized that everything I've ever learned came from my family, the people who made a circle around myself and my brother and sister and inspired us to follow our dreams. It's funny, because as a young man, I really thought everyone was optimistic about things. I mean, why be any other way?''

The last 10 years have marked something of a rebirth in Bennett's illustrious career. Bennett himself never changed. But his son, Danny, found a way to market his father in ways that bridged the generation gap. The culmination of that effort was an MTV special four years ago in which Bennett drew standing ovations from an audience of people who weren't born when his biggest hit, ``I Left My Heart in San Francisco,'' reached the top of the charts in 1962.

Says Danny, who assumed control of his father's career in 1979: ``I told him, `Look, marketing isn't a bad word.' Tony wanted to do his music, and he had grown up with the premise that you perform for the entire family. He told me, `I hate the notion of demographics. Why can't I be on MTV?' And he was right.''

Now, with his new album, ``The Playground,'' Bennett is singing for an even younger audience, successfully proving something he has always believed - great music is timeless.

``In the early '50s, I played the Paramount Theatre in New York, and there were at least three distinct audiences coming to see the shows,'' Bennett says. ``In the morning we had kids, and in the afternoon the senior citizens would come in. Then in the early evening, I'd perform for the young lovers and married couples. I did the same show for everyone, and everyone enjoyed it. It's like Duke Ellington said, quoting Toscanini: ``Music is either good or it isn't. It's not someone's opinion.''

Bennett has no plans to slow down any time soon. Next year, he's planning to record an album of Duke Ellington songs to mark the composer's 100th birthday. He's traveling to Australia and New Zealand in January and will bring his show to Europe later in the spring. When he's not performing, Bennett can usually be found pursuing his other love, painting, always requesting a hotel room with a view so he can sketch new scenes on his pad. And he's continuously refining his music, boasting that he never sings a song the same way twice.

``My ambition has always been to get better and better,'' Bennett says. ``One of my heroes is Hokusai, the Japanese print artist. He used to call himself `the mad old painter.' But he really changed the whole history of art, and he got better as he got older - simpler, more beautiful. That's what I'm trying to do, too.''

With the death of Frank Sinatra (whom Bennett repeatedly calls ``my best friend''), some critics have crowned Bennett the living king of pop singers. Bennett wants no part of it, saying he is content to be one of the best instead of the one of the biggest. Besides, he misses Sinatra. The singer's death left Bennett feeling a little lonely and remembering friends like Judy Garland, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong who are no longer with him.

``You know, Frank was always there, always encouraging me and staying optimistic through good times and bad,'' Bennett says. ``There wasn't a performance he gave where he didn't mention my name and tell people that they should come see me. He really was a magnificent friend.''

Bennett will continue to pay tribute to these friends and count his own blessings in the one place he truly calls home - on the stage, with a microphone in his hand.

THE FACTS

The show: ``Tony Bennett: An All-Star Tribute - Live by Request.''

What: Bennett marks his 50th anniversary in show business by taking requests from celebrities and viewers. Live and taped segments feature Madonna, Sting, Billy Joel, George Clooney, Seal, Joe Pesci and Harrison Ford.

Where: A&E.

When: 6 p.m. Monday, with an encore presentation at 10 p.m. Dec. 24.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: no caption (Tony Bennett)