A singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist, Aretha Franklin really influenced and impacted my journey as a person growing up.
A Pulitzer Prize winner for her contributions to music and culture. She was featured in the long-awaited movie “Amazing Grace,” which captured a two-day gospel session in Los Angeles in 1972, which was released earlier this year (2019). She was also awarded the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1987, she became the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She also was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked her number one on its list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and number nine on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
A rose is, after all, a rose.
Here are 7 songs as a tribute to remember her by today:
I Say A Little Prayer
Covered several times by several different people, this is my number one favourite song by Aretha.
This was famously covered in one of my favourite movies: My Best Friends’ Wedding, in a scene that was loved and is still remembered as one of Hollywood’s most fun moments! (This rendition is a bonus in this list.)
Respect
Another favourite covered in movies endlessly (I remember it fondly from the film 2 Weeks Notice, too)
Think
Such simple advice with a foot tapping beat.
Aretha Franklin – (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
Amazing Grace
This is the live version, but she was amazing even then, making you weep with emotion.
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Talk about being the QUEEN of blues. Ah, this is a marvelous song!
I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) – A duet with George Michael
This was one of her biggest hits and its two of the greats of their generation.
In her final moments, Aretha was under hospice care and surrounded by friends and family including Stevie Wonder, Jesse Jackson and ex-husband Glynn Turman. She died at home at the age of 76 in 2018 on this day.
The cause of death was pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET), though widely mis-reported as pancreatic cancer, a different disease.
Another Aretha Franklin movie, titled “Respect,” is set to be released in 2020 with Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson aboard to play the iconic singer. I personally can’t wait to see it!