Inside Tony Bennett’s Endearing Friendship With Lady Gaga

Aug 02, 2023

Popstar Lady Gaga and late jazz crooner Tony Bennett had an unlikely friendship that went from strength to strength since their first meeting. Over numerous live duets and records together, the pair’s bond blossomed into a beautiful relationship as singers, friends and collaborators. However, tragedy struck when Bennett passed away on July 21, 2023, at the age of 96.   

Bennett was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on Aug. 3, 1926, in Queens, New York City. Bennett is a traditional pop singer specializing in big band, show tunes and jazz. 

Bennett began his singing career after coming home from serving in World War II. He signed with Columbia Records, and in 1951, he had his first No. 1 hit with the song “Because of You.” It is said that the singer reached his artistic peak in the mid-1950s with his albums “The Beat of My Heart” and “Basie Swings, Bennett Sings.” However, it was in 1962 that Bennett recorded his signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

Bennett has stayed relevant with a whole new generation with his collaboration with musical artist Lady Gaga, first in a live performance in 2011. The duo released an album together in 2014 called “Cheek to Cheek.” They also toured together in 2014 and 2015. Bennett and Lady Gaga also released another collaborative album called “Love For Sale” in 2021. Later that same year, after turning 95, Bennett retired from performing live for audiences after his wife revealed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016.

It’s clear the relationship between Lady Gaga and Bennett went beyond the professional, particularly after the popstar credited the veteran crooner with “saving” her. Keep reading to learn more about her close friendship with Bennett. 

Bennett’s work with Lady Gaga introduced him to a whole new generation of fans, as they released multiple collaborative albums and embarked on various tours together. 

In a 2014 Parade interview, Lady Gaga and Bennett recalled their first meeting backstage at a concert years prior. Bennett recounted: 

“It was the first time I heard Lady perform, and I could not believe the audience’s reaction. I went backstage, and she was there with her parents.”

Lady Gaga, meanwhile, remembered walking “offstage sweating, and they said, ‘Mr. Tony Bennett wants to meet you.’ My father got all choked up, and my mother said, ‘Oh, I need to fix my hair!’ We all had champagne. I was so happy to meet him.”

By 2011, Lady Gaga appeared on Bennett’s “Duets II” album on their rendition of “The Lady Is A Tramp,” and their endearing partnership was sealed. In another interview with MTV News, Bennett gushed about Lady Gaga.

“My favorite is that Lady Gaga,” he said. “She's the biggest. I'll tell you, I never met anyone with more talent than that lady.”

Their 2021 album “Love for Sale” made Bennett the oldest person to release new music at the age of 95 years and 60 days. After its release, Lady Gaga described the experience to USA Today as “a gift.”

“It's a gift that I will hold in my heart 'til my last breath. My time with Tony has changed me forever. Frank Sinatra said he was the best singer in the world and I don't think Frank lied,” she added.

She also spoke of their last two concerts together at New York's Radio City Music Hall in August 2021 and how she “wanted everything to be perfect for him during his last moments on stage.”

Lady Gaga said Bennett could connect to her like no one else. “I love him so much. … He called me Lady but he talked to Stefani. The little girl in me that loved jazz sang with Tony Bennett. I know he called me Lady, but I know who his singing partner was: It was that little girl who loved jazz.”

At Bennett’s 95th birthday celebration and farewell concert in November 2021, the music legend performed again with Lady Gaga, but the night was tinged with sadness. Earlier that year, Bennett’s family announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. 

After Bennett’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis was revealed, his family also shared that he often doesn’t know where he is. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lady Gaga explained: 

“For the first couple of weeks that I saw Tony since (2020), he called me ‘sweetheart,’ but I wasn’t sure he knew who I was.”

Despite these challenges, Bennett’s ability to remember his songs and his musical talent hadn’t changed. “When that music comes on (snaps fingers), something happens to him,” Lady Gaga added. “He knows exactly what he’s doing and what’s important for me, actually, is to make sure that I don’t get in the way of that.”

The night of his final performance, Lady Gaga was shocked as she came on stage because Bennett called her by her name for the first time in years. “That’s the first time that Tony said my name in a long time,” she recalled in the same interview. 

“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. It was very special.”

Lady Gaga showed just how deep her bond with Bennett ran when, in a September 2014 interview, she confessed to Parade that, six months earlier, she “didn’t even want to sing anymore.” However, Bennett had some words of wisdom for her that changed her mind.

“Do you know what Duke Ellington said? He said, “Number one, don’t quit. Number two, listen to number one,” Bennett had told Lady Gaga, who responded, “Right! The other day, Tony said, ‘I’ve ­never once in my career not wanted to do this.’ It stung. Six months ago I didn’t feel that way. I tell Tony every day that he saved my life.”

Lady Gaga elaborated on the pressures she was feeling at the time, which resulted in a tumultuous split from her manager.

“People get irrational when it comes to ­money — with how they treat you, with what they expect from you. … But if you help an artist, it doesn’t give you the right, once the artist is big, to take advantage of them. … I was so sad. I couldn’t sleep. I felt dead. And then I spent a lot of time with Tony. He wanted nothing but my friendship and my voice,” she said as she teared up, leading Bennett to take her hand and say, “I understand.”

Lady Gaga replied: “It meant a lot to me, Tony. I don’t have many people I can relate to.”

It’s clear Lady Gaga’s affection for Bennett went both ways as, just a week before his passing, he had shared a touching clip of the two of them recording a duet. The caption read:

“Remembering the musical magic made in the studio with the remarkable Lady Gaga for our rendition of ‘Night and Day.’”

What do you think of Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett’s unlikely friendship? Do you think their voices pair well with one another? Let us know, and then pass this along to family and friends who loved this duo as much as we do.