Patti Smith writes song about Amy Winehouse for new album

Patti Smith has written a song about Amy Winehouse which will appear on her next studio album.

The punk icon wrote a poem for Winehouse after her death last year at the age of 27 and has collaborated with a bandmate to turn it into a new track.



Smith told Uncut: "We wrote a very nice little song for Amy Winehouse, and I think a beautiful song for Maria Schneider, the actress who was a friend of mine in the '70s. They just happened, like gifts."

She added: "The little song for Amy just blossomed in the studio.

"We were at [New York studio] Electric Lady doing a whole other song and I wrote Amy a little poem when she died and my bass player, Tony Shanahan, wrote a piece of music and the two matched perfectly."

Smith last year released the career-spanning greatest hits compilation Outside Society.

The singer-songwriter was also last year announced as the winner of the 2011 Polar Music Prize.

Watch Patti Smith perform 'Dancing Barefoot' live on Later with Jools Holland below: