Lady Gaga Pays Tribute to Tony Bennett on What Would Have Been His 97th Birthday: 'A Day for Smiling'

"August 3rd is Tony Bennett Day," the pop singer wrote on Instagram

Lady Gaga hasn't stopped thinking about Tony Bennett since he died at 96 last month.

On Thursday, the "Bad Romance" singer took the time to pay tribute to the late jazz legend for what would have been his 97th birthday.

"Happy Birthday Tony. August 3rd is Tony Bennett Day. A day for smiling. But I’ll be celebrating you a lot more than once a year," Gaga, 37, wrote on Instagram. "I’ll celebrate you every time I’m on stage singing jazz music, every time I’m with your family, every time I walk down the streets of New York I’ll look around and remember all you did for this city and the whole world. 😘"

Alongside the caption, the singer posted three photos where she's seen sporting a black dress, black beret, sunglasses and a black purse while perched in front of a food cart.

Related: Lady Gaga Pays Tribute to Her 'Real True Friend' Tony Bennett: 'I Love You Tony'

In late July, Gaga shared another emotional tribute on Instagram dedicated to the late singer.

“I will miss my friend forever,” the pop star wrote, alongside a photo featuring the pair hugging in a dressing room.

“I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together," added Gaga about Bennett, who died on July 21 at the age of 96.

"With Tony, I got to live my life in a time warp. Tony & I had this magical power," she continued. "We transported ourselves to another era, modernized the music together, & gave it all new life as a singing duo. But it wasn’t an act. Our relationship was very real.”

She added that Bennett “showed me how to keep my spirits high and my head screwed on straight.”

“He was an optimist, he believed in quality work AND quality life. Plus, there was the gratitude...Tony was always grateful,” she shared, before detailing the personal milestones in Bennett’s life of him marching with Martin Luther King Jr. and serving in WWII.

“I've been grieving the loss of Tony for a long time. We had a very long and powerful goodbye,” Gaga continued. “Though there were 5 decades between us, he was my friend. My real true friend.”

Related: Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett's Friendship Through the Years

Gaga became “fast friends” with Bennett after they met when she performed at the Robin Hood Foundation charity gala in 2011.

"Ever since then, we've just been close," Bennett told PEOPLE in 2016 of their initial meeting. "We just love performing with one another.”

In 2011, he and Gaga collaborated for the first time on a cover of "The Lady Is a Tramp" from Babes in Arms for his album Duets II. Three years later, the duo released their first collaborative album, Cheek to Cheek.

Their final performance together was in Aug. 2021 at Radio City Music Hall with their “One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga” concert.

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