I grieve the passing of Aretha Franklin. She was a true diva, a queen, blessed by a voice that transports me to the heavens. A natural Gospel singer that remained true to her calling even when she ventured into renditions of Puccini’s Nessun Dorma.
Find out for yourself, listen to this performance when she was 73 years old: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gCuyrKVDCs
She was a queen of feeling. She was a queen of Soul. And she was an icon of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States that changed the world forever. She will be remembered by the beauty of her soulful art, but hopefully she will also be remembered by a most extraordinary, loving gesture: when Martin Luther King openly and courageously denounced the inhumanity of the Vietnam War, he lost the financial support of donors that sustained the struggle. Overnight Dr King and the movement he led were broke. The great inroads into the amelioration of racism and discrimination were in jeopardy. Aretha Franklin stepped in and donated the proceeds of her next 11 performances.
There is nothing more to say. Go with God, most beautiful woman.