Tony Bennett hoped he could help tragic Amy Winehouse beat her addictions.
A former addict himself, the legendary singer thought his advice might resonate with the troubled star, especially since it was the words of a showbiz expert that helped him turn his life around.
Tony met the late jazz diva when they recorded a cover version of Body And Soul for his standards album Duets II.
"I was trying to tell her, 'You have so much talent. Slow down on the drugs or it's going to kill you'. And then when I heard she died I couldn't stop crying. She was such a talent, so sweet,” he told LA Times. “I met Woody Allen's manager once and he told me he also had managed Lenny Bruce. I asked what he was like, and the manager said, 'He sinned against his talent.' That turned my whole life around."
Tony and Amy’s duet will now be released as a standalone single ahead of the official album launch.
The 85-year-old icon has vowed to donate all the proceeds of Body And Soul to the foundation Amy’s father is planning to open.
“What's going to happen is that we're putting that out ahead of the album,” Bennett said. "And it's going to a foundation that her father started to teach all the young children not to take drugs, and all the royalties of the record will go to that."
