the tone a change in the way she approached her music? yeah, as she got older, she found ways to still bring the truth musically. she always she never lost her fire. there was a crispiness in her voice when she was younger. it translated into a huskiness later. but it never lost a fire or the passion. trace: we heard smokey robinson sing aretha franklin s eulogy. it was amazing. you think smokey robinson has adjusted the way he used his voice. it s one of those things that plateaus that you reach in music, correct? yeah, absolutely. it s an adjustment that every, you know, master artist, you know, comes to terms with. but they handle it. she certainly did. trace: it s amazing. final thought. final thing that you remember most about the queen of soul.
never seen. yeah, there was ray s and whitney s. that was basically a prelude. this is going to outdo every one of them, this is going to be the marathon, the mother of all marathons. fittingly so. the first time you were called to play with aretha franklin, has to be a thrill. as a musician, there s nothing like it. maybe outside of stevie wonder who i started with. trace: who will sing in a little bit. yeah, that guy. but to be asked to record with aretha is one of the all-time joys and thrills. as i said, the first time was in 1981. later on, four years ago, the last recording i was involved with was the diva classic album. trace: did you notice a change in her voice a change in