Cheek to Cheek is the first collaborative album by American singers Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, released on September 19, 2014, by Columbia, Streamline and Interscope Records. The two first met at the Robin Hood Foundation gala in New York City in 2011, and later recorded a rendition of "The Lady Is a Tramp" together, after which they began discussing plans of working on a jazz project. Cheek to Cheek consists of jazz standards by popular composers such as George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and Irving Berlin. It was inspired by Bennett and Gaga's desire to introduce the songs to a younger generation, since they believed these tracks have a universal appeal.
In January 2013, the album was announced by both artists and started its recording process after Gaga recovered from a hip surgery. It was recorded in New York City, where Bennett and Gaga were accompanied by a live band and jazz musicians associated with both artists. Gaga deviated from her previous contemporary pop albums as she wanted instead to create a jazz record. The release date of the album was delayed multiple times, and the final date was announced by Bennett and Gaga on The Today Show. The full-length track listing and cover artwork was released thereafter, including the track lists for many alternate editions. The artists promoted Cheek to Cheek through multiple performances in and around New York, a behind-the-scenes program detailing the recording of the album on the Home Shopping Network (HSN), and a televised concert titled Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek Live!, which aired on PBS in October 2014. The album was preceded by the release of two singles: "Anything Goes" and "I Can't Give You Anything but Love", which both reached number one on Billboards Jazz Digital Songs Chart in the United States.
Cheek to Cheek received generally positive reviews upon release, with critics praising the vocal chemistry between Bennett and Gaga. At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, the album won Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Cheek to Cheek debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with 131,000 copies sold in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan, and has since sold 773,000 copies in the United States. The album became Bennett's second number-one album and Gaga's third consecutive number-one in the US; Gaga became the first female artist in the country to have three number-one albums in the 2010s decade, while Bennett extended his record as the oldest artist to achieve a number-one album on the chart. The album also reached the top ten in Australia, Canada, Greece, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The duo's second collaborative album, Love for Sale, was released on September 30, 2021.
Background In 2011, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga first met after she had performed a rendition of Nat King Cole's "Orange Colored Sky" at the Robin Hood Foundation gala in New York City. Bennett then asked Gaga to sing a duet with him on his album Duets II, and the pair recorded "The Lady Is a Tramp" for the album. In September 2012, Bennett confirmed to Rolling Stone that Gaga wanted to record a jazz album with him and there was a well-known composer associated with the project, and although not on a par with songwriters like George Gershwin or Cole Porter, he had had several hits to his name. Swing band and composer Marion Evans was also under consideration for collaborating on the album; Bennett confirmed recording sessions would start soon after.
In January 2013, Evans confirmed that he would have a fairly significant part in the making of the album, stating "I don't know at this point exactly how many songs will be on the CD, but I'm sure we'll have about four or five different-sized orchestras or bands. It'll turn into a giant panic, I can assure you. That's just how this business is." Later that month, Gaga, after her performance with Bennett at the final inaugural ball of President Obama's second inauguration, announced the album formally through her Twitter. "And here's me and my handsome date, I simply cannot wait for our album together, he's my darling!" she wrote as a caption for a photo tweeted of the pair, along with revealing the title of the album as Cheek to Cheek.
In September 2013, Bennett explained that for the album, they recorded "all great standards, quality songs; George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, songs like that. With a big swingin' band and great, great, jazz artists playing." He told Chicago Tribune that his main intention of recording the album with Gaga was to introduce the jazz standards to a younger audience, believing that the tracks had a "universal appeal" and "timeless quality" about them. Gaga told The Daily Telegraph that with her earlier releases like The Fame (2008), The Fame Monster (2009), and Born This Way (2011), she felt unable to achieve her full vocal potential. She described Cheek to Cheek as a "rebellious" and "liberating" album for her because she was able to sing without worrying about record producers engineering it for radio.
Bennett said that Gaga had written an original song for the album titled "Paradise". It also contained solo performances along with the duets; Gaga later clarified that the album contained only standards. The songs were handpicked by Bennett and Gaga; they selected tracks from the Great American Songbook including "Anything Goes", a Porter song, "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" and "Sophisticated Lady" by Duke Ellington, "Lush Life" by Billy Strayhorn, and the title track by Berlin.
Recording and composition Although the project was in development and discussions were taking place as early as September 2012, the recording did not start until the Spring of 2013, being delayed by Gaga's hip surgery and cancellation of her Born This Way Ball tour. The recording took place over a year in New York City, and featured jazz musicians associated with both artists. Bennett's quartet was present, including Mike Renzi, Gray Sargent, Harold Jones and Marshall Wood as well as pianist Tom Lanier. Along with Evans, jazz trumpeter Brian Newman, a longtime friend and colleague of Gaga, played on the album with his New York City based jazz quintet. Tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano and flautist Paul Horn were also enlisted as musicians.
