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Aretha Franklin, RIP


GA Russell

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A major loss...

The Queen is dead!

My favorite Aretha evening was when I attended her concert at NY Philharmonic Hall in October 1967. Went there with Cecil Taylor, another fan of her. We both obtained tickets from à mutual friend at Atlantic Records. She was at her very best.

Aretha showed up a few weeks later when I was back in Paris when she performed at the Olympia. Another great concert!

 

 

 

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Sad, sad day.  Truly one of the greatest voices in the history of American music.

Here she is in her prime, ripping it up at home at Cobo Arena in Detroit on "Aretha Franklin Day", Feb. 16 1968.  Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the presenters at this event.  Often forgotten now is Aretha's work (and, of course, the core work of her father) in the civil rights movement.  She also performed at MLK's funeral.

https://youtu.be/0L4Bonnw484

I was fortunate enough to see her when she was still close to being in her best voice, in a benefit concert in Feb. 1976 at Masonic Temple in Detroit.  It wasn't quite as ecstatic as the show in the clip, but it was pretty damn close.  My best friend's mother, who had lived near her and gone to school with Aretha and her siblings as a kid, took us backstage to meet her after the show, and she was wiped out but gracious and friendly with that famous smile.

Edited by Al in NYC
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