Stevie Wonder pays tribute to Tony Bennett at Grammys: 'I'm going to miss you forever'

For once more in Stevie Wonder’s life, the legendary singer was able to duet with Tony Bennett.

At Sunday’s Grammy Awards, Wonder began the annual “In Memoriam” segment — honoring those musicians who’ve died in the past year — with a tribute to Bennett, who died in July at age 96. Seated at his piano, Wonder first sang “For Once in My Life” alongside an archival video of Bennett singing, then performed the late icon’s “The Best Is Yet to Come.”

Wonder recalled first hearing Bennett singing “For Once in My Life” when “I was like 13 or 14 years old,” and released his own version of the song in 1968 when he was 18. When he got into the studio with a more uptempo number than had been recorded previously, songwriter Henry Cosby said to Wonder, “What are you doing to my song?!” Later, Wonder and Bennett performed it as a duet for Bennett’s 2006 album “Duets” and the track won won the Grammy for best pop collaboration with vocals in 2007.

Stevie Wonder performs during in memoriam segment during the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

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“What’s amazing is I was able to actually sing the song with someone that I admired for so long,” an emotional Wonder said of working with Bennett. “Not just because of his voice, which was incredible, but because of his love for art. His love for peace. His love for unity. His love for civil rights. Yes, I remember as a little boy him being in places where most people would not even go to stand for the right for freedom for everyone.”

In conclusion, Wonder added, “Tony, I’m going to miss you forever. I love you always and God bless that God allowed us to have you and have us in this time and space in our life.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stevie Wonder pays tribute to Tony Bennett at Grammys: ‘I’m going to miss you forever’