Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga in February 2015.Photo:Michael Tran/FilmMagic
Michael Tran/FilmMagic
Lady Gagahasn’t stopped thinking aboutTony Bennettsincehe died at 96last month.
On Thursday, the “Bad Romance” singer took the time to pay tribute to the late jazz legend for what would have been his 97th birthday.
“Happy Birthday Tony. August 3rd is Tony Bennett Day. A day for smiling. But I’ll be celebrating you a lot more than once a year,” Gaga, 37,wrote on Instagram. “I’ll celebrate you every time I’m on stage singing jazz music, every time I’m with your family, every time I walk down the streets of New York I’ll look around and remember all you did for this city and the whole world. 😘”
Alongside the caption, the singer posted three photos where she’s seen sporting a black dress, black beret, sunglasses and a black purse while perched in front of a food cart.
In late July, Gaga sharedanother emotional tributeon Instagramdedicated to the late singer.
“I will miss my friend forever,” the pop star wrote, alongside a photo featuring the pair hugging in a dressing room.
“I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together," added Gaga about Bennett, whodied on July 21 at the age of 96.
“With Tony, I got to live my life in a time warp. Tony & I had this magical power,” she continued. “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.”
She added that Bennett “showed me how to keep my spirits high and my head screwed on straight.”
“He was an optimist, he believed in quality work AND quality life. Plus, there was the gratitude…Tony was always grateful,” she shared, before detailing the personal milestones in Bennett’s life of him marching with Martin Luther King Jr. and serving in WWII.
Gaga became “fast friends” with Bennett after they met when she performed at theRobin Hood Foundation charity galain 2011.
“Ever since then, we’ve just been close,” Bennett told PEOPLE in 2016 of their initial meeting. “We just love performing with one another.”
In 2011, he and Gaga collaborated for the first time on a cover of “The Lady Is a Tramp” fromBabes in Armsfor his albumDuets II.Three years later, the duo released their first collaborative album,Cheek to Cheek.
Their final performance together was in Aug. 2021 at Radio City Music Hall with their “One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga” concert.
source: people.com