According to Gaga, Bennett wanted her to sing different songs and was impressed by her vocals during "Lush Life", referring to the Billy Strayhorn–written standard that has been recorded by everyone from Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan to Donna Summer and Linda Ronstadt. Gaga explained that she was nervous about recording with Bennett. "I just wanted him to hear I have an authentic jazz voice and that I studied that... If he can hear that, I'm okay. If he can't hear it, I'm not an authentic jazz voice", she added. Inspiration for singing came from jazz singer Amy Winehouse, who died in July 2011; Gaga added, "I thought of her almost every day in the studio. I wish she was still here. She was jazz to her core". The songs were recorded live with the band, and during the recording process Gaga asked for carpets to be placed on the studio floor, so that it looked like a film set and it could be photographed.
In Cheek to Cheek, Gaga sings solo on "Lush Life", "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" and "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye", while Bennett's solo includes "Don't Wait Too Long" and "Sophisticated Lady". According to Gaga, "Lush Life" and "Sophisticated Lady" complemented each other; for Bennett, the complement came from the fact that Duke Ellington wrote "Sophisticated Lady" and later collaborated with Strayhorn for "Lush Life". Gaga sang "Lush Life" in her school choir, but it was only later she understood the lyrical interpretation of the track, about failure and heartache. While recording Cheek to Cheek she was emotionally upset about her professional and personal conflicts encountered during the Artpop era; Bennett had to support and guide her through the process. Newman recalled that "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" was recorded during the taping of the duo's show at Lincoln Center. Gaga had informed the musicians about performing the song, and piano player Alex Smith made the necessary musical arrangements the night before the concert. They did not rehearse it, and recorded it live when Gaga performed the song in front of the audience.
The first song, "Anything Goes", was recorded by Bennett for his 1959 collaboration with Count Basie and his Orchestra, Strike Up the Band, and Gaga first came to know about it when she was 13 years old. Gaga thought that "Anything Goes" was a funny track with a "real sexy, powerful vibe to it, and it's just because we're having fun singing it." The version on Cheek to Cheek finds Bennett and Gaga swapping the lyrics between themselves, and was described by Bobby Olivier, from The Star-Ledger, as "smooth as silk". The syllables are pronounced strongly by Gaga in syncopation while her vibrato complemented Bennett's characteristic jazz vocals and swing. Olivier added, "Gaga's voice, when stripped of its bells and whistles, showcases a timelessness that lends itself well to the genre." "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" was written in 1928 by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields for the Broadway revue Blackbirds of 1928. The version on Cheek to Cheek opens with the sound of high-hat and an electronic organ. Gaga alters the lyrics to sing "Gee, I'd like to say you're looking swell, Tony", who later rejoins with the line "Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, Gaga". "Nature Boy" was first released as a single in 1948 by Cole, and it became a commercial success for him. Written by eccentric songwriter eden ahbez, the song about a "strange enchanted boy" features instrumentation from flutes and drums, and has an orchestral arrangement. A loungier version, Gaga sings in a Liza Minnelli inspired voice with a breathy range, followed by Bennett complimenting her with the story of meeting the titular character.
Release and artwork
On December 12, 2013, Bennett revealed to CNN that the album's release was delayed and the final release date was confirmed as March 18, 2014. Edna Gunderson from USA Today reported that the album had been delayed and was expected to be released in late 2014. Later in April 2014, during the Museum of the Moving Image's salute to Kevin Spacey, Bennett told a reporter that the album would be released during September. On July 29, 2014, Bennett and Gaga appeared on The Today Show to formally announce their collaboration and confirmed the final release date in the US as September 23, 2014. The album was first released in Australia and Germany on September 19, 2014. Bennett told Billboard that they were also inspired by Porter's 1936 musical, Red, Hot and Blue, for a possible sequel to Cheek to Cheek. He wanted to see how Cheek to Cheek fared after its release, but Gaga wanted to start working on the collaboration "right away". Bennett added: "we're gonna do two albums in a row with her. We'll have to try and do that as soon as possible, just as a follow-up for a second album."
Photographer Steven Klein shot the album covers, and was responsible for the artistic ideas behind the packaging of the release. He also developed the cover art for "Anything Goes". On August 18, 2014, Gaga revealed the album's official cover art, photographed by Klein. She said the image was taken while she and Bennett were "just standing there talking, laughing, singing". For the standard edition, Bennett and Gaga are shown in a New York newspaper with the album name atop the image, while the deluxe edition just features the same image. Gaga's look with her massive black curls in the image was compared by Kirthana Ramisetti from New York Daily News to singer Cher's character in the 1987 American romantic comedy Moonstruck.