Chaka Khan recalls the time she met Amy Winehouse: 'She stole my heart!'
Chaka Khan was reminded of herself when she met Amy Winehouse and was humbled when the late 'Back to Black' legend spoke of how she had inspired her music.
Chaka Khan saw a lot of her younger self in Amy Winehouse.
The 71-year-old funk singer met the late Amy - who died in 2011 at the age of just 27 following years of addiction struggles - and recalled that the 'Back to Black' legend "stole her heart" and was reminded of herself in her younger years.
She told The Saturday Times: "I met her once in Jamaica and she stole my heart. Amy came right over to me and sat on my lap. I said, ‘This girl reminds me of me when I was in my early twenties.’ She was a little bit inebriated, having a good time, and we just opened up. She told me that I had a great deal to do with how she turned out musically.
"That made me feel like I was doing the right thing."
Meanwhile, Chaka has attained massive success in music herself with iconic disco tracks like 'I'm Every Woman' but admitted she would "absolutely not" want to be starting out in the industry in its current state.
Asked if she would swap places with an up-and-coming star, she said: "Absoutely not! It’s too tough right now. A competitive attitude — that’s the worst thing that you can embrace in this business, because self-expression is unique to the individual."
The 'I Feel For You' singer recently admitted that competition in the music business was "horrific and wrong" and that "honesty" needed to become the top priority.
Responding to a question from Metro.co.uk during a conference call, she said: "Competition is just horrific and wrong.
“Right now, we need to start with this thing – which is something with each other. These labels and businesses count on who can (do better) – but there is no competition.
“Be honest and faithful to yourself and your self-expression and don't be afraid and don't be competitive.
"These days you just have to be about what your goals are about, and staying true to yourself. That’s a big thing to do.”
