Lady Gaga has taken to Instagram to express her mourning over his death. In an emotional post featuring a photo of Gaga embraced in a hug with Tony, she shared that she will always remember him and "miss" her "friend forever."
The lengthy Instagram caption said, "I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together."
The "Born This Way" hitmaker went on to add, "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."
Speaking about the passing of her dear friend Tony due to his battle with Alzheimer's, Gaga commented that it had been an incredibly difficult process. Although it was a tough time, she remarked that "it was also really beautiful." She shared that she had been in a period of grieving for some time prior to Tony's death.
"An era of memory loss is such a sacred time in a person's life. There's such a feeling of vulnerability and a desire to preserve dignity."
Despite the 50-year gap between them, it had been far from a barrier as it "offered both of them something that was missing in other relationships".
This age difference evidently was not an issue and in fact, proved to be beneficial.
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On July 21, 2023, seven years after his Alzheimer's diagnosis in 2016, the world sadly said goodbye to beloved performer, Tony Bennett.
It was February 2021 that he decided to disclose his condition publicly and it wasn't long after that he decided to retire from performing altogether in August of the same year.
Tony's wife Susan told Variety during that time, "The decision is being made that doing concerts now is just too much for him. We don't want him to fall on stage, for instance - something as simple as that."
His son and manager Danny added, "We are worried, from a physical stand point... about human nature. Tony's 95."
To mark his retirement in true grandeur, Radio City Music Hall played host to two sold-out shows featuring the legendary singer and performer, the iconic 95 year old and his dear friend Lady Gaga.
Before releasing their second duet album titled "Love for Sale," Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett performed a series of farewell shows called "One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga." According to Billboard magazine, their first joint effort "Cheek to Cheek" hit No. 1 on Billboard 200 chart; however, this was not repeated as "Love for Sale" peaked at No. 8.
