Aretha’s death last week shook me. I think it shook us all. Yes she was older and had lived a full life, but she was one of those people who I thought would just be around forever. Her talent was beyond compare and it was no secret that she was your favorite’s favorite.
She might have been known for her shade and beef with a few divas in the recent years, but Aretha was so much more than that. Not only was she a great vocalist and entertainer, but she fought for what was right. She gave voice to the Civil Rights movement, volunteered to pay bail for those wrongly arrested and didn’t stand for bullshit in general.
I snapped this on Friday at the Smithsonian Portrait Museum. They work fast!
I saw something resurface recently about giving people their roses while they’re here and it couldn’t be more true in this situation. We as people love to honor folks who have passed, but in actuality we need to be honoring them while they’re here. Aretha’s catalog can stand by itself and she did receive quite a few awards in her lifetime. Countless Grammy’s, NAACP awards, AMA awards and even a Kennedy Center Honors! But the love that’s been shown to this woman in the past few days is astounding. Let’s not wait to do that after people are no longer here. In fact, I want to start a new series on the blog. At least once a quarter I’m going to give someone their roses while they’re still here. These might be artists you know, it might be some that you’ve never heard of, but I’m going to shine some light on them and their music. In the meantime and in between time I’m going to share some of my records by the Queen of Soul. Some of these are hers and others are covers, all of them are beautiful.