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The music industry, on Friday, 21 July, incurred a massive loss as the legendary American singer, Tony Bennett passed away at the age of 96 at his home in New York City. His publicist Sylvia Weiner announced that the death of the “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” was due to complications of old age. Ever since his initial success at the Paramount in Times Square, the singer has continued his legacy of musical brilliance for generations and was called “the best singer in the business” by Frank Sinatra after he became a star in the 1950s. Mr. Bennett’s wife confessed in an interview in 2021 that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, but went on to record and perform for years up until 2021, despite his illness.
Having sold millions of records worldwide and both platinum and gold albums to his credit, Bennett has won 20 Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
First Meet with Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga first met Bennett at a fundraiser for the Robin Hood Foundation in 2011, where she performed a Nat King Cole song. She admitted to having been “so nervous” to meet the singer. In an interview, she said, “I fixed my hair, and my mom was fixing her makeup, and then we went back to meet him.”
Bennett, then 88, was so moved by her performance that he proposed to record an album together and she instantly accepted. They then went on to release their first single, the Rodgers and Hart hit, “The Lady is a Tramp”, an experience she described as being “completely humbling”. It was through this song that the seeds for a friendship of a lifetime were sown and the two started planning for their first collaborative album “Cheek to Cheek”.
Comprising jazz numbers by legends like Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and others, the record became the “most important album of (Lady Gaga’s) career” and she went on to say, “Watching Tony at 88 like he’s just starting out … I said to myself, I can do this forever. Because he did it, and I really love him, and if I do it just like Tony, I’m going to do it right.”
In return, Bennett lauded her saying, “Either you got it, and that’s the gift, or you haven’t got it. And you’ve got it. And you should spend the rest of your life just being yourself, and it’ll excite everybody every time you ever perform.”
Their Struggle
In a joint interview, Lady Gaga first revealed her struggle with her voice. She said that she used to feel dead inside and “didn’t even want to sing” anymore. However, her first meeting with Tony Bennett had a profound impact on her and he had a major contribution in changing her outlook. She opened up about how influential people in the industry “take advantage” of artists once they become famous, and the experience wreaked havoc on her mental health. But Bennet inspired her to keep performing and, crediting Duke Ellington, he gave her a piece of advice: “Number one – don’t quit. Number two – listen to number one.” She admitted that he had “wanted nothing but [her] friendship and [her] voice” and added, “I tell Tony every day that he saved my life.”
Lady Gaga stood fast by her friend when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. When rehearsing for their final performance together, she confessed that she was not sure that he remembered her name. But as they walked into the stage, he unexpectedly introduced her with the words, “‘It’s Lady Gaga!” It was a truly special moment for her as “[her] friend saw [her]” and it was the first time he had said her name in a “long time”.
Last Performance Together
Tony Bennett’s last live performance was in August 2021 as he accompanied Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall in a show titled “One Last Time.” The two concerts of the show held on the 3rd and 5th of August respectively, were meant to celebrate his 95th birthday and to commemorate his last public performance. During her performance, Lady Gaga called for the attention of the audience with “New York, New York”, as she went on to introduce the singer on the stage with heartfelt emotions: “He’s my friend. He’s my musical companion. And he’s the greatest singer in the whole world. And I’m counting on you, New York, to make him smile. So you better cheer. You better yell. You better laugh. You better cry. You better give your soul.”
She was even seen tearing up a little during the announcement. As Bennett took the stage he received a standing ovation from the audience and received a few more throughout the performance. The crowd poured in their applause and admiration for the veteran star, with a career spanning eight decades.
His family confessed to being anxious at first because it was going to be a long show and anything could have happened on stage. But his wife Susan Benedetto said that once she saw him on stage, ready and in form, she knew all was going to be okay. She further added, “He became himself. He just turned on. It was like a light switch.”
Post Death
Though there has been no official statement from Lady Gaga after the death of her dearest friend yet, friends and fans have offered their condolences to the singer and wished her strength during the tough times. With the death of Tony Bennett, the world of jazz and pop has lost a shining star. A witness to Bennett’s fight with Alzheimer’s, Lady Gaga had once recounted in an interview: “It’s not a sad story. I think he really pushed through something to give the world the gift of knowing that things can change and you can still be magnificent.”
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