Lady Gaga reveals tattoo Tony Bennett sketched for her before his passing

New York, New York - As the world mourns the passing of legendary singer Tony Bennett, his friend and musical partner Lady Gaga revealed a tattoo he sketched for her back in 2014.

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga shared a close friendship.
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga shared a close friendship.  © Collage: IMAGO/Avalon.red/Everett Collection

Years before Tony Bennett passed away on July 21, he sketched a tattoo for Lady Gaga that will go down in history. Having collaborated on multiple records, the Poker Face star got a trumpet tattoo based on a sketch drawn by the man himself.

In 2014, the year she got the tattoo, the pair had collaborated on a jazz album called Cheek to Cheek, which debuted at number one. They then went on to release a second album in 2021, penned Love for Sale.

It was during the tour for the latter album that Bennett played his final gig with Lady Gaga, a full half-decade after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2016.

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Speaking to People Magazine in 2014 about Tony Bennett and her then-new trumpet tattoo, Gaga said she and the jazz singer had become "fast friends."

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett's collaborations started in style

The acclaimed jazz duo first joined forces for a charity event in 2011, where Lady Gaga sang Orange Colored Sky. Tony Bennett heard the performance and was impressed.

"Tony heard me sing it," she said a few years later, "and he asked to meet me. He said, 'Do you want to do a jazz album together?'"

After their final shows together in August 2021, Gaga spoke of their friendship, saying that their partnership "has changed me forever."

Lady Gaga got Tony Bennett to sketch her a trumpet, which she then got tattooed onto her arm.
Lady Gaga got Tony Bennett to sketch her a trumpet, which she then got tattooed onto her arm.  © imago/Everett Collection

Tony Bennett sketched Miles Davis' trumpet for Lady Gaga's tattoo

Coming off the heels of their first record together in 2014, amidst a flurry of shows, Gaga asked her long-time musical collaborator for a favor.

"I asked Tony to draw me a trumpet," Lady Gaga told People in 2014, "and he sketched me Miles Davis' trumpet. Then I had it tattooed with his name, Benedetto, underneath."

It's a tribute like no other, and one that Gaga may now look back on with bittersweet memories.

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga had a mutual appreciation for one another

The two stars' partnership was mutual, with Bennett showering Gaga with praise over the years and telling people she would one day become as popular as Elvis.

Speaking to ABC News in 2011, the legendary crooner said, "She's so spontaneous and improvised. Unlike any person I have ever met in the entertainment world, she changes from day to day."

Bennett's passing will likely be hard for Lady Gaga, who said in 2014 that "he has made me so happy in the way that I really needed to feel. He’s really, like, saved my life."

"He let me be free, and I get to be with him while I’m doing it, and he’s teaching me all these life lessons, and I’m singing music I’ve loved my whole life."

Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO/Avalon.red/Everett Collection

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