The last song ever recorded by comedienne Phyllis Diller is to be released in her memory.
Thomas Lauderdale from the orchestral collective Pink Martini worked with the legendary funnywoman on a cover of Charlie Chaplain's Smile in February (12), with plans to include the tune on the group's next album.
But, following her death on Monday (20Aug12), Lauderdale has decided to make the rough version of Smile available for fans to listen to online, reports the Associated Press.
The musician admits he may add strings and a clarinet to the simple track ahead of the 2013 release of Pink Martini's album Get Happy, but he's already a fan of the current version.
And Lauderdale will treasure the time he spent working with the late star.
He says, "As it now stands I love it. I think it has a lot of heart. I think it represents her in a beautiful and comforting and lovely way, and respectful. And I guess I just feel entirely lucky and honoured to have these brief moments with her. Everybody seems to have a Phyllis Diller (moment), and I feel just lucky to have had a small moment with her.
"She had a great time. She was a perfectionist. Every time she didn't get a phrase just as she wanted it, she went right back to redo it. So it required no coaching at all from me. She did it all on her own."