Tony Bennett won over generations of fans by singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”. And on his 95th birthday, the beloved singer left his heart on the stage of Radio City Music Hall.
Six months after Bennett and his family revealed he was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Bennett sang with Lady Gaga before the sold-out crowds in a string of two concerts in early August billed as his last in the country. New York.
Now, the rest of the world has a chance to join the heartwarming August 3 episode of the TV special, “One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga,” which airs on Tuesday. Sunday on CBS.
In addition to her signature song, Bennett performed standard songs like “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” and duets with Lady Gaga including “Love For Sale” and “Anything.” Goes.”
His family members have said that sometimes Bennett doesn’t know where he is and what is going on around him. But on stage in the TV special, the legendary performer did not miss a beat.
Belly “New York, New York” before Bennett took the stage, Lady Gaga was in tears when she stopped to talk about him.
“He’s my friend. He’s my musical companion. And he’s the greatest singer in the whole world. And I count on you, New York, to make him do it. smile. So you better cheer. You should scream. You should laugh more. You better cry. You better give your soul.”
The audience of Radio City Music Hall ended the bargain. Bennett got his first standing ovation before singing the note – and sang at least a dozen more throughout the night.
In “Fly Me to the Moon”, when he sang, “Let me sing more”, the audience erupted in cheers. At one point the camera panned to an audience member shouting, “We love you!”
Bennett, whose singing career spans eight decades, is no stranger to performing for a adoring fan base. However, before the show, family members told “60 Minutes” that they weren’t sure what would happen on the show.
But wife Susan Benedetto says that once she saw him on stage that night, eyes sparkling and arms outstretched toward the crowd, she knew everything was going to be okay.
“He became himself. He just turned on. It was like a light switch,” she told “60 Minutes” during a segment that aired last month.
That’s because music and performance are ingrained in singers, says Dr. Gayatri Devi, Bennett’s neurologist.
Devi said on “60 Minutes”, people react differently based on their strengths. “So even though he didn’t know what that day might be, or where his apartment was, he was still able to sing the entire American Songbook repertoire and move people.”
Bennett released her first album with Lady Gaga in 2014. Their latest collaboration, a Cole Porter tribute album titled “Love For Sale,” was released in October. Last week, it was released. earned six Grammy nominations.
After being nominated, Lady Gaga told BBC Radio 2’s “The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show” that it was heartbreaking to see what Bennett was going through. She told “60 Minutes” that Bennett had called her “Lover” every time she’d seen him since the pandemic began, and she wasn’t sure he knew who she was.
But when she took to the stage to join him in a Radio City Music Hall concert, Bennett seemed unquestioning. “Well,” he said as she spun in her shimmering golden robe. “Lady Gaga!”
A look of joy crossed Lady Gaga’s face. She crouched down, head in hand, before performing another twist.
“I had to keep it together, because we had a sold-out show and I had a job to do,” Lady Gaga told “60 Minutes.” “But I’ll tell you, when I walked out on that stage, and he said, ‘Lady Gaga,’ my friend saw me, and it was very special.”
After successful performances by Radio City Music Hall, Bennett canceled future tours. His son and manager Danny Bennett told Variety that the New York concerts would be his last.
Danny Bennett said: “This was a difficult decision for us, because he is a capable artist. However, this is a doctor’s order.” “It’s not the singing aspect but rather traveling. Look, he feels tired. The decision is being made that holding concerts now is just too much for him. that.”
Lady Gaga told “60 Minutes” that she heard a powerful message during Bennett’s last Radio City Music Hall performances.
“It’s not a sad story. It’s emotional. It’s hard to see someone change. I think this is nice and the challenge is to see how it affects him in some ways. , but see how it doesn’t affect his talent,” she said. “I think he really went over something to give the world the gift of knowing that things can change, and you can still be great.”
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