It was always Tony Bennett’s plan to do a recording of Cole Porter duets with Lady Gaga.
I reported it in 2014. So the upcoming record alluded to in the AARP piece this week about Tony’s Alzheimer’s disease is that record. Quite a bit of it was done before Tony’s illness took hold.
Tony and Gaga’s first album, “Cheek to Cheek,” was a big sales and critical hit. He was 88 when he made that one. It’s as if he waited all his life for the perfect duet partner.
Lady Gaga’s rock albums are lots of fun. But her jazz singing with Tony, or solo, I could listen to all the time. She has ‘it.’ But she knows it doesn’t pay the bills. A black cocktail dress with pearls is no match for a meat dress!
We can expect the Cole Porter album this spring, if we ever get out of this winter. And what a gift that will be!
