the Grammy Award-winning artist on the women in his life

Harry Connick Jr is a musician best known for winning multiple Grammy Awards. Here, the 57-year-old talks about losing his mother at a young age, how he first noticed his future wife, and working with some “amazing” women.

I lost my mother, Anita Livingston, to ovarian cancer when I was 13. Mom was a bright, “woody” woman – she didn’t really follow the norm. She was sensitive and communicative.

When I was five, I wanted to run away from home. Rather than convince me to stay or tell me I was being silly, Mom said, “Sorry to hear that.” As I went out the front door, she was right behind me with her suitcase. She said, “You’re right. I don’t like it here either. Let’s go.” I started crying and told her I didn’t want to run away.

When it was time to lay down the law, Mom did, but she always made sure we had the power to make our own decisions. My memory of her is frozen in time. She’ll always be young to me.

Mom became a lawyer in the mid-1950s. She ran for the position of Louisiana Supreme Court justice when she was diagnosed with cancer, against seven men. Because she was a public figure, they found out she had cancer and used that against her. She was emotionally strong, and I am proud of her ability to win that election.

My paternal grandmother, Jessie Connick, died in 1985, several years after my mom. She was a great cook and had eight kids during the Depression. She was quiet, but maintained a deep Catholic faith.

My sister, Suzanna, is three-and-a-half years older than me. I was a pain in the rear-end growing up. She was studious and I was an attention-seeker. We are incredibly close now. She spent 38 years in the military. She’s a hero and I look up to her.

I would notice girls at school, but they didn’t notice me. I had a crush on a girl in the sixth grade; she was sweet and smart. I couldn’t work up the courage to tell her. I saw her in New Orleans 20 years ago; I recognised her face, and got the courage to tell her I had the biggest crush on her as a child. She replied, “I had the biggest crush on you, too.”

My mother was aware I loved music from the age of three. I played the piano for the first time when my dad, Harry, was running for political office. He opened his campaign quarters and Mom got a piano in there for me to play.