Tony Bennett's widow and son share late singer's final words
Susan Benedetto and Danny Bennett sat down for their first interview since the legendary singer died
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tony Bennett's son and widow shared the singer's final words to each of them during their first interview since the legendary musician passed away.
Bennett died July 21 at the age of 96, according to a post shared on the singer's Instagram page. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2016, but no official cause of death has been given.
"His last words to me (were), 'Thank you,'" Danny Bennett said during an appearance on the "Today" show. "Can’t say it better than that."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"That he loved me ... he would wake up every day and still say that," his widow Susan Benedetto recalled. "He woke up happy every day."
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Tony Bennett passed away on July 21. (Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
The performer also kept singing until the very end, and Benedetto revealed his final song was his very first hit, "Because of You." "The music never left him," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, his wife and son thought the singer would want to take a step back from the microphone but admitted he had other plans. "…Tony’s like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. You know, I wanna keep singing,’" Benedetto recalled.
Danny added, "We’d take him to the doctor and he’d go, 'What am I—why am I here?'
Tony Bennett's widow Susan Benedetto shared the late singer's final words to her. (Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Exploring the Arts)
"We would leave," Benedetto recalled, "and Tony’s like, 'Susan. I’m really okay. We don’t have to come back.'"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}During his nearly 70-year-long career, Bennett sold over 50 million records worldwide. At the time of his death, Celebrity Net Worth estimated his fortune to be approximately $200 million.
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Danny Bennett, left, served as Tony Bennett's manager during his father's decades-long career. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
Danny, who also served as his father's manager, recalled how he introduced Bennett's music to a younger generation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"He came into my office one time. And he said, 'I was watching MTV.' He goes, 'I think I can do that.' And then walked out," Danny recalled. "And I was like, all right."
"I put him on these shows that were, you know, 60,000 kids at RFK Stadium, between Nine Inch Nails and PJ Harvey," he added. "And, you know, it was a little nerve-wracking."
Tony Bennett performs at the Clinton Global Citizen Awards during the second day of the 2015 Clinton Global Initiative's Annual Meeting in New York City on Sept. 27, 2015. (Getty Images)
Some of the singer's most popular releases include "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," "Love for Sale," "Cheek to Cheek" and "Duets II."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}His final album, "Love for Sale," was recorded with his longtime friend and collaborator, Lady Gaga, and released in 2021. The album was actually the pair's second; Gaga recorded "Cheek to Cheek" with Bennett in 2014.
"Tony left us today but he was still singing the other day at his piano and his last song was, ‘Because of You,’ his first #1 hit," Bennett's family shared on Instagram at the time of his death. "Tony, because of you we have your songs in our heart forever."
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett perform on stage. (Getty Images)