Tony Bennett's Final Performance with Lady Gaga
After eight decades of crooning, American singer Tony Bennett has officially retired. He may have left his heart in San Francisco, but his voice was left in New York City at the Radio City Music Hall.
Months after his family announced that Bennett had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Bennett held his final two concerts in August alongside long-time collaborator Lady Gaga. At 95 years years old, with Alzheimer’s, Bennett managed to entertain the crowd like few others can.
This past week, his final performance aired as a television special, “One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga”. Taped on August 3rd, the CBS special featured several of his biggest hits, including, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”, “Fly Me to the Moon”, and “Anything Goes”.
Alzheimer’s leaves its victims unable to function mentally. Forgetting where you are, forgetting who people are, forgetting your own identity, is the tragic norm. Astonishingly, music has been known to break through these barriers, and Tony’s case is no exception. Once the music starts, Bennett begins to fire on all cylinders, and his fans got to witness this during his Radio City performances.
After performing "New York, New York", Lady Gaga teared up when she took a moment to talk about him.
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“He’s my friend. He’s my musical companion. And he’s the greatest singer in the whole world. And I’m counting on you, New York, to make him smile. So you better cheer. You better yell. You better laugh. You better cry. You better give your soul.”
Even though there is a 60-year age difference between them, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga have discovered an incredibly rare artistic connection. They have created beautiful music together over the last decade, and their work together has been highly praised. Bennett released his first album with Lady Gaga in 2014. Their latest collaboration, a Cole Porter tribute album titled "Love For Sale," was released this October, and last week it garnered six Grammy nominations.
After the successful Radio City Music Hall shows, Bennett has officially canceled all future tour appearances, making these New York concerts his last curtain call. Although emotional, Tony’s family, friends, and fans all say that this isn’t a sad story. Instead, it’s a celebration of the entertainer’s remarkable career and life.
Tony Bennett’s Remarkable Career and Life
It’s safe to say that Tony Bennett’s life and philosophy is the embodiment of the Great American Story. His career as the pre-eminent singer of the 20th and 21st centuries is absolutely unprecedented. Even after all of these years, he continues to be embraced and loved by audiences of all generations.
Through his commitment to excellence and his insistence on quality, he has become “the keeper of the flame” by extolling the virtues and values that we see represented by the Great American Songbook.
It isn’t just Tony the entertainer that people love. It’s Tony the man. Over the years, Tony Bennett has been on the front lines of every major issue impacting the cornerstones of this country’s modern history. In total, he has performed for eleven U.S. Presidents, he is a World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and he participated in the liberation of a concentration camp. He even marched side by side with Dr. Martin Luther King in Selma to support civil rights. Now those are some accomplishments to truly be proud of.
Throughout his music, Bennett has connected in unprecedented fashion with all generations of all kinds of audiences. His has focused on unity instead of division, and his commitment to humanitarian ideals has bridged our differences by highlighting what we have in common. He has fought for hard issues, when others have turned a blind eye.
While Tony has achieved the Great American Dream, he has never forgotten his own roots and is constantly working toward ensuring that others can achieve their very own dreams as well. His life is the definition of dedication, commitment, courage, and compassion.
With millions of records sold world-wide and platinum and gold albums to his credit, Bennett has received a grand total of nineteen Grammy Awards—including the Grammy Lifetime Award.
His initial successes came via a string of Columbia singles in the early 1950s, including chart-toppers such as “Because of You,” “Rags to Riches,” and a remake of Hank Williams’ “Cold, Cold Heart.”
Tony Bennett is one of a handful of rare artists to have new albums charting in the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s- and now in the first two decades of the 21st century. He has proudly introduced a multitude of songs into the Great American Songbook that have since become standards for the pop music industry. On top of all of his recording success, he has toured the world to sold-out audiences with rave reviews whenever and wherever he performs.
There’s no question that Tony Bennett's artistry and accomplishments will forever be applauded here at home and all over the world from people from 12- to 90-years old.
Cheers to you, Tony. Thank you for the music.