that s what aretha was all about. i know everybody heard about whatever it was that aretha supposedly and i was going through at one time, which i felt was, well, aretha is being aretha. so i just didn t dignify it, because i m sure she would never have dignified it. so that has passed. no ill thoughts or memories about that for me. well, i m glad that you guys listen, with friends and loved ones, you have ups and downs, agreements and disagreements. but for me, she meant so much to my family and to my mother and to people of your generation. you guys passed so much on to us. talk to us about the legacy she
van, you just mentioned george w. bush. we have some sound. this is the impact she had. when you cover politics, you re around a lot of celebrities and politicians. watching the face of the president of the united states, for example, whether it s george w. bush or barack obama, we have both. you understand when they understand they re in a special place because they re around famous people all the time. they re around celebrities all the time. they re themselves the president of the united states. they get chills being around aretha franklin. listen here to george w. bush. one record executive put it this way, aretha is still the best singer in the world bar none. she finds meanings in lyrics that the composers didn t even know they had. she chills you, heats you, affects your soul. it s exhilarating. she chills you, heats you, affects your soul. it s exhilarating. yeah, yeah, absolutely. i got chills just listening to that. i only got a chance to meet
other performer, but how could you touch it? and again, just years later in her career but standing on the steps of the capitol, the inauguration of the first african-american president. just wow. yeah, wow is all you can say. again, many people have sung the national anthem masterfully, but no one did what aretha franklin did right there. her command of voice, her command of talent, her ear, but also how she understood the cultural moment. she knew how significant it was to have an african-american president. she was on her a game. in south africa, she was on her a game. at the grammy s stage filling in for pavarotti, she was on her a game. there s a before and after period when it comes to aretha franklin and american music. when you hear her sing respect, you don t want to hear otis redding sing it again.
god put us all here for a purpose. you know, once we fulfill that purpose, his reward is to call us home. tell us about you guys came along at the same time. i ve seen some of the images of you and stevie wonder, all of you in the same room. what was it like? you had to come up through the ranks then. it wasn t like someone pulled you off of star search. you had to earn it. both of you certainly did that. oh, absolutely. i remember when aretha first joined columbia records. they had her recording something that was so completely out of what we now know as aretha franklin s sound. but i thought she was doing a great job at it, as a matter of
singing. you can hear it in a beyonce or mary j. blige or whitney houston or usher. i could keep naming names for the next two hours. her influence is like the air we breathe. it s almost cruel in a sense. what she did became such a part of american song, how we sing, how we listen. you hear it at your community talent show, whenever someone summons the bravery to take a roller coaster ride. it s wherever. chris richards, mark, appreciate your thoughts on this important day. the queen of soul remembered. here s aretha franklin performing at the kennedy center. job from any one else. why accept it from an allergy pill?