"Music can sometimes help people with Alzheimer's," Lady Gaga said of Tony Bennett 0:49
(
CNN) -
Tony Bennett won over generations of fans singing "I left my heart in San Francisco."
And on his 95th birthday, the beloved singer left his heart on the stage of Radio City Music Hall.
Six months after Bennett and his family revealed he suffers from Alzheimer's, Bennett performed alongside Lady Gaga before crowds in a two-concert series in early August heralded as his last New York performance.
Now the rest of the world has a chance to catch the moving August 3 show on a television special, "One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga," which aired Sunday on CBS.
In addition to his signature song, Bennett performed songs like "Fly Me to the Moon" and "Steppin 'Out With My Baby" and duets with Lady Gaga, including "Love For Sale" and "Anything Goes."
His family members have said that Bennett sometimes does not know where he is and what is going on around him.
But on the stage of the television special, the legendary performer did not miss a beat.
Singing "New York, New York" before Bennett took the stage, Lady Gaga cried when she paused to talk about him.
advertising
"He's my friend. He's my musical partner. And he's the best singer in the world. And I'm counting on you, New York, to make him smile. So I hope you cheer up. I hope you scream. I hope you laugh. I hope you cry. That you surrender your soul ".
The Radio City Music Hall audience kept their end of the bargain.
Bennett received his first standing ovation before even singing a note, and amassed at least a dozen more overnight.
On "Fly Me to the Moon", when he sang the line "Let me sing forever more", the audience erupted in cheers.
At one point, the camera focused on an audience member yelling, "We love you!"
Tony Bennett is battling Alzheimer's disease
Bennett, whose singing career spans eight decades, is no stranger to performing for a crowd of admirers.
Still, before the concert, family members told "60 Minutes" that they weren't sure what would happen during the show.
But his wife Susan Benedetto said that once she saw him on stage that night, eyes gleaming and arms outstretched to the crowd, she knew everything would be fine.
"He became himself. He just turned on. It was like a light switch," he told "60 Minutes" in a segment that aired last month.
That's because the music and performance are deeply ingrained in the singer, according to Bennett's neurologist, Dr. Gayatri Devi.
"People respond differently based on their strengths. In Tony's case, it's his musical memory his ability to be a performer. Those are an innate, programmed part of his brain," Devi said on "60 Minutes."
"So even though you don't know what day it will be or where your apartment is, you can still sing the entire repertoire of the American songbook and move people."
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga sang together at the Grammys in 2015.
Bennett released his first album with Lady Gaga in 2014. Their latest collaboration, a Cole Porter tribute album titled "Love For Sale," was released in October.
Last week it garnered six Grammy nominations.
After the nominations, Lady Gaga told BBC Radio 2 "The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show" that it has been heartbreaking to see what Bennett is going through.
She told "60 Minutes" that Bennett had been calling her "Sweetheart" every time she had seen him since the pandemic began, and she wasn't sure he knew who she was.
But when she took the stage to join him at the Radio City Music Hall concert, Bennett seemed to have no doubts.
"Wow," she said as she spun around in a sparkly gold dress.
"Lady Gaga!"
A look of joy crossed Lady Gaga's face.
He leaned down, head in hands, before making another turn.
"I had to keep calm, because we had a sold-out show and I had a job to do," Lady Gaga told "60 Minutes."
"But I'll tell you, when I came out on stage and he said, 'Lady Gaga,' my friend saw me, and it was very special."
After the successful shows at Radio City Music Hall, Bennett canceled future touring appearances.
His son and manager Danny Bennett told Variety that those New York concerts would be his last.
Tonny Bennett has her day 1:13
"This was a difficult decision for us, as he is a capable interpreter. However, this is the order of the doctors," said Danny Bennett.
"It's not the singing aspect, but rather the travel aspect. Look, he gets tired. The decision is being made that doing concerts now is too much for him."
Lady Gaga told "60 Minutes" that she heard a powerful message at Bennett's latest appearances at Radio City Music Hall.
"It is not a sad story. It is emotional. It is difficult to see someone change. I think the beauty of this, and what has been a challenge, is to see how it affects him in some way, but to see how not to affect his talent," said.
"I think he really brought something forward to give the world the gift of knowing that things can change, and you can still be magnificent."
Lady gaga tonny bennett
