How Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s loving friendship ‘saved’ the pop superstar -TGN

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga turned what might have seemed an unlikely musical partnership into a fond and lasting friendship filled with love from the very first song.

After a career spanning seven decades, Bennett passed away Friday (July 21) at the age of 96, his publicist announced. The beloved jazz crooner has won 19 Grammy awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and sold tens of millions of records worldwide.

Bennett first met Gaga in 2011, and the pair quickly formed a close relationship that resulted in two Grammy-winning duet albums: Cheek to Cheek And Love for sale.

When Cheek to Cheek fell in 2014, Bennett broke his own world record as the oldest living artist to top the weekly Billboard 200 album chart. Than, Love for sale saw him clinch the record for oldest artist to release an album of new material.

While Lady Gaga has not made a public statement about Tony Bennett’s passing at the time of writing, the pop star has in the past only spoken highly of the legendary singer and the pair’s heartwarming friendship.

Lady Gaga “didn’t want to sing anymore,” but Tony Bennett changed his mind

told Gaga People in 2014 that the pair had been “fast friends” since their first meeting at the Robin Hood Foundation charity gala three years earlier. She recalled Bennet hearing her sing and asking to meet her after the show, prompting her to gulp, “Oh my god! Tony Bennett is here!”

The “Bad Romance” hitmaker said she was “so nervous” about meeting the legend.

“I did my hair and my mom did her makeup, and then we went back to meet him,” Gaga said. “He said, ‘Do you want to do a jazz album together?’ And I said, ‘Yes, of course!’”

The pair gave a joint interview Procession in 2014, where the pop icon revealed that her first meeting with Bennett had a profound effect on her.

Gaga “didn’t even want to sing back then,” but working with the pop and jazz master changed her outlook. “I tell Tony every day that he saved my life,” she said.

Lady Gaga explained that some people “take advantage” of artists when they find fame, which led to her losing her sleep and feeling “dead”. But then she spent time with Bennett who “wanted nothing by (her) friendship and (her) voice”.

“I understand,” Bennett replied, holding her hand.

“It meant a lot to me, Tony,” Gaga said. “I don’t have many people I can identify with.”

The A star is born lead continued, “I tell Tony every day he saved my life.”

While many people refer to the pop icon as “Gaga,” Bennett affectionately referred to her as “Lady” and spoke proudly of her immense talent.

He told Rolling stone that Gaga is as “good as Ella Fitzgerald or whoever you want to make up”. Bennett also described her as “very strong”, “very talented” and someone who “could become America’s Picasso if they left her alone”.

After Cheek to Cheekthe pair recorded their second album, Love for saledue out in 2021. But unbeknownst to anyone in Hollywood, Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. He didn’t reveal his diagnosis until he was doing a feature film in AARP magazine in 2021.

Bennett’s oldest son, Danny, recalled a conversation with Gaga about properly revealing his diagnosis. Danny told the publication that he wanted to “check on her to make sure she was cool” because Gaga “looks out for him all the time”.

“She was like, ‘Absolutely, it’s just another gift for him to give to the world,'” Danny added.

Tony Bennett’s last public performance was in 2021 with Lady Gaga at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, performing songs from Love for sale.

Ahead of their album’s release, Gaga shared a photo of the couple on Instagram along with a heartfelt caption.

“Tony, this is the last album we made together, but the celebration of jazz and us as musical companions will stay with me forever,” she wrote.