These two friends have sadly sung their last duet.
Lady Gaga is mourning the loss of her friend and collaborator Tony Bennett, who died on July 21 at the age of 96.
“I will miss my friend forever,” Gaga began her July 31 Instagram message. “I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together.”
“With Tony, I got to live my life in a time warp,” she continued. “Tony & I had this magical power. We transported ourselves to another era, modernized the music together, & gave it all new life as a singing duo. But it wasnt an act. Our Relationship was very real.”
Gaga noted that, in addition to teaching her about music and showbiz, he also encouraged her to keep her “spirits high and my head screwed on straight.”
“He was an optimist, he believed in quality work AND quality life,” Gaga shared. “Plus, there was the gratitude…Tony was always grateful. He served in WWII, marched with Martin Luther King Jr., and sang jazz with the greatest singers and players in the world.”
“I’ve been grieving the loss of Tony for a long time,” she wrote of Bennett, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. “We had a very long and powerful goodbye.”
The 37-year-old also shared that, despite their 59-year age gap, Bennett really was her friend.
“My real true friend. Our age difference didn’t matter– in fact, it gave us each something neither of us had with most people,” she added. “We were from two different stages in life entirely–inspired.”