Tony Bennett might have left his heart in San Francisco, but his soul was ever-present during his final live performance.
CBS on Sunday offered viewers a front-row seat to One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, a primetime special marking Bennett’s last concert appearance before announcing his retirement from touring. Filmed in August, the hour consisted of 11 showtunes performed at Radio City Music Hall in celebration of Bennett’s birthday.
“How do you honor the most important and enduring voice of the last century?” Gaga asked at the top of the show. “Someone who has been a mentor, a savior and a dear friend?
“Tony’s career has spanned eight decades — and in all of that time, he has never given less than his very best,” she said. “So, that is how I want to honor him tonight: By giving him more than I ever knew I had, and making Tony proud.”
Gaga kicked things off with a four-song set, beginning with “Luck Be a Lady.” That was followed by “Orange Colored Sky,” “Let’s Do It” and “New York, New York.”
Bennett came out next, performing “Watch What Happens,” “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” and “Fly Me to the Moon.” He was also accompanied by Gaga on three songs — “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “Love for Sale” and “Anything Goes” — before he closed things out with “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”
Bennett and Gaga first collaborated on Bennett’s 2011 release Duets II, before they put out two complete albums together: 2014’s Cheek to Cheek (which took home a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2015) and 2021’s Love for Sale (which recently netted six Grammy noms).
Bennett, now 95, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2017. His family first went public with his diagnosis in February, and a revealing 60 Minutes segment followed in October (which you can view here).
Click on the attached listicle to watch (or rewatch) select performances, then vote in our poll and tell us which songs touched you most. Afterwards, drop a comment with your full review of One Last Time.
31 January 2022, 17:42 Tony Bennett is one the last-surviving music icons of the golden generation of jazz crooners from as far back as the 1930s, while Lady Gaga is one of the biggest names in pop from 2009 onwards. Despite the
complete difference of their eras, fans and output, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga have struck up an unexpected friendship and partnership. The duo have released two albums together, headed out on tour and continued to perform until Tony's retirement in late 2021 at the age
of 95.
Tony Bennett is famous for his traditional pop standards, and albums in the big band, show tunes, and jazz genres. While Lady Gaga is best known for her pop songs like 'Poker Face' and 'Born this Way', she is also a highly talented pianist and classically-trained singer.
In 2011, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga first met after she performed a version of Nat King Cole's 'Orange Colored Sky' at the Robin Hood Foundation gala in New York City.
Tony asked Gaga to sing a duet with him on his next album Duets II, and the pair recorded 'The Lady Is a Tramp'.
In September 2012, Tony revealed that Gaga wanted to record a jazz album with him. In 2013, Gaga and Tony performed at the final inaugural ball of President Obama's second inauguration, and she announced the album on Twitter.
After Cheek to Cheek's album was a success in 2014, a follow-up titled Love for Sale was released in 2021.
Lady Gaga has remained Tony's close friend and mentée since their first duet over a decade ago.
“The fact that Tony sees me as a natural-born jazz singer is still something that I haven't gotten over,” she told AARP.
Bennett and Gaga recorded the second album together in New York, their hometown, with documentary footage showing how difficult Gaga found it dealing with her friend's mental state.
In a beautiful moment captured at Tony's final live performance, Gaga sings 'The Lady is a Tramp' with the legendary crooner, before helping to escort him off the stage one last time.
"Just simply being the woman that got to walk him off stage, that's enough for me," an emotional Lady Gaga told 60 Minutes.