I grew up in depression-era America in the 1930s. My father died when I was young and my mother, Anna, was left with three children to look after: my brother John, my sister Mary and me. I was the youngest. My mother worked so hard for a penny-a-dress as a seamstress to try and put food on the table for us all.

She worked so hard for the family and I loved her so much. We would get all my Italian and American extended family members to come over for a big lunch or some sort of get-together to try and get my mother to feel better.

But my great mistake, or regret, was that I was forced to leave school and my studying behind to go and earn money for the family. I really wanted to earn money to stop my mother having to work, and I was able to do that and buy her a nice home in the country.

But this meant that I didn't have a formal education, and I regret that. So, ever since then, every day, I am still studying and learning things, and I am always reading books. Even today at the age of 85 I am still learning more and more.

Perhaps I could have known more about the rudiments and mathematics of music and the wider business, but instead I have always liked to put an accent on the music and entertainment side of things – if the audience walks out after one of my shows and they feel great, then I feel content. I feel blessed by the fact that people say about me: "He gets better every year."

I've really just learned from life – my school was life and living – so I am what I call a perpetual student. My education really was the "school of life".

Tony Bennett's UK tour begins on 24 June at the Birmingham Symphony Hall and also takes in Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and London. Tickets are available at ticketline.co.uk.