This morning (July 21), the music world learned of the death of Tony Bennett, who is dead at 96 years old. Bennett clearly had a passion for music, as evidenced by his professional career that lasted for over 70 years. He was even still singing just days before he died, as indicated in a message shared on Bennett’s social media pages today. Furthermore, the final song he sang was a special one in the story of his career.
The post reads, “Tony left us today but he was still singing the other day at his piano and his last song was, “Because of You,” his first #1 hit. Tony, because of you we have your songs in our heart forever. [heart emoji].”
Tony left us today but he was still singing the other day at his piano and his last song was, “Because of You,” his first #1 hit.
Tony, because of you we have your songs in our heart forever. ❤ pic.twitter.com/hsOqtSdTNg
— Tony Bennett (@itstonybennett) July 21, 2023
In a 2021 interview on The Late Show, Lady Gaga spoke about how Bennett was different when he was performing, saying, “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.”
Listen to Bennett’s “Because Of You” below.