referring to her in the past tense right now. i know what she would say. she would say, i want you to be strong, don. i want you to be the voice. so i m going to put on my best self. i m going to be there to represent aretha franklin. we should all celebrate her, her very wonderful, wonderful, wonderfullife. she was an amazing person. no question. you know what, don? beyond the gift that you just beautifully laid out that was her music, it was the gift that she gave all of us in bringing this country together. right? i just want to read something that a woman an executive here runs cnn digital says and wrote earlier this week that stood out to me so much i saved it. this is what she said about aretha franklin. a black woman who sings about respect, about being a woman, a moving voice and a central figure in civil rights. she said her life and legacy may speak to a need for soul and
from me. this was in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. to have someone with the stature of an aretha franklin, with the dignity of an aretha franklin to come out of jim crow, to be an icon of the music industry, to be an icon of the civil rights movement, to carry that dignity on into the 70s, into the 80s and 90s, speaking to the impact aretha franklin has not only on people of color, not only on america but the world. here is the one thing you must remember. everyone talks about fame. everyone talks about actors and
obviously, it s a really, really sad moment for him. he reached out a moment ago and said that the notes and messages were pouring in. i expect to have some sort of statement and we should from clive davis in a short while. he is out of country. he meant so much to her. for me, it s interesting that clive davis had such a huge role in whitney houston s life and a huge role in aretha franklin s life and i m not covering now. it s so surreal to me right now. as we wait to hear from him, don, and as the other tributes pour in, let s step back and listen to the queen of soul.
i was just going back looking through some of her text messages. it s amazing to sit there and look. she was so excited about coming. she said, i m going to be in new york on the 17th at clive s documentary party. these are the people who are going to be there. i would love for you to come. she was just so welcoming to everybody. i wasn t the only person she treated that way. don t get me wrong. i wasn t aretha franklin s best friend. i happened to be lucky enough to be among her friends. she was a woman who lived life so fully, was so warm, as your stories have shown us, brought you into her circle. we are looking at her now, don, performing in front of the pope. i remember being there when the pope went to philadelphia. that was three years ago. i think we have some sound of her singing in a tribute at a concert for mandela. can we play that?
i ll dream gig. now more businesses, in more places, can afford to dream gig. comcast, building america s largest gig-speed network. just another one of the beautiful moments of aretha franklin and what do we say? hundreds, thousands of performances she has offered the country, the world in her lifetime as we celebrate her life and legacy as she has passed this morning surrounded by family and friends at her