Lady Gaga grieves death of Tony Bennett in touching post: 'I will miss my friend forever'
Lady Gaga is mourning the loss of friend and collaborator Tony Bennett after the legendary crooner died earlier this month at the age of 96.
“I will miss my friend forever. I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together,” Gaga captioned a photo of her hugging Bennett in a lengthy Instagram post she shared July 31.
“With Tony, I got to live my life in a time warp. Tony & I had this magical power. We transported ourselves to another era, modernized the music together, & gave it all new life as a singing duo. But it wasnt an act. Our relationship was very real. 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.”
Gaga praised Bennett for being “an optimist” who “believed in quality work AND quality life.” She also honored him for serving in World War II, marching with Martin Luther King, Jr. and singing jazz “with the greatest singers and players in the world.”
She also did not shy away from how much she’s hurting.
“I’ve been grieving the loss of Tony for a long time. We had a very long and powerful goodbye,” she wrote.
“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. We were from two different stages in life entirely—inspired.”
No cause of death was given for Bennett’s death. His family revealed in 2021 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.
“Losing Tony to Alzheimer’s has been painful but it was also really beautiful,” Gaga continued. “An era of memory loss is such a sacred time in a persons life. There’s such a feeling of vulnerability and a desire to preserve dignity. All I wanted was for Tony to remember how much I loved him and how grateful I was to have him in my life.
“But, as that faded slowly I knew deep down he was sharing with me the most vulnerable moment in his life that he could—being willing to sing with me when his nature was changing so deeply. I’ll never forget this experience. I’ll never forget Tony Bennett. If I could say anything to the world about this I would say don’t discount your elders, don’t leave them behind when things change. Don’t flinch when you feel sad, just keep going straight ahead, sadness is part of it.”
Gaga said there is beauty in seeing people older than you go through changes.
“Take care of your elders and I promise you will learn something special. Maybe even magical,” she wrote. “And pay attention to silence—some of my musical partner and I’s most meaningful exchanges were with no melody at all. I love you Tony. Love, Lady.”
Gaga and Bennett had a long history of working together. They covered Frank Sinatra’s classic “The Lady Is A Tramp” for Bennett’s album “Duets II” in 2011. In 2014, they released an album together, “Cheek to Cheek,” which won a Grammy Award for best traditional pop vocal album. The pair would team up again in 2021 on the album “Love for Sale,” in which they sang Cole Porter tunes. That effort would net them another Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album.
The singers performed one final time together in August 2021 at Radio City Music Hall for their “One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga” concert that aired on CBS a few months later. Bennett introduced her by name during the show.
“I witnessed something in that man that let me know that he knew (me),” Gaga told USA TODAY in 2021. “He called me ‘sweetheart’ during rehearsals, but on our last night together, he said, ‘It’s Lady Gaga.’ That was the first time he had said my name in a long time. And he gave that gift to me. I know he dug deep to give me that gift and I’m really forever grateful.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
