The music icons recorded two albums together.
Following the recent passing of singer Tony Bennett on July 21, the legendary musician's son and manager Danny Bennett has announced a new documentary chronicling his late father's decade-long friendship with Lady Gaga. Bennett first worked with the Oscar nominated actor and musician on the 2011 duet "Lady Is A Tramp", before going on to record two full length albums in 2014's Cheek To Cheek, and 2021's Love For Sale. The pair would perform together at Bennett's final show, on his 95th birthday, following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease. The upcoming documentary, entitled The Lady and The Legend, will follow the pair's work and friendship over this period, and will release onto Paramount+ this September.
Speaking with Variety, Danny Bennett revealed plans for the documentary, which will feature footage recorded between 2013 and 2023. It will also look at the star's final special with Gaga at Radio City Music Hall through a different perspective; while the special showed Bennett was still as at home on the stage as he had ever been, the upcoming documentary will reveal the backstage realities of the event. "What you see in this documentary is not what you saw on the special. You’re seeing backstage, where people are like, 'He has no idea where he is.' And Gaga, rightfully, was like, 'Is this the right thing to do?'" Danny explained. "But I just knew that when he hit that stage, it was going to all come back. It went so well that I actually got accused of saying that he had Alzheimer’s as a publicity stunt, because people didn’t believe it. I was nervous, but I thought, 'I see it in his eye. This is how he would want to go out. This is what he needs.' And I’m very proud that we were able to do that for him."
The Lady and The Legend will highlight the ways in which Bennett became a mentor to Gaga, as Danny promised "What’s great about the doc that we met Gaga at a time when she was not feeling great about things — you know, ARTPOP and splitting up with Troy (Carter, her former manager), and she was doubting herself. And you watch Tony nurturing her, and telling her to move straight ahead and believe in herself. And then all of a sudden at the end, she is supporting him. It’s a full circle and it’s beautiful."
Danny credited a shared passion of their craft for bringing the pair together. He concluded "I’m very excited for people to see this because you really gain understanding of these two great artists and their passion for music — and look, that’s what Tony represented. He enveloped the American dream and showed that if you stay with your passion, if you stay with quality, if you stick to your guns, opportunities will open up. And then it’s up to you to take advantage of those opportunities."
The Lady and The Legend will be released on Paramount+ this September.
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Luke Dawe is a London based news writer, musician and drag performer. When not writing for Collider – @lukejdawe on twitter – Luke can be found wearing wigs at @bbxface.
