March 23, 2011. Abbey Road Studios.
Amy Winehouse is pacing. She’s terrified. She is about to record with Tony Bennett, a man she grew up idolizing, and she thinks she’s going to blow it. Honestly, if you watch the footage from that day, you can see the sheer vulnerability in her eyes. It’s a far cry from the defiant, beehived powerhouse who owned the charts a few years prior. This was the session for Amy Winehouse Body and Soul, a duet that would unknowingly become her final studio recording before her death just four months later.
It wasn't just a song. It was a goodbye.
What happened at Abbey Road?
When Amy arrived at the studio, she wasn't in a good place. Her health was brittle, and her confidence was basically non-existent. She kept stopping. She told Tony, "I don't want to waste your time." She was worried she sounded "terrible." Imagine being one of the greatest vocalists of your generation and feeling like a fraud in front of an 84-year-old crooner.
Tony Bennett, being the absolute class act he was, didn't get annoyed. He didn't check his watch. Instead, he started talking to her about Dinah Washington. He told her she had that same "spirit."
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The shift was instant.
Amy’s face lit up—Dinah was her goddess. That connection, that simple acknowledgment of her jazz roots, was what she needed to relax. They finally nailed the take. What we hear on the track is a raw, syncopated, and deeply "honest" performance. Tony later said she was a "natural jazz singer" in the vein of Billie Holiday. He wasn't exaggerating for PR; he truly saw the old soul trapped in a struggling 27-year-old body.
The legacy of a jazz standard
Amy Winehouse Body and Soul isn't a pop song. It’s a 1930s jazz standard written by Johnny Green with lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, and Frank Eyton. Everyone from Coleman Hawkins to Ella Fitzgerald has touched it. It’s the "measuring rod" for jazz musicians.
By choosing this specific track for his Duets II album, Bennett gave Amy the chance to prove she belonged in that pantheon. And she did.
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The song was released on September 14, 2011. That would have been Amy’s 28th birthday. It was a bittersweet moment for fans worldwide. Hearing her voice—so rich and full of that signature "dusty" tone—while knowing she was gone felt like receiving a letter from the beyond.
Why the Grammy win mattered
In 2012, the song won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. It was Amy’s sixth Grammy. Her parents, Mitch and Janis, accepted it on her behalf. Mitch’s speech was gut-wrenching. He mentioned that Amy should have been there, and he gave a nod to Whitney Houston, who had passed away just a day before the ceremony.
It solidified a few things:
- Amy’s talent was undeniable even when she was at her lowest.
- The "jazz world" fully embraced her as one of their own.
- The proceeds from the single went straight to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, helping young people struggling with addiction.
What most people get wrong
There’s a common misconception that Amy was "out of it" during the recording. If you look at the raw footage from the Amy documentary (2015), you see the opposite. She was sober, she was sharp, and she was incredibly self-critical. She cared too much. That’s the tragedy. She wasn't some lost cause walking through the motions; she was an artist who felt every note and feared she wasn't living up to the history of the music she loved.
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Tony Bennett often lamented after her death that he wished he’d spoken to her more about his own past struggles with substance abuse. He’d "taken a left" himself when he was younger. He thought he could have helped her navigate the madness.
The technical side of the track
Musically, the song is a masterpiece of restraint.
- The Phrasing: Amy doesn't follow the beat; she dances around it. That's pure jazz.
- The Tone: Her voice is slightly thinner than it was during the Back to Black era, but it carries a weight that is impossible to fake.
- The Interaction: You can hear the mutual respect. They aren't trying to out-sing each other. They are listening.
How to appreciate the song today
If you want to really "get" why this recording is so special, don't just stream it on a loop.
- Watch the session footage: Look for the moment she smiles after Tony mentions Dinah Washington. It’s the most "real" she looks in years.
- Listen to the Coleman Hawkins 1939 version: Then listen to Amy’s. You’ll see how she pulled from the history of the tenor sax, not just other singers.
- Support the Foundation: Knowing that her final work continues to fund drug rehabilitation centers makes the listening experience feel purposeful.
The recording of Amy Winehouse Body and Soul remains a haunting final chapter. It’s a reminder that beneath the tabloids and the beehive, there was a girl who just wanted to be good enough for the music.
To fully understand the impact of this collaboration, listen to the track on a high-quality audio system or through studio headphones. Pay close attention to the bridge, where Amy's voice breaks slightly on the higher notes—it's those "imperfections" that Tony Bennett argued made her one of the most honest performers he ever worked with. You can also visit the Amy Winehouse Foundation website to see how the royalties from this specific track are still being used to fund music therapy programs for at-risk youth today.