Tony Bennett is battling Alzheimer's disease.
Tony Bennett
The legendary singer has kept his battle with the progressive condition a secret for four years, but his wife Susan Benedetto has revealed just why they kept the battle secret for so long.
Of her husband, she shared: "He always likes to say he's in the business of making people feel good. And so he never wanted the audience to know if he had a problem. But, obviously, you know, as long, you know, as things have progressed, it becomes more and more obvious when you interact with Tony that there's something up. And so it just seemed like now was the right time."
And Susan believes music is "saving" her husband Tony.
Speaking about his prognosis, she added to CBS This Morning's Gayle King: "Obviously, with COVID, things have gotten a little worse. But there's - I mean, again, who knows? But according to his doctor, there's no reason to think that he will drastically decline. His greatest therapy is singing. It's when he's most lucid. He's recorded a series of mini concerts from his home. He still remembers every word. He's devoted his whole life to the great American song book. And now, the song book is saving him. No cue cards. He sings for about an hour or 75 minutes, sings the whole show, because if somebody calls up and says, 'Hey, there's a theatre. And you can come sing,' he'll be ready."
Tony first revealed his diagnosis in an interview with AARP magazine.
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