Luther Vandross he passed away in 2005, but not necessarily music from the R&B icon was available Friday — a cover of the beatlesThe 60’s hit “Michelle”.

Vandross’ close friend and vocal collaborator Fonzi Thornton discovered the tape after the singer’s death when he visited his family to search through his music archives, unseen videos, tapes, personal effects, stage costumes and more. He then moved the archives to a room in his apartment for safekeeping.

“I found two tapes labeled ‘Michelle’ in his writing – (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 luthered vocally and musically Thornton says. The Hollywood Reporter. “I played Luther’s version to Jeff James, A&R at Sony, and Dave Gottlieb, manager of the Vandross Estate, and they agreed it was such a revelation. We decided to save it until the right time – which is now.”

The release of “Michelle” coincides with the documentary film Vandross Luther: Never too muchwhich premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and open in select cities on November 1. The piece of 21 Never Too Much: The Greatest Hits The album will be released on December 13 and includes several 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 Award for Song of the Year at the 1967 show. Vandross’ soulful rendition is nearly seven minutes long and features his smooth and lush.

“This is something I was in the process of working on but never finished. I think Luther decided to put it aside to finish it later and I never got around to it. Even so, the majesty of Luther’s voice shines through. He uses every part of his voice so effortlessly and expertly – it never ceases to amaze me,” says Marcus Miller, his close friend and collaborator. THR. “And towards the end you can also hear the magic that Luther could create when he sings his own background vocals! He might have replaced them with his incredible team of background singers at one point – but he’s created something delicious here on his own. Another classic song was Lutherized!”

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

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

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

Luther: Never too muchdirected by award-winning filmmaker Dawn Porterexplores the storied career of the legendary singer as well as his struggles with sexuality and overeating. It comes almost 20 years after the eight-time Grammy winner died in 2005 aged 54 after suffering a stroke in 2003.

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