Lady Gaga has shared a tribute to the late Tony Bennett, with whom she recorded the acclaimed and commercially successful albums Cheek to Cheek (2014) and Love for Sale (2021). Bennett died on July 21 at the age of 96 and gave his final public performance in August 2021 with Gaga at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
In a message posted on her Instagram account, Gaga wrote, “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, modernized the music together, & gave it all new life as a singing duo. But it wasn’t an act. Our relationship was very real.”
Continuing, Gaga said that she has been grieving Bennett’s death and that they “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. We were from two different stages in life entirely – inspired.” In addition to their collaborative albums, Gaga sang “The Lady Is a Tramp” with Bennett on his 2011 project Duets II.
Perhaps inspired by this creative partnership, Gaga has also announced 12 new dates as part of her Las Vegas Jazz and Piano residency, beginning Aug. 31 at Dolby Live at Park MGM. The celebration of the Great American Songbook began in 2019 and features many songs she and Bennett recorded, such as “Love for Sale” and “The Lady Is a Tramp.”
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