Elton John was last minute addition to Dionne Warwick hit

10 May 2019

Dionne Warwick asked Sir Elton John to feature on her 1985 charity single 'That's What Friends Are For' at the last minute.

Dionne Warwick

The 78-year-old R&B legend - who is Whitney Houston's cousin - opened up about her hit cover of the Grammy-award winning song, which featured Warwick, Elton, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder, and admitted that she ran into the 'Rocketman' singer in Beverly Hills and asked him to come into the studio the next day to record it.

She said: "I said, 'I'm recording tomorrow and I need you.' That's how simple it was."

The 'That's What Friends Are For' cover - which was billed as being by 'Dionne & Friends' - was released to raise awareness for amFAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research, and the star confessed that the idea came from Elizabeth Taylor, who also attended the recording session.

She added: "Elizabeth felt the song could be an anthem to help get the point across about the need for help, and also to help get amFAR up and running."

The song was originally recorded in 1982 by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack of the film 'Night Shift'.

Meanwhile, the 'Walk on By' hitmaker - who is the most charted female vocalist with 69 singles making the Billboard Hot 100 between 1955 and 1999 - is releasing her 36th full-length studio album 'She's Back' next Friday (17.05.19), and admitted that she "loves" performing and recording in the studio and has no intention of "slowing down" her music career.

She told PEOPLE.com: "I don't know what it means to slow down. I love what I do. I don't consider it work. It's just an extension of me."

And Warwick insisted that she will always "do her part" for AIDS research because she lost her own valet to the condition.

She continued: "I'm still involved with the AIDS issue. I lost my valet to AIDS and that was long before we knew what it was.

"We lost so many people, especially within our industry, hairdressers, makeup people, cameramen, lighting people, so many in the areas that revolved around my profession. I will continue to do my part as long as it's around."