As Anderson Cooper reported this week on 60 Minutes, music legend Tony Bennett is in the throes of Alzheimer's disease. On any given day, the 95-year-old may forget a lot about his past life. He likely won't recall the stories behind the photos that fill his New York City apartment, not the ones with Frank Sinatra or Rosemary Clooney, not even the one with Bob Hope — the man who gave Anthony Dominick Benedetto his new stage name: Tony Bennett.
But when Bennett hears that music, the soundtrack that has accompanied more than seven decades of American life, the singer that millions have come to know, returns.
When Cooper and the 60 Minutes crew arrived at Bennet's New York City apartment this summer, they witnessed the metamorphosis in real-time. Bennett was rehearsing for his final big performance: two sold-out nights at Radio City Music Hall in August. He would be performing with his friend and collaborator, Lady Gaga.
When it came to an interview, Bennett's wife, Susan, had to do most of the talking. She is grateful, she told Cooper, that her husband still recognizes her and knows his children. He maintains a genial demeanor and a fondness for the memories he does have, especially those of his mother, Anna. But he has trouble holding a conversation and remembering where he is.
That is, until his accompanist, Lee Musiker, began playing a few notes of "Watch What Happens," a song Bennett has been singing since 1965. He energetically walked out into the living room, gave a thumbs up to the cameras, and began singing.