Luther Vandross’ cover of The Beatles’ “Michelle” released

Luther Vandross died in 2005, but unreleased music from the R&B icon was made available Friday – a cover of the Beatles’ ’60s hit “Michelle.”

Vandross’ close friend and singing colleague Fonzi Thornton discovered the tape after the singer’s death while visiting his family to search through his music archives, unseen videos, tapes, personal items, stage costumes and more. He then moved the archives to a room in his apartment for safekeeping.

“I found two cassette tapes with “Michelle” written on them in his handwriting – [I had] No idea what it was [and then I] played it! “I realized it was a beautiful rendition of the Beatles classic that had been vocally and musically Lutheranized,” says Thornton The Hollywood Reporter. “I played Luther’s version for Jeff James, A&R at Sony, and Dave Gottlieb, manager of the Vandross Estate, and we agreed it was a real find. We decided to save it until the right time – now.”

The release of “Michelle” coincides with the Vandross documentary Luther: Never too muchwhich premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and opens in select cities on November 1st. The 21 track Never Too Much: Greatest Hits The album will be released on December 13th and contains additional unreleased songs and remixes as well as the singer’s popular hits such as “Here and Now”, “Endless Love” and “Power of Love/Love Power”.

The Beatles’ “Michelle,” written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, is about two and a half minutes long and won the Grammy for Song of the Year at the 1967 show. Vandross’ soulful rendition lasts nearly seven minutes and is characterized by his gentle and lush vocals.

“We were working on that but never finished it. I think Luther decided to put it away to finish later and we never got around to it. Still, the magnificence of Luther’s voice shines through. “He uses every part of his voice so effortlessly and skillfully – it never ceases to amaze me,” says Marcus Miller, his close friend and collaborator THR. “And towards the end you also hear the magic that Luther was able to create when he sang his own backing vocals! He might have replaced them at some point with his incredible team of backing singers – but he’s created something delicious here all by himself. Another classic song has been Lutherized!”

Thornton, who appears in the documentary alongside Miller, Mariah Carey, Nile Rodgers and documentary producer Jamie Foxx, says Vandross “once mentioned that he liked the way ‘Michelle’ was written.”

“He had praised Sarah Vaughan’s version but never mentioned that he had recorded the song. I thought it was an experiment in his quest to do one classic love song per album like “A House Is Not A Home” or “Always and Forever”. “Funnily enough, none of his musicians or engineers remember ever recording this,” he adds.

Vandross began his career as a background singer for Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler and David Bowie. He released his double platinum debut album, Never too muchin 1981 and sold 40 million albums worldwide. Most of his albums – most of which he produced himself – achieved platinum or double platinum status.

Luther: Never too muchDirected by award-winning filmmaker Dawn Porter, it explores the legendary singer’s rich career as well as his struggles with his sexuality and overeating. It comes nearly 20 years after the eight-time Grammy winner died in 2005 at the age of 54 after suffering a stroke in 2003.

The documentary will premiere next year on CNN, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and Max.