Tony Bennett (real name Anthony Dominick Benedetto) is dead at 96 years old. Publicist Sylvia Weiner confirmed the iconic singer’s death to The Associated Press, saying he died in his hometown of New York today (July 21). A cause of death has not yet been confirmed, but Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.
In a 2021 interview on The Late Show, Lady Gaga got emotional speaking about Bennett and Alzheimer’s, saying in part, “I love him very deeply, and watching him begin his journey with Alzheimer’s years ago, I remember I wanted to make good on a promise I made to him. […] He goes, ‘Hey Lady!’ That’s what he calls me, he calls me ‘Lady.’ ‘Hey Lady, we need to make a Cole Porter record, all Cole Porter songs, all love songs.’ […] Then a couple years later, his Alzheimer’s just started to set on and I said, ‘Let’s go into the studio now,’ and we did. And when I tell you that when jazz begins, this man lights up in a way that is such magic. It just reminded me that anybody that has a family member or somebody that they love that’s suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia, music is… music is magic. Music is a miracle.”
This post is being updated.
Source: https://uproxx.com/indie/tony-bennett-dead-96/