Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga are releasing a new album together, which Tony worked on after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016.
The 94-year-old music legend was revealed this week to be battling the progressive condition after having kept it a secret for four years, and it has now been confirmed that during his private battle, he recorded a new album with his close friend, Lady Gaga.
The record will be a follow-up to their 2014 album “Cheek to Cheek” and was recorded between 2018 and 2020.
The news was revealed in a profile for Tony written for AARP Magazine, which reported the album has been delayed due to Gaga’s packed schedule as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, but is due to finally be released in spring this year.
And Tony’s son, Danny, has said that part of the reason his family chose to go public with Tony’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis was because they knew he wouldn’t be able to promote the record.
Speaking about the moment he told Gaga about their decision to go public, Danny said: “I wanted to check with her to make sure she was cool, because she watches his back all the time. She was like, ‘Absolutely, it's just another gift that he can give to the world.’ ”
Meanwhile, Tony’s wife, Susan Benedetto, spoke to “CBS This Morning” about her husband’s diagnosis on Monday, where she explained why the family chose to keep his health battle a secret for so long.
She said: "He always likes to say he's in the business of making people feel good. And so he never wanted the audience to know if he had a problem. But, obviously, you know, as long, you know, as things have progressed, it becomes more and more obvious when you interact with Tony that there's something up. And so it just seemed like now was the right time."