The family of iconic crooner Tony Bennett revealed in a recent interview that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The 94-year-old singer’s family sat down with AARP Magazine as he prepares another duet album with Lady Gaga.

Bennett was originally diagnosed with the progressive brain disease back in 2016 by neurologist Gayatri Devi, M.D. However, Devi stated that “He is doing so many things, at 94, that many people without dementia cannot do. He really is the symbol of hope for someone with a cognitive disorder.”

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While Bennett and his family have suffered in silence these past four years, they decided to speak up in an effort to destigmatize the disease. While the interview mainly focuses on Bennett’s wife and children and the struggles of having a family member afflicted by the disease, the singer attached a statement to the article saying, “Life is a gift – even with Alzheimer’s. Thank you to Susan and my family for their support, and AARP The Magazine for telling my story.”

In spite of his diagnosis, Bennett remains hard at work on a new duet album with Lady Gaga. A sequel to the pair’s 2014 smash-hit album Cheek to Cheek, this new collection of duets is due out in spring. Just like Bennett’s family, Lady Gaga—born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta—has faced new challenges in interacting with the singer.

A stirring passage of the AARP interview reads,

In raw documentary footage of the sessions, he speaks rarely, and when he does his words are halting; at times, he seems lost and bewildered. Gaga, clearly aware of his condition, keeps her utterances short and simple (as is recommended by experts in the disease when talking to Alzheimer’s patients). “You sound so good, Tony,” she tells him at one point. “Thanks,” is his one-word response. She says that she thinks “all the time” about their 2015 tour. Tony looks at her wordlessly. “Wasn’t that fun every night?” she prompts him. “Yeah,” he says, uncertainly. The pain and sadness in Gaga’s face is clear at such moments — but never more so than in an extraordinarily moving sequence in which Tony (a man she calls “an incredible mentor, and friend, and father figure”) sings a solo passage of a love song. Gaga looks on, from behind her mic, her smile breaking into a quiver, her eyes brimming, before she puts her hands over her face and sobs.

Bennett’s wife of the past 14 years, Susan Benedetto (Tony’s real last name), also sat down for an interview with CBS This Morning‘s Gayle King to discuss how music is still the center of his life.

Read the full interview with the Bennett family in AARP Magazine.