Lady Gaga, 37, took to Instagram on Aug. 3 to honor her late friend, Tony Bennett, on what would have been his 97th birthday. Although the “Cheek to Cheek” hitmaker died on Jul. 21, Gaga took the opportunity to celebrate his life. “Happy Birthday Tony. August 3rd is Tony Bennett Day. A day for smiling. But I’ll be celebrating you a lot more than once a year,” the songstress gushed in the caption.
Gaga went on to express how often she will celebrate her late collaborator. “I’ll celebrate you every time I’m on stage singing jazz music, every time I’m with your family, every time I walk down the streets of New York I’ll look around and remember all you did for this city and the whole world,” she concluded the sweet note, along with a kissing face emoji. In the carousel of photos, the blonde beauty rocked a nearly floor-length black gown complete with a black French beret and matching black sunglasses. Gaga added a black mini-purse to tie the monochromatic look together.
Although the “Rain on Me” hitmaker put on her best serious face in the first slide, Gaga was nothing but smiles in the last two slides. Soon after she shared the post with her 55.7 million followers, many of them took to the comments to celebrate the legendary jazz singer. “What a beautiful post We’ll celebrate Tony today & everyday!!!!”, one fan gushed, while another wrote, “Gorgeous sentiment and photos.” Gaga’s former A Star Is Born co-star, Shangela, made sure to react as well. “You are a part of his LEGACY,” the 41-year-old wrote.
As many know, many have been mourning Tony’s death since his rep confirmed the news two weeks ago. He died just weeks before his 97th birthday and had been battling Alzheimer’s since 2016. On Jul. 27, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution that declared Aug. 3 “Tony Bennett Day,” per the Senate Democrats website. The 19-time Grammy winner is survived by his wife, Susan Crow, 56, and his kids: Danny, Dae, Joanna and Antonia.
The 37-year-old pop sensation took to Instagram on Jul. 31 to publicly mourn Tony’s passing. Gaga shared a photo of him embracing her and added a lengthy caption about the somber news. “I will miss my friend forever. 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,” her caption began. “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.”
She concluded the long caption by encouraging others to honor their elders. “I’ll never forget Tony Bennett. If I could say anything to the world about this I would say don’t discount your elders, don’t leave them behind when things change,” Gaga added. “Don’t flinch when you feel sad, just keep going straight ahead, sadness is part of it.” The two won Tony’s final Grammy Award together in Apr. 2022 for their work on their album, Love For Sale.