The Diagnosis That Tony Bennett Struggled With For Years

After keeping it secret for years, Tony Bennett finally made a startling revelation about his health towards the end of his life, And the news devastated his fans. The life-changing illness threatened to end a legendary career that had lasted for six successful decades. Speaking alongside his wife, Susan Crow, the music legend opened up about the diagnosis and how it had completely changed their lives.

A long-held secret

Remarkably, Bennett and his wife managed to keep their struggle secret since 2016. This was most likely due to the veteran singer’s ability to put on an incredible performance, regardless of his health. And despite being 94 years old in 2021, he was nevertheless preparing to release a second album with pop queen Lady Gaga.

Collaborating with Gaga

Gaga first realized her talent for jazz vocals when the duo sang “The Lady Is a Tramp” together on Bennett’s collaborative album, Duets II in 2011. As he told AARP magazine, the pop star couldn’t believe that jazz royalty like Bennett recognized her flair for music. “The fact that Tony sees me as a natural-born jazz singer is still something that I haven’t gotten over,” Gaga said.

Teaming up

The pair went on to record Cheek to Cheek in 2014, which was a whole album of classic jazz standards that hit number one on Billboard magazine’s Top 200 pop and rock chart. The surprising yet undisputed success of this collaboration between two very different stars led to another joint album. Owing to Gaga’s multiple projects and Bennett’s growing health concerns, though, the release got pushed back until the spring of 2021.

Decades of success

The fact that Bennett was recording music well into his nineties, in spite of his life-changing diagnosis, is remarkable. But then, he was one remarkable person. The iconic singer collected 20 Grammy Awards, won a Lifetime Achievement Award, and sold over 50 million records globally. Bennett was even described as “the best singer in the business” by Frank Sinatra. High praise, indeed.