Now let's hear what one-time Saturday Night Live bandleader G.E. Smith has to say about the whole brouhaha:
Well, of course Smith is going to defend O'Connor. Those hedonistic show biz types all stick together. But what about the damage done to the Roman Catholic Church?
It somehow survived.
In fact, at times the Roman Catholic Church's survival skills are damn near miraculous.
For my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business. He excites me when I watch him. He moves me. He's the singer who gets across what the composer has in mind, and probably a little more.
--Frank Sinatra
I realized that young people had never heard those songs. Cole Porter, Gershwin—they were like, 'Who wrote that?' To them, it was different. If you're different, you stand out.
--Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett has not just bridged the generation gap, he has demolished it. He has solidly connected with a younger crowd weaned on rock. And there have been no compromises.
--The New York Times
I walked in and said, ''Well, Tony, here we are,'' and I dropped my robe, and I got into position. I felt shy and thought, ''It’s Tony Bennett. Why am I naked?''
--Lady Gaga. Done in conjunction with an Annie Leibovitz photo shoot for Vanity Fair (in which Gaga also appeared nude,) the charcoal drawing by "Benedetto" (Tony's birth name), eventually netted $30K at an auction, the proceeds going to two different charities, Gaga's Born This Way Foundation and Bennett's Exploring the Arts Foundation.
Of course, the drawing was hardly Bennett's and Gaga's only, or, for that matter, most well-known, collaboration....
She's America's answer to Picasso.
--Tony Bennett
I don’t know if I’m the new Picasso but I’m certainly twisted like his paintings.
--Lady Gaga
Tony called me Lady, but he talked to Stefani. The little girl in me that loved jazz sang with Tony Bennett. I know he called me Lady, but I know who his singing partner was: It was that little girl who loved jazz.
