aretha franklin, but the picture they tweeted was a file picture from the 1970s. franklin s star on the walk of fame will soon have a memorial wreath. much more being left there by fans of hers. lionel richie wrote, her voice, her presence, her style, no one did it better. truly the queen of soul. i will miss you. paul mccartney, let s all take a moment to give thanks for the beautiful life of aretha franklin, the queen of our souls, who inspired us all for many years. she will be missed, but the memory of her greatness as a musician and a fine human being will live with us forever. then there was elton john. the loss of aretha franklin is a blow for everybody who loves real music, music from the heart, the soul, and the church. her voice was unique. her piano playing underrated. she was one of my favorite pianists. joining us now, someone who knew just what a talent she was, ralph armstrong, aretha
chapel. tell us about as a musician what was so special about her voice. you know, of course, she had the voice of the gods. coming from gospel music, which is the root and foundation of the african-american community, she stood tall, a great legacy out of detroit. and it won t be forgotten. the work they did, her father, c.l. franklin, and of course she comes from a great line of singers. clara ward and all those wonderful people. let me ask you this as well. beyond being such a legendary musician, she also provided voice to the civil rights movement, to the feminist movement. respect was a song about getting respect for not just individuals but for whole groups of people. that s right. and of course a great
when she stepped in for pavarotti at the grammys when he was ill. she had such an incredible voice, she could sing anything. in the 1970s, when it seemed like her career was fading a little bit because soul music seemed to be on the wane, she rolled into the 80s and she released, i mean, classic pop songs that we still love today. and she collaborated with the arhythmics and with george michael. so just when people thought, okay, aretha franklin s career is over, she was like, oh, no, i still have plenty left. you know, she had tragedy in her life, too. she rarely discussed it. her father her father was shot by burglars, died several years later. she had a child, i believe, when she was very young, as a young teenager, as young as 13. yes. but she never shared those details in public. she was very private. she was extremely private. she was a teen mother. she also lost her mother when she was very young, 10 years old. and she said the death of her father, who after he was sh
self-trained. was she aware of the influence she could read music, yes. i m telling you. i ll believe you. i ll believe you over the obituaries, trust me. okay. you spent a little time with her. was she aware of the influence she had beyond music, as a voice for civil rights, as a voice for feminism? yes, yes, she did. one thing that she did, which a lot of people don t know, she always paid into pensions for musicians. she always paid union wages. she paid above union wages. she was strong for working people. and i know that s important as well because through her life, she didn t have consistent financial success. she was a star, of course, but
reactions have been coming in. former president barack obama, who aretha franklin performed for at his inauguration, he just released a statement saying in part, quote, for more than six decades since 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. franklin passed away at her home in detroit, michigan, surrounded by friends and family. ryan young is live outside the church where franklin got her start singing gospel. her father, of course, had been a minister. both her parents gospel singers. ryan, tell us about the