ARETHA FRANKLIN “GRAVELY ILL”; TRIBUTES POURING IN
The news spread Sunday night that Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin was gravely ill. Showbiz 411 columnist Roger Friedman broke the news. Detroit news anchor Evrod Cassimy subsequently tweeted, “I spoke with her family members this morning. She is asking for your prayers at this time.”
Franklin is in hospice care at her home, a source close to the 76-year-old singer told CNN's Don Lemon.
Franklin’s nephew Tim told People that while she “is sick,” her family is “trying to keep her spirits up and go from there. We believe she’ll pull through it, she believes she’ll pull through it, and that’s the important thing.”
John Hammond and Aretha, 1961
The troubling news inspired a host of online tributes. Here's a sampling:
Like people all around the world, Hillary and I are thinking about Aretha Franklin tonight & listening to her music that has been such an important part of our lives the last 50 years. We hope you’ll lift her up by listening and sharing her songs that have meant the most to you.
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) August 14, 2018
My prayers are with Aretha Franklin & her family during this difficult time 🙏🏾 LOOK BELOW @ what I tweeted at the top of the year we MUST CELEBRATE the Living Legends while they are here to see it. So many have given us decades of Timeless music...❤️ https://t.co/VVacLxcMSI
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) August 13, 2018
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) August 13, 2018
not ready for a world without Aretha Franklin in it
— benmont tench III (@benchten) August 14, 2018In late June, Friedman reported on 8/14, Clive Davis proposed the idea of an all-star tribute concert to Aretha to commemorate her 60 years in show business. The date is 11/14 for Clive Davis Presents: A Tribute to Aretha Franklin, presented with Live Nation.
They discussed the idea at length, and each mentioned it to Friedman in July when went to Detroit to see Aretha. “The Queen of Soul was beyond delighted,” Friedman wrote. “She personally approved Jennifer Hudson, who is slated to play Aretha in a biopic for Sony/Tri-Star, as one of the lead performers.”
One of the most eloquent tributes Aretha has ever received came from the 44th President a few months after the aforementioned Kennedy Center Honors performance in December 2015.
When New Yorker editor David Remnick emailed President Obama about that memorable evening, Obama replied, “Nobody embodies more fully the connection between the African-American spiritual, the blues, R&B, rock & roll—the way that hardship and sorrow were transformed into something full of beauty and vitality and hope. American history wells up when Aretha sings. That’s why, when she sits down at a piano and sings ‘A Natural Woman,’ she can move me to tears—the same way that Ray Charles’ version of ‘America the Beautiful’ will always be in my view the most patriotic piece of music ever performed—because it captures the fullness of the American experience, the view from the bottom as well as the top, the good and the bad, and the possibility of synthesis, reconciliation, transcendence.
“You can hear Aretha’s influence across the landscape of American music, no matter the genre,” Obama continued. “What other artist had that kind of impact? Dylan. Maybe Stevie, Ray Charles. The Beatles and The Stones—but, of course, they’re imports. The jazz giants like Armstrong. But it’s a short list. And if I’m stranded on a desert island, and have 10 records to take, I know she’s in the collection. For she’ll remind me of my humanity. What’s essential in all of us. And she just sounds so damn good. Here’s a tip: When you’re deejaying a party, open with ‘Rock Steady.’”
As Remnick pointed out, the titans of hip-hop adore Aretha. Mos Def sampled “One Step Ahead,” on “Ms. Fat Booty.” Kanye West sampled “Spirit in the Dark,” on “School Spirit.” Alicia Keys sampled “A Natural Woman,” and Dr. Dre and OutKast sampled “Rock Steady.” The Fugees, Public Enemy, Slum Village—Aretha is everywhere.
“There is no ‘Formation’ without ‘Respect,’ Remnick writes. “One queen follows another. Beyoncé may have overstepped on one occasion, but she knew the score. A singer like her, who is steeped in both the sacred and the profane, who can provide flawless versions of both ‘Precious Lord’ and ‘Bootylicious,’ understands the variousness of her roots and the specificity of her debts. ‘The soulfulness comes from the gospel,’ she once said. ‘It comes from Aretha, who listened to all of that, who sang in the church.’”
