Amy Winehouse 'lived the blues'

Amy Winehouse "lived the blues" according to Lady Gaga.

The 'You and I' hitmaker praised the tragic singer – who died in July from accidental alcohol poisoning – as a "musical legend," in a radio special on the star, which also saw tributes from Mary J. Blige, Gary Barlow, Florence Welch and Mark Ronson.

Speaking on BBC Radio1, Gaga said: "It's interesting that celebrities sometimes get such a bad rap for being sad but in truth Amy was incredible at singing the blues - she lived the blues, she lived jazz. I believe she will be remembered as a musical legend."

Earlier this week, Gaga told how she went to visit the house in London where Amy was living when she died, in order to "pay her respects" to the star.

Elsewhere on the 'Masterpieces' radio show, celebrating Amy's breakthrough second album 'Back to Black', Mary said: "When I first heard 'Back to Black', I thought it was an automatic, instant classic. The voice - it had so much pain in it but it also had so much soul and warmth and texture.

"It was incredible, you don't hear voices like that all the time. The album is amazing. She definitely became an inspiration to me right away."

Florence and the Machine star Florence spoke about how she had seen Amy perform at Britain's Glastonbury festival and was impressed by her "raw and real" persona while 'Back to Black's producer Mark explained the musical influences behind the record.