Lady Gaga has paid tribute to music icon Tony Bennett on the first anniversary of his death.
On Saturday, the 38-year-old singer posted a black-and-white photo to Instagram of himself with his longtime friend and frequent collaborator Bennett, who died on July 21, 2023, at age 96.
“It’s been a year since Tony passed away,” Gaga began in her heartfelt caption. “This photo says it all.”
Lady Gaga has delivered a moving tribute to Tony Bennett one year after his death. (Lester Cohen/WireImage)
She continued, “I am so grateful for my enduring friendship with his wife Susan, the legacy of jazz music he leaves behind, and the community of jazz musicians who knew and loved Tony, with whom I still work today. We will keep on swinging.”
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga: A legendary collaboration between two musical duos
“I miss you,” she added, along with a black heart emoji. “Life is a beautiful thing.”
In the photo, Bennett is seen in a tuxedo, holding a pencil as he draws a portrait of Gaga in a glittering black ballgown. The sketch will appear on the cover of the duo’s upcoming 2021 album, “Love for Sale.”
Footage of Bennett drawing Gaga was used in the music video for the duo’s single “I Concentrate On You,” in which the “Poker Face” hitmaker bursts into tears and smiles broadly after Bennett presents Gaga with his painting.
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In addition to “Love for Sale,” Gaga and Bennett also collaborated on the 2014 album Cheek to Cheek and frequently performed together.
In 2016, Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, making it difficult for the 20-time Grammy winner to continue performing, but he embarked on his solo “I Left My Heart” tour in 2019.
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Bennett’s final performance was with Lady Gaga, when the two performed together for two shows at Radio City Music Hall in August 2021 to celebrate Bennett’s 95th birthday.
After Bennett’s death, Gaga remembered him in an Instagram post, writing, “I will forever miss my friend. I will miss singing together, recording together, talking together, and being onstage together.”
“Tony allowed me to live my life in a time-warp,” she continued. “Tony and I had this magical ability to travel to another era and together we modernized the music and breathed new life into it as a duo.”
“But it wasn’t an act. Our relationship was real. Of course he taught me about music and showbiz, but he also taught me how to keep my spirits up and my cool.”
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Last September, Lady Gaga paid tribute to Bennett’s memory with a moving performance of “Fly Me to the Moon” at her first Las Vegas concert since his death, “Lady Gaga: Jazz & Piano.”
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addressing his widow, Susan Benedetto; “Susan, this whole audience loves you so much,” Gaga told the audience after the show, according to videos posted by audience members on social media.
The singer said she didn’t know what to say about Bennett at the concert, because “this show was all for Tony.”
Gaga and Bennett are longtime friends and collaborators. (Getty)
“The opening number, the middle number, every diamond, every instrument, every conducting, every improvisation is in his memory,” the “Paparazzi” songstress, decked out in a sparkly tuxedo and top hat, told the crowd.
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Gaga added that if she knew him well, “he would get really mad if I was sad, so I couldn’t come here and be sad.”
“I sang this song when he was alive,” she said of “Fly Me to the Moon,” “and I’m still gonna sing it now that he’s gone, because he’ll never be gone.”
Gaga then performed a sensual rendition of Bennett’s hit song accompanied by piano, adding to her wife Susan, “Susan, I sang this one for you.”
