Tony Bennett has retired from performing.
The 95-year-old star performed two sold-out shows with Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall in New York last week, but his son and manager Danny Bennett has revealed he’s now decided to quit performing.
Danny – who has been his dad’s manager for more than four decades – told Variety: “There won’t be any additional concerts. This was a hard decision for us to make, as he is a capable performer. This is, however, doctors’ orders.”
The legendary singer was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, and his wife Susan implored Tony to step back from performing.
Danny explained: “His continued health is the most important part of this, and when we heard the doctors – when Tony’s wife, Susan heard them – she said, ‘Absolutely not.’
“He’ll be doing other things, but not those upcoming shows. It’s not the singing aspect but, rather, the travelling. Look, he gets tired. The decision is being made that doing concerts now is just too much for him.
“We don’t want him to fall on stage, for instance – something as simple as that.”
Danny insisted he’s not worried about his dad’s singing capabilities.
Instead, he’s concerned for Tony’s “physical” health.
He shared: “We’re not worried about him being able to sing. We are worried, from a physical stand poi … about human nature. Tony’s 95.”
Despite this, Danny has insisted that Tony’s illness hasn’t hindered his on-stage performances in recent years.
He said: “He has short-term memory loss. That, however, does not mean that he doesn’t still have all this stored up inside of him. He doesn’t use a Teleprompter. He never misses a line. He hits that stage, and goes.
“Tony may not remember every part of doing that show. But, when he stepped to the side of the stage, the first thing he told me was: ‘I love being a singer.'”