Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett grace the cover of the newest issue of Ravinia Magazine, which is available for free to audience members at Ravinia, the oldest music festival in the United States. The issue features a beautiful interview the duo did ahead of their two sold-out shows at Ravinia Park, in which they reflect on the success of their album Cheek to Cheek and what the experience of working together has taught them.
Tony Bennett on meeting Gaga:
"I had never heard anything that she did, so after I finished performing, I went in to see what she was doing. She had a huge audience and I couldn't get over how much the public loved her. The reaction was so phenomenal, I thought, 'I've gotta go backstage and say hello to her.' So at the end of her show, I went backstage and her mother and her father were there. When she came out and I said, 'I'm Tony Bennett,' she said, 'Oh my God!' She was thrilled that I had come, and I said, 'You know, you went over so big! I never heard the public love somebody as much as they love you!' And she said, 'Oh, I would do anything to be able to sing with you.' So I said, 'Let's do an album together,' and she said, 'Good, let's do it.'"
Lady Gaga on the power of jazz music:
"They're hit songs and that's what happens These are the true American hits, and you can only pray and hope that your music will stay around as long as the classics. These songs are able to transcend the era they were created in and travel through time into the future and have a life of their own with new experiences and new people. I think this music is extremely powerful; it was created during an emotional time and it stands the test of time. Jazz music was created out of the suffering and the fury of the African-American people as they were struggling to be treated equally. Tony is also such a huge proponent of the civil rights movement, and he was such a major figure during all of that. What's nice to consider when we're at Ravinia and we're performing is that there's that extremely strong history, not just behind the repertoire, but with Tony himself. There is something that is extremely powerful and authentic, and the message is very, very strong still."
Lady Gaga on the Cheek to Cheek show:
"It's a really nice show that is 100 percent focused on the music and 100 percent focused on the relationship between me and Tony and our growth together as friends. I think it's going to be a fantastic show and I think that the people in Ravinia will really, really enjoy it. I'm always excited to connect with all the people that we get to meet in these different communities as we travel and to get to play them these classic records. It's an exciting experience; it's always new and it's always magical. Getting to see them light up as they watch Tony also makes me excited. More than anything, I hope they see the genuine exchange of love between Tony and me. I think it's extremely rare in today's industry for there to be a true, authentic collaboration. Tony and I just adore each other and we adore this music."
Lady Gaga on the success of Cheek to Cheek:
"It's always so exciting to sell records, especially an album that is bridging a 60-year gap between its partners, and I think this music touches just about everyone. Tony and I are just serving the composers and keeping this wonderful music alive. I'm serving Tony in honoring the years and years of dedication that he's had to this music. You have to remember that Tony was making jazz music right when rock 'n' roll was invented, and as soon as [that happened], jazz and its relationship with the public changed because of radio. It's very similar to the things that I deal with today as pop music changes from day to day. Tony had the same experience, so I like to think that it's extremely important that I show the world and my fans as much as possible what it means to have a heart and to be loyal and dedicated to your craft, to not be in it for the money or the fame, but to show them what it is to live a life of dedication to art and beauty, which is Tony Bennett. He really is an incredible man and I hope that my fan base [comes to understand] the power of passion that this man has displayed. And I hope that his fans see that my generation is able to conceive of that hard-working spirit, that ambition and that passion and to celebrate it.
Tony Bennett on working with Gaga:
"When they heard her sing, [they said] she's a great jazz singer! The way she sings, it's never going to sound old-fashioned! She's a great, spontaneous singer and she plays great jazz piano. She's had very good schooling and she knows what she's doing. She was just playing to little teeny boppers, but what I love is when [they picked up the album I did with her], those little teeny boppers had never heard swing music in their life. Those standards never get old, they get better every year! Now, working with Lady Gaga is twice as good as before. She has her audience, I have my audience, and together it's everybody. It's not about the young or the old; it's back to the audience being a family of all different ages."
Lady Gaga on working with Tony:
"Tony has taught me so much. I like people who like to get deep quickly, and I don't like to sit around on the surface for too long with anyone. Tony is just like me and he goes straight to a more emotional, lifechanging conversation. He's interested in touching people's lives, and so am I. He's been through so much. He shared so many amazing life stories with me— amazing stories like his friendship with Duke Ellington—and I'm just extremely honored. Working with Tony, I have realized how young I truly am and how much I have ahead of me. I felt so weary from the business, but he really helped to cure that in me with this music because I was instantly reawakened as my 14-year-old self singing these tunes, and I remembered why I got into music to begin with. Nobody can teach you how to sing jazz— you either got it or you don't. And I'll tell you something, if I couldn't sing jazz, he sure as hell wouldn't be singing with me. He would not have made an album with me. I have a lot of reverence for Tony and he's extremely important to me in my life."
You can read the full cover story by Andy Argyrakis at ravinia.org.