Remembering Arethra Franklin

Arethra Franklin was an American singer/songwriter/actor/pianist. She died of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumour on 16 August 2018, age 76

The first video is a dynamite performance of ‘Think’ from 1989

The second is from 1968 of ‘A Natural Woman, co-written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin

The third is from 2015, three years before her death, singing ‘A Natural Woman’ again. Carole King is present

“American history wells up when Aretha sings”, President Obama explained in response to her performance of “A Natural Woman” at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. “Nobody embodies more fully the connection between the African-American spiritual, the blues, R&B, rock and roll—the way that hardship and sorrow were transformed into something full of beauty and vitality and hope”