Tony Bennett's wife and son pay tribute to his life and legacy in a heartwarming post

Tony Bennett's family paid a special tribute to the singer following his death on July 21. His wife, Susan Benedetto, and son, Danny Bennett said that his legacy would live through the music that he "delighted in performing," reports TODAY. The legendary jazz singer died on Friday at the age of 96. As of now, no cause of death was given, however, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016. 

His wife and son shared a picture of him performing at Radio City Music Hall on his 95th birthday on August 3, 2021, and wrote an Instagram post in his honor. "Thank you to all the fans, friends, and colleagues of Tony's who celebrated his life and humanity and shared their love of him and his musical legacy. From his first performances as a singing waiter in Queens to his last performances in 2021 at Radio City Music Hall, Tony delighted in performing the songs he loved and making people happy. And as sad as today has been for all of us we can find joy in Tony's legacy forever." 

The family announced his death on Friday, on Instagram and mentioned the song he sang last before he passed away. They wrote, "Tony left us today, but he was still singing the other day at his piano and his last song was, "Because of You," his first #1 hit. Tony, because of you we have your songs in our hearts forever." 

Tony Bennett and Benedetto married each other in 2007. They first met when she was 19 years old and backstage at one of his concerts, Bennett wrote in his book, "Just Getting Started." "It tickled me that someone of her age was so devoted to my music," Bennett writes. "I not only agreed to say hello to her backstage but asked her to be my date for the evening, and that's how it all really began, foreshadowed by a backstage photo taken in 1966!" according to PEOPLE.

According to CBS News, Bennett's first big, "Because of You," sold more than 1 million copies. His son and manager, Danny, said, "He didn't bridge the generation gap, he destroyed it." Talking about his dad, he said that despite having Alzheimer's, he stayed connected to the songs that he loved. "I'll share something typical with Alzheimer's. The person will go in and out, and he would have times when he was alert and other times when he wasn't, and he was with Susan, his wonderful wife, and he said, 'Susan, was I always popular?' And she said, 'Yeah, of course you were.' He said, 'Good, because I stayed with quality.'"

Danny said that his father took inspiration from instrumentals. "Tony's line was: Listen, if you copy one person, you're a thief. If you're copying many, he says, you're doing research," he said. "I mean, the secret: Tony emulated saxophone players. It was instrumental. That's where he got his inspiration, through the musicians."

"I think Tony took songs that a lot of people knew, and he put such personality into them, he put such a depth of feeling," said NPR host Scott Simon, who co-wrote his book "Just Getting Started." "He had a great voice, but he also had a kind of, you know, a rasp in it that was almost like you could… you could hear somebody making the station announcements on the number 7 train."