baptist minister and motherpian. it wasn t always a happy and stable home, so music played a big role in aretha franklin s house. she was a child prodigy and performing in church and playing piano by the age of 10. they put a small box in front of the pulpit so i could be seen over the pulpit and that s where i would stand and sing. by 14 she recorded her first album, teenage motherhood detailed her musical career for a spell but by her early 20s hit the top ten with her song i never loved a man. the way that i love you one year later won her first two grammys for respect. as they say i star was born.
and anita baker and listen to mariah carey, mary j. blige, beyonce, all are working on ground that was initially pioneered by aretha franklin and they owe a debt to her and would be the first to acknowledge that. elton john, tweeting it is a loss for everybody who loves real music, music from the heart and soul and the church. her voice was unique, her piano playing underrated. she was one of my favorite pianists. quincy jones writes in a statement, aretha franklin set the bar upon which every female singer has and did it with professionalism and humility and grace that only a true queen could. you will reign as the queen for ever. we have a photo of you and aretha franklin and eric holder as well, as we said also
impact on the world of music but also as we see from the kennedy center honors, the kisses going out from carol king. her impact on music but also her impact on the world. i don t think you can because she was simply that great. she was that iconic here s something that s so important, chris, she was a daughter of reverend franklin. at her heart she was a christian. she was a woman who never left the church. not only that, she was a proud african-american woman. sheefs a huge supporter of civil rights in america around the world and money that she gave the free concerts. red carpet, a journalist, did you she didn t admonish him, yes, i did and understand, dr. king stayed at her home whenever he came to detroit at the dinner table, conversations.
loved news. she watched news all the time. she would call me and talk about politics and what s going on and what s happening. then she would encourage those of us in news, shaun robinson, entertainment journalist, tamryn hall, same thing. she was a news junky. it was just great to know her and great to see her. any time we were talking and i cherish those conversations where we would just talk about whatever or text about whatever. that s how she was. i should say roland and to everybody who knew her and loved her, we re so sorry for your loss and it s a loss we all share even those of us who don t have her personal number in our phone. but this has been a really joyous conversation in many ways because as we listen to that music in the background, it is so joyous. i just want to read from eric holder, of course the former attorney general, i m so
generation or generation of folks born in the 40s and 50s to take to her music, but one of the most impressive things i think i saw from this incredible talent was i believe at the 98 grammys when pavarotti could not perform so she took the bold move to say she would perform. and it may not have been technically expert, but it was so unique and so mesmerizing that i downloaded that song and play it over and over. i will be playing that again dpl the next few days and hours. you know, as you were talking, we were playing ron and you can t see it but we re playing this various videos of her and one in which she s actually performing, believe when this is when carole king got her own honor. you can see the look of astonish xt. we saw barack and michelle obama out of their minds. we do as roland martin said often talk about iconic figures,