RIP Aretha Franklin

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, August 17th, 2018 - 14 comments
Categories: International, music, us politics - Tags:

Soul diva Aretha Franklin has died aged 76.

Amongst the many takes about her life and about her death Barack Obama possibly had the best.

From the Guardian:

“American history wells up when Aretha sings,” former US president Barack Obama said of her performance of (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. “Nobody embodies more fully the connection between the African-American spiritual, the blues, R&B, rock’n’roll – the way that hardship and sorrow were transformed into something full of beauty and vitality and hope.”

In the wake of her death, some of America’s most prominent figures have paid their respects. Barack and Michelle Obama put out a joint statement, reading, in part:

Every time she sang, we were all graced with a glimpse of the divine. Through her compositions and unmatched musicianship, Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade—our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. She helped us feel more connected to each other, more hopeful, more human. And sometimes she helped us just forget about everything else and dance.”

And just a reminder of the timeless power of her music

14 comments on “RIP Aretha Franklin ”

  1. Ad 2

    Pink Cadillac 🙂

  2. Cinny 3

    Think 🙂

    • Tony Veitch (not etc.) 3.1

      Cinny,

      We really do think along similar tramtracks – as I played the video at the top of the post I thought how much I loved her cameo in The Blues Brothers – and whether I could find an extract. And lo – you produced one. Many thanks.

      RIP Aretha.

  3. mary_a 4

    I remember when Aretha stood beside Martin Luther King and Jessie Jackson during the civil rights movement of the ’60’s and ’70’s.

    Aretha was the heart of soul for a long time. Her great voice lived her music.

    May her own soul now rest in peace.

  4. Professor Longhair 5

    Barack Obama? He’s not fit to comment on, or to associate with, Aretha Franklin.

  5. McFlock 6

    One of the best. She left us many treasures for which I am thankful.

  6. joe90 7

    22-year-old Aretha – Running Out of Fools

  7. Sabine 8

    Nice little write up on the women, her life and some things she thought were important

    https://www.thenation.com/article/aretha-franklin-musical-genius-truth-teller-freedom-fighter/

  8. Johnr 9

    Please imagine folks, that the US matures and grows to adulthood.
    They divorce themselves from 10 second sound bites and want to become a responsible society.
    This may involve them becoming a regal form of hierarchy.
    If that was the case, could you deny Aretha Franklin being Queen

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