Tony Bennett has been battling Alzheimer’s disease for years, says family

Tony Bennett has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disorder but it hasn’t quieted his legendary voice.

The singer’s wife and son reveal in the most up-to-date edition of AARP The Journal that Bennett was 1st diagnosed with the irreversible neurological problem in 2016. The journal suggests he endures “progressively rarer times of clarity and consciousness.”

Still, he continues to rehearse and twice a 7 days goes through his ninety-minute set with his longtime pianist, Lee Musiker. The journal suggests he sings with ideal pitch and evident ease.

A beloved interpreter of American standards, Bennett’s chart-topping occupation spans 7 a long time. “He is not the previous Tony any more,” his wife, Susan, advised the journal. “But when he sings, he is the previous Tony.”

Bennett, 94, attained his 1st pop results in the early 1950s and liked a occupation revival in the 1990s and grew to become preferred with younger audiences in aspect simply because of an visual appeal on MTV Unplugged. He continued recording and touring continuously, and his 2014 collaboration with Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek, debuted at No. one on the Billboard charts.