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Aretha Franklin, Clive Davis and Barry Manilow at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives on April 19, 2017. Photo credit: Elliot Dal Pra London

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• Aretha Franklin To Perform At Clive Davis Documentary Premiere At Tribeca Film Festival – February 2, 2017

Listening to Aretha Franklin speak is like listening to someone who knows how the game ends, so self-assured at this point of her life that stories about performances or records are just great stories as opposed to milestone moments.

… Though Franklin announced earlier this year that she would be retiring from touring, looking to do one or two concerts across a few months, she’s not passing that torch any time soon. “The future of soul music? Me, because I’m not quitting. I’m not sitting down.”

She’s starting a collaboration with Stevie Wonder, which includes a duet with Jamie Foxx, at the end of April, and says it will be some of the “best and greatest music you’ve ever heard.”

Read more at the Chicago Tribune.

As the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (in 1987), and an Icon honoree at Billboard’s 2014 Women in Music celebration, Aretha Franklin is a revered living legend and one of the most prolific singers of our time. On her 75th birthday, Billboard honors Franklin with a look at her biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits.

View and listen to the list at Billboard.

DETROIT – The Queen of Soul is back in the recording studio, and she invited Local 4 cameras inside. Aretha Franklin is teaming up with Stevie Wonder for her brand-new album, which is being recorded in Detroit.

… In addition to “Mary, Did You Know?” the album will include “What’s Going On?” which includes Aretha’s son, Eddie Franklin, as a backup singer. The album is scheduled to be released in September, Franklin said.

Franklin said, along with an array of other producers, “I’ll be producing and writing myself. I haven’t done that in a long time. It’s just going to be me and my piano on some things.”

Read more at WDIV.

On this day 50 years ago, a little-known gospel singer from Detroit went into a New York City recording studio to try to jump-start her career. No one saw it coming, but the song Aretha Franklin laid down on Valentine’s Day 1967 would go on to become one of the greatest recordings of all time.

Read more at NPR.org.

Photo: Express Newspapers/Getty Images

The Tribeca Film Festival will open its sixteenth edition with the world premiere of Chris Perkel’s feature-length documentary Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives at Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday, April 19th, 2017. The premiere will be followed by a special concert featuring performances by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson, Earth, Wind & Fire, and many more, taking opening night beyond the screen to honor the legendary music executive and producer. The Tribeca Film Festival runs April 19th to the 30th.

Read more at TribecaFilm.com.

Photo by Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS

Aretha Franklin hosted a glittering holiday soiree Tuesday night at the International Banquet Center in Greektown, Detroit, with surprise guests the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his son, Jesse Jackson Jr., circulating and posing for selfies amidst an array of Detroit TV, radio and music personalities. … Amidst holiday decorations and flowers, the Queen of Soul presented a lively slate of entertainment after dinner, including singer Jody Watley.

…The Queen of Soul will be giving back to the Detroit community with a free holiday feast from 3-7 p.m. Christmas Eve at her father’s former church, New Bethel Baptist Church, 8430 C.L. Franklin Blvd.

Read more at The Detroit News.

Photo by Charlotte Massey

Last year, the White House jumped on Spotify to post President Obama’s summer playlists. This year, President Obama is once again sharing his summer picks. Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady” is included on the President’s “Day” playlist, shown below, for the second year in a row.

The President’s 2016 Summer Playlist: Day

1. LoveHate Thing – Wale
2. Smooth Sailin’ – Leon Bridges
3. Elevator Operator – Courtney Barnett
4. Home – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
5. Many the Miles – Sara Bareilles
6. Tightrope – Janelle Monáe
7. Classic Man – Jidenna
8. So Ambitious – Jay Z feat. Pharrell
9. Me Gustas Tu – Manu Chao
10. Forever Begins – Common
11. The Man – Aloe Blacc
12. As We Enter – Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley
13. Sinnerman – Nina Simone
14. U Got the Look – Prince
15. Rock Steady – Aretha Franklin
16. Good Vibrations – Beach Boys
17. Don’t Owe You A Thang – Gary Clark Jr.
18. Man Like That – Gin Wigmore
19. II B.S. (edit) – Charles Mingus

Read more at WhiteHouse.gov.

Related News:

• Aretha Franklin Featured In White House Spotify Playlist – August 14, 2015

The Buffalo Music Hall of Fame will be inducting the “Queen of Soul” into its Class of 2016 this fall. The winners were announced Wednesday at a news conference at the Buffalo History Museum and Grammy winner Aretha Franklin has been named as one of this year’s inductees.

“I am honored to be inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame,” WBBZ-TV personality Kim Piazza read to a crowd at the Buffalo History Museum. “I grew up and have performed in your city over the years, and it is one of my favorite stops. Thank you to all the great music lovers in Buffalo. Sincerely, Aretha Franklin.”

The Queen of Soul, who briefly lived in Buffalo when she was a very young child, will receive the President’s Award and be one of 11 musicians formally honored at the 34th annual Buffalo Hall Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Gala on Oct. 6 in the Cardinal O’Hara Performing Arts Center, 39 Ohara Road, Tonawanda.

Read more at The Buffalo News and WBFO.org.

Top Photo: Aretha Franklin during a show at Artpark. (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News file photo)

Singing in a Baptist church Friday afternoon, Aretha Franklin brought a crowd of hundreds to its feet at a dedication ceremony to rename a street outside after her father, the late Rev. C.L. Franklin.

After performing on stage at New Bethel Baptist Church, she strode up the aisle, continuing to wail as a couple of worshippers shook a tambourine.

… The renaming of the street is “an acknowledgement of his contributions to the city and the country,” Franklin said. “I’m thrilled. It couldn’t come fast enough. I’m just delighted to see so many people come out.”

Read more at the Detroit Free Press.

The Rev. C.L. Franklin gets a kiss on the cheeks from his daughters Aretha, left and Carolyn, right in 1965. (Photo: Ed Haun, Detroit Free Press)