- Title: USA: RADIO CITY TRIBUTE TO SOUL SINGER ARETHA FRANKLIN
- Date: 10th April 2001
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA (APRIL 10, 2001) (REUTERS) ***FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** WIDE OF RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL AT NIGHT VARIOUS, PAMELA ANDERSON ARRIVING ,WEARING SLINKY WHITE DRESS VARIOUS, SIGOURNEY WEAVER TALKS TO PRESS SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) SIGOURNEY WEAVER, ACTRESS, REPORTER ASKS, "Are you a big Aretha fan?" WEAVER SAYING, "A big Aretha fan and can't wait to see actually all the performers and how they work together, I think seeing a lot of those women up on stage is very powerful." REPORTER ASKS, "Do you a have a favorite Aretha tune?" WEAVER SAYING, "You make me feel like a natural woman, that's pretty great." WIDE OF JILL SCOTT, SINGER TALKS TO PRESS SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) JILL SCOTT SAYING, "She's important to everything and everybody you know anyone whose ever listened to a song and the words were saying how they felt you know that's important, we need it, we're human beings you know something that touches the soul, Aretha Franklin sings from the soul so she touches everybody's soul, it's a beautiful thing, it's an honor to be here, just an honor." SCU PHOTOGRAPHER WIDE OF NELLY FURTADO, SINGER TALKS TO PRESS SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) NELLY FURTADO SAYING, "She's an inspiration to any performer, any singer cause she nails it every time it comes straight from her heart, the feel is always on , the vibe is always on it's phenomenal what she does." SCU CAMERAMAN SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CELIA CRUZ, SINGER SAYING, "I love Aretha Franklin, I adore her very much and for me she is the number one star of the night, thank you very much, Aretha, I love you." VARIOUS, BACKSTREET BOYS ARRIVING (SOUNDBITE) (English) THE BACK STREET BOYS SAYING, "She's amazing, she's a goddess and we can't wait to sing with her tonight, it's going to be amazing. The queen of soul." WIDE OF PEOPLE ARRIVING
- Embargoed: 25th April 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA
- Country: USA
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVARB9XIB2G6528I3TKA8U2F8N1
- Story Text: VH-1 presented Divas Live: "The One and Only Aretha Franklin" featuring Jill Scott, Nelly Furtado, Kid Rock, Mark Anthony and many others honoring the music of Aretha Franklin and her unprecedented legacy.
Few musicians, male or female, compare to the talent and depth of Aretha Franklin. Her 40 year musical career spans many different musical genres and is not only a part of musical history, but history itself. She sang at Martin Luther King's funeral having grown up the daughter of a close family friend and fellow civil rights activist, the Reverend C.L. Franklin. She grew up singing in her father's church and has since graced hundreds of stages all over the world.
Franklin paved new paths in music breaking away from her gospel roots in her hometown of Detroit. She is the winner of 17 Grammy Awards and a lifetime achievement award.
Her songs are unforgettable and her style is hard to match.
Her voice was declared a natural resource of her home state of Michigan.
One of today's hottest singers, Jill Scott said of Aretha, "She's important to everything and everybody you know anyone whose ever listened to a song and the words were saying how they felt you know that's important, we need it, we're human beings you know something that touches the soul, Aretha Franklin sings from the soul so she touches everybody's soul."
Aretha Franklin is best known for such hit songs as, "Respect," "A Natural Woman," "Pink Cadillac," "I Never Loved A Man" and many, many others. She started a string of hits when she signed with Atlantic Records in the late 1960's and put out such memorable albums as "Lady Soul,"
"Aretha Now,"
"Soul '69" and "Young, Gifted and Black."
Among those who performed some of Franklin's songs on Tuesday at New York's Radio City Music Hall were salsa star and sexy Latin singer, Mark Anthony. He performed a duet with a legend of the salsa world, Celia Cruz. Hip hop star, Mary J. Blige did a earth shattering version of one of Franklin's most popular tunes, "Thinking of You." Kid Rock, the popular rock and roller who is also known for his rapping made a special appearance and mentioned to the audience that he like Franklin is proud to be Detroit.
Aretha Franklin also proudly showed off her musical roots not just in gospel but especially in jazz. She belted out a truly hot, jamming number with jazz greats, Herbie Hancock on keyboards, Clarke Terry on trumpet and others that had the crowd stunned. A rousing gospel number at the end of the show had the power and energy of a church revival rarely seen in a mainstream television show.
She is known as the "Queen of Soul" and her voice and stage presence are hard to turn away from. Although her life has not been without hardship, tonight was the culmination of a career that is unparalleled in the history of music.
This is the fourth time VH-1 has presented a divas concert. The concerts raise money for the VH-1 "Save the Music" program that is dedicated to restoring instrumental music programs in America's public schools. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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