Lady Gaga shares emotional tribute to “true friend” Tony Bennett
Lady Gaga has shared a heartfelt tribute to music icon and friend Tony Bennett, following news of his death.
The legendary American singer died on July 21 in his hometown of New York, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was aged 96.
Since sharing his debut album ‘Because Of You’ in 1952, the vocalist went on to release more than 70 albums, won 20 Grammy awards and collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Sir Paul McCartney and Aretha Franklin.
His final studio recording was titled ‘Love For Sale’, a collaborative collection with Lady Gaga which was released in 2021. The two had previously joined forces for the 2014 release ‘Cheek To Cheek’.
Now, following his death earlier this month, Lady Gaga has spoken out on the loss publicly for the first time, and shared a touching tribute to the musician and “true friend”.
Alongside an image of them both embracing, shared yesterday (July 30), the caption read: “I will miss my friend forever. I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together.”
“With Tony, I got to live my life in a time warp. Tony & I had this magical power. We transported ourselves to another era, modernised the music together, & gave it all new life as a singing duo. But it wasn’t an act. Our relationship was very real,” she added.
“Sure he taught me about music, about showbiz life, but he also showed me how to keep my spirits high and my head screwed on straight. ‘Straight ahead,’ he’d say. He was an optimist, he believed in quality work AND quality life. Plus, there was the gratitude…Tony was always grateful.”
Later in the post, she also confirmed that, due to the nature of his illness, she had been “grieving the loss of Tony for a long time”.
“We had a very long and powerful goodbye. Though there were 5 decades between us, he was my friend. My real true friend. Our age difference didn’t matter– in fact, it gave us each something neither of us had with most people,” she explained.
“Losing Tony to Alzheimer’s has been painful but it was also really beautiful. An era of memory loss is such a sacred time in a person’s life. There’s such a feeling of vulnerability and a desire to preserve dignity,” she added. “All I wanted was for Tony to remember how much I loved him and how grateful I was to have him in my life… I’ll never forget this experience. I’ll never forget Tony Bennett.”
Following his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2016 – which was publicly revealed by his family five years later – Lady Gaga spoke of her changing relationship with the musician in 2021. As reported by The Independent, the singer grew emotional after Bennett said her name for the first time “in a long time” while on stage.
The moment occurred when they both performed at New York’s Radio City Music Hall for Bennett’s 95th birthday, and he introduced the singer by saying “Woah, Lady Gaga!”
“That’s the first time that Tony said my name in a long time,” Gaga later told Anderson Cooper of the event. “I had to keep it together because we had a sold-out show and I have a job to do. But I’ll tell you, when I walked out on that stage and he said, ‘It’s Lady Gaga,’ my friend saw me. And it was very special.”
Additionally, after news of his death, footage resurfaced of Gaga saying that he “saved [her] life” in a past interview.
Among those to have paid tribute to Bennett on social media is Nile Rodgers who wrote: “My most heartfelt condolences go out to Tony Bennett’s family and friends. They’re also my emotional family and friends.”
Sir Elton John also shared an image of himself with Bennett along with the message: “So sad to hear of Tony’s passing. Without doubt the classiest singer, man, and performer you will ever see.
“He’s irreplaceable. I loved and adored him. Condolences to [wife] Susan [Crow], [son and manager] Danny and the family.”
The post Lady Gaga shares emotional tribute to “true friend” Tony Bennett appeared first on NME.
Liberty Dunworth
NME
