Lady Gaga Celebrates Tony Bennett's Birthday After His Death
Lady Gaga is remembering her late friend Tony Bennett on what would have been his 97th birthday.
The jazzy crooner and music icon passed away on Friday, July 21, just two weeks before his birthday—but Gaga is still making sure to celebrate him today.
While out and about in New York on Thursday, Gaga declared Aug. 3 as "Tony Bennett Day," taking to Instagram to honor her friend's legacy on his first heavenly birthday.
"Happy Birthday Tony," she began her post, which featured the "Bad Romance" singer posing in the middle of the New York City streets in a black ballgown, accessorized with a matching beret and oversize sunglasses.
"August 3rd is Tony Bennett Day. A day for smiling," she asserted. "But I’ll be celebrating you a lot more than once a year."
She continued, "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. ??."
Gaga, 37, was known to have a special bond with Bennett, with whom she often collaborated on music and eventually became a very dear friend to.
Following the news of his death, the A Star is Born actress shared an emotional tribute on Instagram, writing, "I will miss my friend forever."
Gaga also noted that she had been "grieving the loss of Tony for a long time," as the legendary singer had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in 2016.
"Losing Tony to Alzheimer’s has been painful but it was also really beautiful," she wrote in her post. "An era of memory loss is such a sacred time in a persons life. There's such a feeling of vulnerability and a desire to preserve dignity."
"I'll never forget this experience," she added at the time. "I'll never forget Tony Bennett."
Read the Rest of Lady Gaga's Heartfelt Tribute to Tony Bennett