The duo just released their long-awaited and much-buzzed album of duets, Cheek to Cheek, and are now prepping for a live concert special. This Friday at 9 P.M. EST, PBS will air Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek LIVE!, a special live concert filmed July 28 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall. Tony and Gaga talked with Amzon Music about their new album and PBS performance.
How did the idea for a duets project come together?
Tony Bennett: I first saw Lady Gaga sing when we were both performing at the Robin Hood Foundation benefit gala in New York City and I knew right then that she was a terrific singer. I met her backstage and asked her to sing with me on my DUETS II record and we had such a great time doing “The Lady Is A Tramp” for that project that we knew we had to work together again. She has a great love of jazz - which has always been my first love when it comes to music - so it made perfect sense to collaborate on a jazz record together with Cheek to Cheek.
What was the biggest challenge with Cheek to Cheek?
Lady Gaga: First I had to get over my nerves around Tony. He’s such a legend it took a second for me to get used to because he believes in me so much it feels like a movie. I would get lightheaded just hearing him tell me how great of job I did on a Cole Porter song— Tony Bennett, Cole Porter? Somebody pinch me, but don’t wake me up! Tony then began to tell me stories about his life, then I shared mine and even told him my current fears and problems. He then became my mentor, my idol, my teacher, my friend, and the album took on a completely different life. It was magical.
Was there a particular lyric or song that were especially difficult to record?
Lady Gaga: When I sing “Lush Life” the lyrics echo hauntingly for me the entire time, yet I find a bliss through the sadness. This was difficult for me to perform on a personal level, on a musical level it was a dream; this is the beauty of music, and specifically jazz—the blues only make it better.
I’ve read that the album was partly inspired by wanting to introduce these iconic songs to a younger audience. What are so timeless about these songs? What makes them age so well?
Tony Bennett: My ultimate hope was that all Gaga’s fans - and she is so immensely popular all over the world - would discover this music when they hear Lady singing it—she has a instinctive jazz sensibility. I don’t think of these songs as old songs—I think of them as masterpieces just like Rembrandt and Michelangelo. They don’t age; they just remain great art.
When you’re in the studio, how do you two kill time together? What do you do for fun between takes?
Lady Gaga: We talk a lot, we make sandwiches. There’s not a lot of time to kill as we’re usually singing or working no matter what. Tony sometimes paints while we’re singing, and writes me little notes. I read them and we talk about that in between. We also always talk about the records, what they mean, and how we want to perform them. We share stories like method actors, then we sing. Every moment that I’m with Tony is real, and all about the music.
How did you get acquainted with the music of George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, etc.? When/where did this music enter your lives?
Tony Bennett: I have been listening to the Great American Songbook, as I like to call it, all my life. I grew up in the Depression so there was not a lot of money and when you bought an album you had to make sure that it would appeal to everyone in the family, which is the beauty of this music—it appeals to all ages because it so finely crafted. I was fortunate that I had an uncle who was a dancer in vaudeville and then got a job working for a Broadway theatre in New York City, so he would get me into the theatre and I would stand in the back and see all the musicals. So I got exposed to all the popular standards, many of which were written for the stage.
What are your hopes for Cheek to Cheek? What will make this album a success to you?
Lady Gaga: My hopes are to spread jazz to as many young people as possible, to put a spotlight on the genre in an authentic way by honoring the composers and the music. I already see its success. 27,000 people in Israel sang “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” with me and Tony. That means something. I’m gonna hold onto that and replicate that moment as many times as possible.
Tony, what about Lady Gaga first piqued your interest? Why were you interested in working with her? What makes her a special singer?
Tony Bennett: She is absolutely unique and that is the mark of a true artist. She puts so much thought and effort into everything she does—when we recorded the album in the studio I saw her whispering to one of her staff and then in an hour they had brought in rugs and candles and transformed the studio space into this intimate living room setting.
Do you have a favorite song on the album? Which and why…
Tony Bennett: I just loved the way Lady sang “Lush Life” on the record - it was so intimate and personal and has such emotion to it—it was completely honest and to achieve great art you have to keep it honest.
What is your fondest memory from the Cheek to Cheek sessions? When you’re both older and reflect back on this album, what memory will you think of?
Lady Gaga: After I introduced Tony to the Brian Newman Quintet (my jazz guys from NYC that I’ve been singing with for almost 10 years) he invited them to compose some arrangements and perform on the album. It was Newman’s birthday one of the days we recorded. We were all in separate booths, Tony too, and he didn’t know but we were all crying, playing our instruments, playing, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and it was so honest, because truly it’s how we felt. We’d worked our whole lives for this moment, and we weren’t gonna give Tony Bennett any less than our best.
Buy your copy of 'Cheek To Cheek' for only $6.99 at Amazon Music and tonight at 9 P.M. EST, PBS will air Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek LIVE!.
