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AboutTony Bennett and Lady Gaga first met backstage in 2011 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 upcoming album. The two recorded "The Lady Is a Tramp" for his Grammy Award-winning album, Duets II, and subsequently rumors arose of a jazz album from them. 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 par with jazz musicians like George Gershwin or Cole Porter, he has had several hits to his name. Swing band and Grammy-award nominated songwriter/composer Marion Evans was also under consideration for collaborating on the album with Bennett confirming recording sessions to start soon.
On January 8, 2013, Evans, who arranged "The Lady Is a Tramp", 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, Lady 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 explained to The Daily Telegraph that with her earlier releases like The Fame (2008), The Fame Monster (2009) and Born This Way (2011), she could not achieve her full vocal potential. So Cheek to Cheek was a "rebellious" and "liberating" album for her, since she could sing in her real voice, without worrying about record producers engineering it for radio.
Bennett said that Gaga had written an original song for the album titled "Paradise". There would also be solo songs from each artist, along with the duets, though Gaga later clarified that the album would consist solely of 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)", "Sophisticated Lady", "Lush Life", and the title track, "Cheek to Cheek". In an interview with French newspaper La Presse, Bennett said:
I do not understand why [Gaga] had to make contemporary music! When she sings great standards, she does it with such emotion... It will surprise people by the quality of her voice when making quality songs. We sing a duet again on the album, but also separately. With this album, I think she will become bigger than Elvis Presley! Of course we recorded the album in New York. As the saying goes: 'If you can make it in New York, you'll make it anywhere.
On January 8, 2013, Evans, who arranged "The Lady Is a Tramp", 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, Lady 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 explained to The Daily Telegraph that with her earlier releases like The Fame (2008), The Fame Monster (2009) and Born This Way (2011), she could not achieve her full vocal potential. So Cheek to Cheek was a "rebellious" and "liberating" album for her, since she could sing in her real voice, without worrying about record producers engineering it for radio.
Bennett said that Gaga had written an original song for the album titled "Paradise". There would also be solo songs from each artist, along with the duets, though Gaga later clarified that the album would consist solely of 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)", "Sophisticated Lady", "Lush Life", and the title track, "Cheek to Cheek". In an interview with French newspaper La Presse, Bennett said:
I do not understand why [Gaga] had to make contemporary music! When she sings great standards, she does it with such emotion... It will surprise people by the quality of her voice when making quality songs. We sing a duet again on the album, but also separately. With this album, I think she will become bigger than Elvis Presley! Of course we recorded the album in New York. As the saying goes: 'If you can make it in New York, you'll make it anywhere.
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