Lady Gaga Breaks Her Silence On Tony Bennet w_ Emotional Tribute
Lady Gaga Breaks Her Silence On Tony Bennet w_ Emotional Tribute
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00:00 Lady Gaga has broken her silence on the passing of her pal Tony Bennett more than one week after
00:06 his death. On Monday, the applause singer took to Instagram to share an intimate photo of herself
00:12 embracing the 96-year-old and wrote a moving tribute. "I will miss my friend forever. I will
00:19 miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together. With Tony,
00:25 I got to live my life in a time warp. Tony and I had this magical power. We transformed ourselves
00:31 to another era, modernized the music together, and gave it all new life as a singing duo. But
00:38 it wasn't an act. Our relationship was very real. Sure, he taught me about music, about showbiz
00:44 life, but he also showed me how to keep my spirits high and my head screwed on straight."
00:50 Straight ahead, he'd say. He was an optimist. He believed in quality work and quality life.
00:56 Plus, there was the gratitude. Tony was always grateful. He served in World War II, marched with
01:01 Martin Luther King Jr., and sang jazz with the greatest singers and players in the world.
01:06 She said in part, going on to open up about their relationship, adding, "I've been grieving the
01:13 loss of Tony for a long time. We had a very long and powerful goodbye. Though there were
01:19 five decades between us, he was my friend. My real, true friend. Our age difference didn't
01:25 matter. In fact, it gave us each something neither of us had with most people. We were
01:30 from two different stages in life entirely. Inspired." The powerhouse pair were close
01:36 friends for more than a decade before the I Left My Heart in San Francisco musician died
01:41 on July 21st. They bonded in 2011 at a charity event where she sang Orange Colored Sky.
01:48 No official cause of death has been revealed, but the musical icon was diagnosed with Alzheimer's
01:54 disease in 2016. Losing Tony to Alzheimer's has been painful, but it was also really beautiful.
02:01 An era of memory loss is such a sacred time in a person's life. There's such a feeling of
02:06 vulnerability and a desire to preserve dignity. All I wanted was for Tony to remember how much
02:12 I loved him and how grateful I was to have him in my life. But as that faded slowly, I knew deep
02:19 down he was sharing with me the most vulnerable moment in his life that he could. Being willing
02:24 to sing with me what his nature was changing so deeply. "I'll never forget this experience.
02:30 I'll never forget Tony Bennett," Gaga continued. The duo went on to make two jazz albums together.
02:36 Tony made his final public appearance with the Grammy winner in August 2021, when they teamed
02:42 up for their concert one last time in evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall.
02:49 If I could say anything to the world about this, I would say don't discount your elders.
02:55 Don't leave them behind when things change. Don't flinch when you feel sad. Just keep going straight
03:00 ahead. Sadness is part of it. Take care of your elders and I promise you will learn something
03:06 special, maybe even magical. And pay attention to silence. Some of my musical partner and I's
03:12 most meaningful exchanges were with no melody at all. I love you Tony. Love Lady." The 37-year-old
03:19 concluded the post. In 2018, the House of Gucci star was so excited to see her buddy,
03:24 she adorably crashed his interview with Access Hollywood at the Grammys.
03:28 "You were saying to me you were working out three and four times a week. Is that still the case?"
03:33 "Yep." "Really?" "Yeah." "You worked out today?" "Yeah." "I can't believe it." "Tony, you have a surprise visitor."
03:39 "You got a surprise visitor. What is up, Lady Gaga?" "Hey, baby. How are you?" "I'm fine." "You look so handsome." "You're so beautiful."
03:48 "We were just talking about bringing the Grammys back to New York, what it means to have them back
03:57 at home again." "Oh, it's wonderful. Isn't this a great time? And then at the iconic Madison Square
04:02 Garden. I feel so happy to be here." "What do you think of Tony's new mustache?" "I love it. I love everything
04:08 Tony does. Tony's always got it just right." "I agree. Mr. New York right here." "Oh, I missed you."
04:16 "Thank you, sweetie. Good to see you." "I love it. I love it. Don't you just light up when you see him?"
04:22 "I always do. He's a very dear friend of mine and he's been there through the good times and the bad.
04:28 I love singing with him so much and I'm just so happy to see you, to be honest." "Well, I've seen you a lot.
04:34 I never saw you looking better than tonight." "What do you love about this look tonight, Tony?"
04:41 "What?" "What do you love about this look on her tonight?" "I like everything she does."
04:45 "See, it's mutual." "It's mutual love." "Cheek to cheek."
04:53 [Music]