Tony Bennett diagnosed with Alzheimer's
The legendary vocalist's diagnosis with the disease has just been revealed
Last updated 1st Feb 2021
Legendary vocalist Tony Bennett has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
The announcement, revealed in AARP, has just been made public, but the veteran singer was first diagnosed with the neurological disorder back in 2016. The magazine says he endures “increasingly rarer moments of clarity and awareness.”
However, this hasn't stopped the 94-year-old singer, as he continues to rehearse twice a week with his longtime pianist Lee Muskier and is able to maintain his perfect pitch and vocal ability.
Bennett first gained widespread success in the early 1950s and enjoyed a career revival in the 1990s, becoming popular with younger audiences in part because of an appearance on “MTV Unplugged.”
A beloved interpreter of American standards, Bennett’s chart-topping career spans a remarkable seven decades. “He’s not the old Tony anymore,” his wife, Susan, told the magazine. “But when he sings, he’s the old Tony.”
In 2019, Tony Bennett teamed up once again with Lady Gaga to record their new album. According to AARP, "In raw documentary footage of 2019 sessions, he speaks rarely, and when he does his words are halting; at times, he seems lost and bewildered".
Until recently, Bennett has continued recording and touring constantly, and his 2014 collaboration with Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts.