Lady Gaga remembers one year after Tony Bennett’s death

Kevin Mazur/GI for LN

Lady Gaga pays tribute to her beloved friend and musical partner Tony Bennett one year after his death.

On Saturday (July 20), the 38-year-old pop superstar and actress shared a heartfelt message on social media about the late pop singer, who passed away on July 21, 2023 in his hometown of New York City of unknown causes after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. He was 96 years old.

“It’s been a year since Tony passed away,” Gaga wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of herself with Bennett. “This picture says it all. I’m so grateful for my ongoing friendship with his wife Susan – the legacy of jazz music he left behind – and for the community of jazz musicians I still work with who all knew and loved Tony. We will keep on swinging. I miss you… life is a beautiful thing.”

The black-and-white photo shows Gaga posing for a tuxedo-clad Bennett as he sketches for their 2021 joint album. Love for saleA video from this year shows Gaga crying after being shown the drawing.

Bennett’s family first publicly announced his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2021. That same year, the legendary singer announced he would retire from touring and performing after a final show with Gaga at Radio City Music Hall, titled “One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga.”

In addition to Love for saleGaga and Bennett recorded the complete jazz standard albums Cheek to Cheek in 2014. The project debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200.

After his death last year, the “Million Reasons” singer paid loving tribute to her good friend on social media.

“I will miss my friend forever. I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage with him,” she wrote alongside an Instagram photo of Bennett giving her a warm hug. “With Tony, I was able to live my life in a time warp. Tony and I had this magical power. We transported ourselves to another era, modernized music together and breathed new life into it as a singing duo. But it wasn’t an act. Our relationship was very real.”

Gaga added that Bennett taught her about music, show business and life, but she also said he showed her how to “stay in a good mood and keep a clear head. ‘Straight ahead,’ he said. He was an optimist, he believed in quality work AND quality life. And then there was the gratitude… Tony was always grateful. He served in World War II, marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and sang jazz with the greatest singers and musicians in the world. I mourned the loss of Tony for a long time. We had a very long and powerful goodbye.”

Watch Lady Gaga’s recent tribute to Bennett on Instagram here.