The Charming Friendship Between Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett
The music world lost another one of its beloved singers, Tony Bennett, on July 21 of this year. After 6 decades of singing jazz music, 20 Grammy awards, and continuous perseverance despite many hardships, his family, friends, and fans are now mourning and celebrating his incredible life and career. Among those mourning and celebrating his life is his fellow colleague and dear friend, Lady Gaga. The collaboration and friendship between these two has always been something I found both exciting and endearing so I figured now would be the perfect time to discuss the unique paring.
On the surface, this paring might be a bit obscure, however, the two of them actually have a lot more in common that you realize. For starters, they are both native New Yorkers who come from Italian decent. They have also both been heavily influenced by the jazz legends of the early 20th century. The pair first met each other in 2011 at The Robinhood Foundation Gala in New York City, where Lady Gaga had performed a rendition of Nat King Cole’s “Orange Colored Sky”. Following their meeting, Tony Bennett asked Lady Gaga to perform a duet with him for his upcoming album Duets II, which was released later that year. The two ended up performing a duet to the song “The Lady is a Tramp”, which was perfect for these two New Yorkers due to this song being a sort of tongue-in-cheek to New York’s high society standards. At the time of the single’s release, many people had not expected anything like this from Lady Gaga given her more “out there” fashion and music, but it left people hungry for more of Gaga’s jazzy side.
Following the positive reception from “The Lady is a Tramp” the pair continued their friendship and decided to collaborate again to create a full jazz album, Cheek to Cheek, which was released in September of 2014. This album featured multiple jazz standards that the both of them thought deserved more recognition. They also created this album as a way to introduce these songs to younger generations, but also revive these old classics. The album was well received, won a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, and the duo ended up embarking on a tour together for the album. What was even more remarkable about this album is that it ended up being beneficial to both of them in their own unique ways. For Lady Gaga, the reception of her from the general public was sometimes polarizing. After debuting many extreme fashion choices, think of the meat dress, and being outspoken in support of LGBTQ rights, many people either saw her as a brilliant talent or thought she was just absolutely crazy. For those who were previously skeptical of Lady Gaga, this album and collaboration ended up softening her harder edges and made some of the older generations find a new appreciation for her talent. For Tony Bennett, this collaboration was a wonderful way for him to freshen up his already decades long career, and give it a bit of an extra spark, while also introducing him and his music to younger generations that otherwise wouldn’t have given his music, or even jazz in general, a real consideration. Without actually knowing either of them personally, I also think that this friendship and collaboration was a wonderful way for the both of them to sharpen their already incredible skills and also find some companionship within the brutal music industry. For Lady Gaga specifically, this closeness with Tony Bennett provided a wealth of music industry knowledge and a chance for her to experiment further with her voice.
With such a warm reception for the Cheek to Cheek album, the two remained close friends and decided to collaborate once again for another album, Love for Sale, that was released in September of 2021. The album was another collection of jazz songs, but specifically those of American composer, Cole Porter, as a way for the both of them to pay tribute to his work. This album also ended up winning the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2022. With the album receiving a generally positive reception, one thing that was constantly noted is how great the chemistry was between the two of them, especially due to their ability to play up the Cole Porter songs and add their own fun twists and inside jokes. Although some critics found the idea of Tony Bennett producing an album at his age and with his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease a bit too much, most critics found it charming and almost as a sort of fond farewell to the legendary singer. If anything, many folks found Tony Bennett’s ability to perform at his age, at the time he was 95, to be very impressive. Because of Tony Bennett’s age and condition, they naturally did not embark on a tour like they did with Cheek to Cheek, however, they did perform a couple of shows at the Radio City Music Hall that were named “One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga”. These performances, though bittersweet, marked the end of is public performances.
Although generations apart and having completely different audiences for their music, this friendship ended up blossoming into such a wholesome relationship that is not often found among artists like them. This duo was obviously so beneficial for the both of them, not only career wise, but personally on so many levels. Collaborating together helped introduce the world to a completely different side of Lady Gaga and helped garner so much more respect for her talent from people who otherwise would have wrote her off as a pop music freak. Tony Bennett was able to introduce the wonderful aspects of jazz to younger generations that would have usually not even thought twice about giving his music a listen. The both of them found a support system for navigating the music industry, and an opportunity for Tony to share his wisdom and experience with Gaga. And lastly, I truly believe that the two of them continuing to make music together while Tony was well into his 90s helped extend his life and brought joy in an otherwise overwhelming time. After a seven year battle with Alzheimer’s disease, Tony Bennett passed away at the age of 96. Following his death, Lady Gaga shared a very heartwarming statement regarding Tony on her Instagram that gave us even more insight into their relationship and work together. Tony Bennett lived such a great life where he experienced many large successes and even some very low lows, but he was an immense talent that will continue to be remembered for generations to come.
