Tony Bennett’s Widow Susan Benedetto Reveals The Final Tune He Sang

It was a entire circle minute for Tony Bennett right before he died very last month at the age of 96.

The legendary crooner experienced been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s ailment in 2016, but his widow, Susan Benedetto, mentioned he remembered his tracks.

“He could do that,” she explained to TODAY’s Hoda Kotb in an job interview with one particular of Bennett’s 4 young children, son Danny Bennett, that aired Aug. 3.

Benedetto, who married Bennett in 2007 after conference him at one of his concerts in 1985, also said he sang a single of his earliest hits a couple days ahead of his demise.

“He sang ‘Because of You.’ We were finding him up to physical exercise, and so it was effortless to just latch on to the piano,” she reported.

“And I said, ‘Ton, why really do not you get up and you can sing?’ You know, any excuse to just get him up. I claimed, ‘Why do not you sing?’ He’s like, ‘What do you want to listen to?’ I explained, ‘How about singing “Because of You”?’ So he sang ‘Because of You.’

“Literally, that was the previous track he sang, yeah,” she included.

“Because of You” appeared on Bennett’s 1952 debut album of the exact same name and assisted set up him as a well-liked singer.

Benedetto reported the point that that was the final tune represents a variety of balance.

“Well, of class, it bookends his profession, if you believe just musically talking. That was his initially strike. And then that was virtually just the very last song that he sang. So the music never remaining him,” she claimed.

“And when he did have more alert times, or, like, 1st factor in the morning, he didn’t request genuinely about any individual or anything other than, ‘Am I performing tonight?’ And the other working day he’s like, ‘Susan, am I in a great theater tonight?’ He’d say stuff like that.”

Benedetto also recalled how they viewed YouTube films with a health aide to train him about Bennett, who would acquire 20 Grammy Awards in his profession.

“And Tony was warn plenty of that he’s like viewing. And he reported, ‘Was I often well known?’ And I stated, ‘Yes, sweetheart.’ I said, ‘You’ve been well-liked for above 70 a long time.’ And he stated, ‘That’s because I stayed with quality.’”

Benedetto also shared Bennett’s final terms to her.

“That he beloved me,” she reported. “Yeah. He would wake up every working day and nevertheless say that. He woke up delighted each individual working day. Even if he experienced had a lousy day or evening, he didn’t don’t forget it. That was the only blessing. He woke up satisfied. And he’s just like, ‘Susan. You are the ideal matter that at any time occurred to me.’ And he would say that to me all the time.”

While Bennett leaves powering a legacy as a famous artist whose enthusiast foundation spans generations, Benedetto reported he wished to be known for something else.

“He didn’t want to be remembered as the greatest. He just actually wished to be remembered as a great person,” she explained.

“And I feel all of the outpouring of adore from people today that we know and like and entire strangers has proven that. People today come to feel like they’ve misplaced a family members mate, even if they never ever satisfied him. And, you know, when he sang, he really believed what he was singing.”

When requested what getting rid of Bennett usually means to her, Benedetto claimed it’s incalculable.

“Well, I signify, the apparent point is to say anything,” she claimed. “I missing my North Star. But no cause to truly feel undesirable for me, although, mainly because my lifetime has been superb. And I’ll obtain a way to make confident it stays that way. It’ll just be distinct eternally.”