“Tony called me right after Cheek to Cheek came out and had gone No. 1,” Lady Gaga tells Apple Music, explaining the decision to follow up their successful duet album of Great American Songbook covers with an LP devoted solely to the music of Cole Porter. “He said, ‘I want to make this record with you, and it will be all Cole Porter songs,’ and I just thought it was a brilliant idea.” Gaga and Bennett breathe new life into some of Porter’s most timeless classics—“You’re the Top,” “Night and Day,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” and of course the heartbreaking title track.
Gaga takes a solo turn on “Do I Love You,” and as she tells it, Bennett provided her with the confidence to approach the recording booth alone: “Tony gave me the inspiration and permission to hold court in the studio again,” she says. “He reminded me that I am the artist.” But the real magic happens when the two come together. “I know he’s 95 years old, but I see a young boy every time I sing with him,” Gaga dotes. “It makes the experience so freeing to have two souls singing together.”