Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett's musical relationship recently resulted in the album of jazz standards Cheek to Cheek, and they recently released a video of the recording session for "But Beautiful."
The song was first recorded by Bing Crosby, but Bennett also sang it on his 1975 effort The Tony Bennett and Bill Evans Album. In the video below, as Billboard points out, Gaga and Bennett perform the song as a jazz band accompanies an orchestra. Gaga sings with pop star energy while Bennett, looking dapper for 88, croons with the kind of ease that comes with 62 years in the business.
Cheek to Cheek went straight to the top of Billboard's 200 album chart as well as the Top Jazz Albums chart. The first single, a cover of "Anything Goes" from the 1934 musical of the same name, was released in July.
"I Can't Give You Anything but Love" followed in August before the album's Sept. 19 release.
"Gaga has real chemistry with Bennett (whom she befriended after they performed together at a benefit in 2011) on breezily swinging tunes like Cole Porter's "Anything Goes," Rolling Stone wrote about the album. "Befitting a singer who harnessed vocal firepower on huge club tracks, she sometimes blasts away at these songs rather than relaxing into them. But on challenges like the subtle Billy Strayhorn ballad "Lush Life," the queen of the little monsters more than proves she can be a sophisticated lady too."
In an interview with Parade, Gaga said Bennett helped rekindle her love of music after she hit a rough patch.
"I'm not going to say any names, but people get irrational when it comes to money — with how they treat you, with what they expect from you," she said. "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."
Gaga will be touring overseas through November. Bennett has gigs scheduled through February 2015.
