Over 50,000 people celebrated  the music battle on Instagram Live between  legends Patti  LaBelle, 76, and  Gladys Knight, 76 .   They were entertained to  classics such as  “Midnight Train to Georgia” (Gladys Knight and the Pips, 1973) and “Lady Marmalade“ (Labelle, 1974),

The Verzuz  musical  Battles  launched by producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz in March, has been a musical escape from COVID-19 pandemic .Previous battles, not limited to but including Brandy vs. Monica, Beenie Man and Bounty Killa , Jill Scott vs. Erykah Badu, Teddy Riley vs. Babyface, DMX vs. Snoop Dogg and Alicia Keys vs. John Legend, have drawn millions of viewers on Instagram Live.

Warwick, 79, lent her voice to a performance of her Grammy-winning song “That’s What Friends Are For.” She recently celebrated the track’s more than 100,000,000 views on YouTube.

In 1985, Warwick covered the song — penned by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager and first recorded by Rod Stewart — with Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder as a benefit for the American Foundation for AIDS Research, raising more than $3 million.

The cover from “Dionne Warwick and friends” won the Grammy for song of the year and best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals in 1986.