Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga’s Friendship Over the Years: Photos

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga‘s special friendship spanned many years.

After a chance meeting at a New York City gala in 2011, the pair had their first musical collaboration singing “The Lady Is a Tramp” on Bennett’s Duets II album. Bennett and Gaga went on to release their first joint album Cheek to Cheek in 2014 — which kicked off a world tour and scored them a Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album.

At the time, Bennett gushed over Gaga’s talent, telling Parade in 2014, “It was the first time I heard Lady perform, and I could not believe the audience’s reaction. The first thing I said was, ‘Let’s do an album together.’ And she said, ‘OK.’ That quick. I just love what she did on [our album Cheek to Cheek]. She’s up there with Ella Fitzgerald, who was the greatest singer in the world.”

Gaga, for her part, praised Bennett for how he changed her outlook on life.

“Six months ago I didn’t even want to sing anymore,” she admitted to the outlet at the time. “The other day, Tony said, ‘I’ve ­never once in my career not wanted to do this.’ It stung. Six months ago I didn’t feel that way. I tell Tony every day that he saved my life. I was so sad. I couldn’t sleep. I felt dead. And then I spent a lot of time with Tony. He wanted nothing but my friendship and my voice.”

In July 2023, news broke that Bennett died in New York at age 96. His final concert took place two years prior with Gaga by his side.

Sign up for Us Weekly's free, daily newsletter and never miss breaking news or exclusive stories about your favorite celebrities, TV shows and more!

Scroll down to relive Bennett and Gaga’s sweet friendship moments:

Credit: Dave Allocca/Starpix/Shutterstock

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's special friendship spanned many years.After a chance meeting at a New York City gala in 2011, the pair had their first musical collaboration singing "The Lady Is a Tramp" on Bennett's Duets II album. Bennett and Gaga went on to release their first joint album Cheek to Cheek in 2014 — which kicked off a world tour and scored them a Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album.At the time, Bennett gushed over Gaga's talent, telling Parade in 2014, "It was the first time I heard Lady perform, and I could not believe the audience's reaction. The first thing I said was, 'Let's do an album together.' And she said, 'OK.' That quick. I just love what she did on [our album Cheek to Cheek]. She's up there with Ella Fitzgerald, who was the greatest singer in the world."Gaga, for her part, praised Bennett for how he changed her outlook on life.“Six months ago I didn’t even want to sing anymore,” she admitted to the outlet at the time. “The other day, Tony said, ‘I’ve ­never once in my career not wanted to do this.’ It stung. Six months ago I didn’t feel that way. I tell Tony every day that he saved my life. I was so sad. I couldn’t sleep. I felt dead. And then I spent a lot of time with Tony. He wanted nothing but my friendship and my voice.”In July 2023, news broke that Bennett died in New York at age 96. His final concert took place two years prior with Gaga by his side.Scroll down to relive Bennett and Gaga's sweet friendship moments:

Credit: Julien Warnand/EPA/Shutterstock

Bennett and Gaga met at the Robin Hood Foundation Gala in 2011. Three years later, they performed songs from their Cheek to Cheek album at Grand Place in Brussels, Belgium.

Credit: Amy Harris/Shutterstock

The twosome performed together on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas.

Credit: Phil McCarten/UPI/Shutterstock

Bennett and Gaga were all smiles while celebrating their first Grammy win as a duet.

Credit: Shutterstock

Bennett and Gaga joined forced to perform together at a benefit concert in Royal Albert Hall. They later posed for a photo with Prince Harry.

Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock

The duo were photographed lighting up the Empire State Building at an event.

Credit: Splash News

After releasing their second debut album, Love For Sale, Bennett and Gaga were nominated for six Grammy Awards. They received a win for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Best Non-Classical Engineered Album.

Credit: CBS

Bennett and Gaga had their final musical collaboration at Radio City Music Hall.

"When that music comes on ... something happens to him," Gaga told 60 Minutes during an October 2021 interview. "He knows exactly what he's doing. And what's important for me, actually, just to make sure that I don't get in the way of that."

She added: "It's hard to watch somebody change. I think what's been beautiful about this, and what's been challenging, is to see how it affects him in some ways, but to see how it doesn't affect his talent. I think he really pushed through something to give the world the gift of knowing that things can change and you can still be magnificent."

Credit: Dave Allocca/Starpix/Shutterstock

Gaga remembered her late friend with a touching tribute post in honor of what would have been his 97th birthday.

“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,” she penned via Instagram at the time. “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. 😘.”

In order to view the gallery, please allow Manage Cookies

For access to all our exclusive celebrity videos and interviews – Subscribe on YouTube!