at the superbowl. it was a great feeling to share the stage with aretha. i had met her a couple of times before and she was always pleasant and a real nice lady and a great talent. i wrote this about her. i said, i know that the heavenly choir is welcoming aretha franklin with open arms. she was definitely the queen of soul. i m so happy that i knew her and had the privilege of sharing the stage with her. i can see her now putting on her golden robe and slippers while god takes her in his loving arms, while she s singing precious lord, take my hand. may she rest forever. special love for aretha franklin. aaron neville. the heavenly choir got a great new addition. a solo act in there. yes. aaron, you yourself had a remarkably long and successful musical career. this is a woman who has been performing for 50 years throughout, you know, her career, and times have changed so much.
want people to know about her? she haven t had the pleasure of meeting her. i want people to know she was always the same, authentic, down to earth person. she loved to cook. she loved to talk about regular things. and she never lost her authenticity. and she s a lesson to all of the artists that no matter how big you get, it doesn t matter yhow tall you stand, it matters that your feet never leave the ground. her second husband said she didn t just cook, she burned. reverend, great to see you. thank you so much. chris farley, thank you as well. tributes continue to powur in fr the queen of soul. the marquee at the apollo
right there is aretha franklin performing in 2009 at president obama s inauguration. i m sorry. go ahead. one of her biggest hits was natural woman which was written by legendary singer/song writer carole king. i sat down with king and reverend al sharp ton to talk about the queen of soul including some of her greatest performances. my most dramatic memory if you want to call it that, or endearing memory, was she sang at the white house in the last year of president obama for a jazz night. i remember i got asia and i got to the white house and was saying to somebody, we re going through and they were having it out on the white house lawn under a tent. and i saw will who traveled with ms. franklin, and i said, where s the queen? and he did like this and brought me to the back and she was in a room getting her hair done. she looked at me and said, reverend al, it don t get no better than that, aretha getting
what you want, baby i got it what you need, you know i got it all i m asking for just a little bit nothing but respect and honor for the queen of soul, aretha franklin, passed away this morning at the age of 76. let s bring back in michael eric dyson, for some final thoughts. michael, all hour we ve been talking about what an extraordinary artist she is. aretha franklin received an honorary degree from harvard in 2014, honorary doctorate from princeton, yale, brown, berkeley college of music, and the university of michigan. even more than the artist and musician we know, this woman was
family and friends. clearly an iconic figure, a musical power house with an instantly recognizable voice that blended gospel, soul and r & b over an incredible six decades. ms. aretha franklin built a legacy that is unmatched among her contemporaries. nbc s lester holt has more on the life and legacy of the one-and-only aretha franklin. r-e-s-p-e-c-t there has never been a voice like hers. and there may never again be anyone like her. baby please don t go aretha franklin, the queen of soul, and icon of american music. say a prayer for you no other female singer was ago celebrated or honored as aretha franklin. 18 grammys, 21 number billboard singles, 45 songs in the top 40. our nation honors ms. aretha