In the moments after Aretha Franklin’s death was announced on Thursday morning former President Bill Clinton and former Senator Hillary Clinton, Paul McCartney, Lionel Richie, John Legend, and Carole King were just a few who paid tribute to the cultural icon.
“Hillary and I mourn the loss of our friend Aretha Franklin, one of America’s greatest national treasures. For more than 50 years, she stirred our souls. She was elegant, graceful, and utterly uncompromising in her artistry. Aretha’s first music school was the church and her performances were powered by what she learned there. I’ll always be grateful for her kindness and support, including her performances at both my inaugural celebrations, and for the chance to be there for what sadly turned out to be her final performance last November at a benefit supporting the fight against HIV/AIDS. She will forever be the Queen of Soul and so much more to all who knew her personally and through her music. Our hearts go out to her family and her countless fans” President Bill Clinton said.
“Her voice; her presence; her style. No one did it better. Truly the Queen of Soul. I will miss you!” — Lionel Richie
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King, who wrote one of Franklin’s biggest hits “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” noted the iconic singer’s legacy. “So much love, respect and gratitude,” King wrote.
— Carole King (@Carole_King) August 16, 2018
Paul McCartney honored the singer, writing, “Let’s all take a moment to give thanks for the beautiful life of Aretha Franklin, the Queen of our souls, who inspired us all for many many years. She will be missed but the memory of her greatness as a musician and a fine human being will live with us forever.”
— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) August 16, 2018
The greatest voice in American popular music has been stilled. Our beloved #ArethaFranklin has gone. For me, she was a musical lighthouse, guiding and inspiring with every note. I loved her so and love her still. Goodbye, Queen of Soul.
— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) August 16, 2018
Legend called her, “the greatest vocalist I’ve ever known.”
— John Legend (@johnlegend) August 16, 2018
Barbra Streisand reminisced on a 2012 tribute celebration the two performed at together for their friend Marvin Hamlisch. “It’s difficult to conceive of a world without her. Not only was she a uniquely brilliant singer, but her commitment to civil rights made an indelible impact on the world,” Streisand wrote on Instagram.
Musician Michael McDonald, who duetted with Franklin, wrote, “She’s one of those iconic artists that cause most people to remember where they were the very first time they heard her amazing voice. She has reached that highest level as an artist where her voice has become, in a collective and spiritual sense, our voice. In a time when art is increasingly considered a secondary human pursuit, she reminds us that it is the very thing that represents our humanity the best. Aretha Franklin is and will always be a national treasure.”
Annie Lennox duetted with Franklin on “Sisters are Doin’ It For Themselves” in 1985. She said Franklin’s voice will “soar forever.” “As the One and Only ‘ Queen of Soul ‘ Aretha Franklin was simply peerless. She has reigned supreme, and will always be held in the highest firmament of stars as the most exceptional vocalist, performer and recording artist the world has ever been privileged to witness. Superlatives are often used to describe astonishing singers.. but in my view, even superlatives cannot be sufficient,” Lennox wrote.
Industry legend Clive Davis, who oversaw many of Franklin’s albums on his Arista label in the ’80s as well as her most recent 2014 record, “Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics,” said he was devastated by the news. “She was truly one of a kind,” he said. “She was more than the Queen of Soul. She was a national treasure to be cherished by every generation throughout the world. Apart from our long professional relationship, Aretha was my friend. Her loss is deeply profound and my heart is full of sadness.”
The current co-chairmen of Franklin’s longtime label Atlantic Records, Craig Kallman and Julie Greenwald, said: “Aretha Franklin was a pillar of Atlantic Records and transformed global culture. From that day in January 1967, when producer Jerry Wexler took Aretha to Muscle Shoals, Alabama and she sat down at the piano to record her first Atlantic record, “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You),” music was never the same. Back then, there was no one who sang the way she did, who took the roots of gospel and R&B and infused them with that originality, power, fervor, and depth. Aretha was always in charge – of the songs she sang and the songs she wrote; how she sang them and how she played them. In her dozen years with Atlantic, she created a phenomenal body of work that entered the timeless musical canon and has had an unequaled impact on artists across the globe.
Read more reactions below:
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) August 16, 2018
Lucky enough to have seen Aretha live exactly once, and this was it.
Thank you for the music, we will be listening to you forever https://t.co/aMHIBFaTAs— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) August 16, 2018
The world won’t be the same without you in it.
You will always have our utmost respect. #RipArethaFranklin pic.twitter.com/0DMI3PZfjI— Lena Waithe (@LenaWaithe) August 16, 2018
RIP Aretha Franklin what a voice x
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) August 16, 2018
There will never be another Queen of Soul. Aretha Franklin is the embodiment of a soul blessed with a special gift. Grateful we have decades of recordings that will live on. Long Live The Queen. #RIPAretha
— Andy Cohen (@Andy) August 16, 2018
RIP Aretha Franklin https://t.co/6iaZMmKn2N
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) August 16, 2018
Feeling overwhelmingly sad. Thank you Aretha Franklin for the gift of your voice and your soul. Rest in peace.
— Lester Holt (@LesterHoltNBC) August 16, 2018
The wondrous chorus of America at its best has lost a powerful voice. Aretha Franklin shook the heavens and our own complacency with her spirit and by tackling life with power and purpose. #Respect
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) August 16, 2018
RIP Aretha Franklin. Thank you for being the sounds of my household as a kid when my mother would clean the house. pic.twitter.com/ihpVdFzbgn
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) August 16, 2018
Breaking: Aretha Franklin is dead at the age of 76. The queen is gone.
— Craig Melvin (@craigmelvin) August 16, 2018
We mourn the passing of Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul. Her voice will keep lifting us, through the music she gave the world. Our thoughts are with her family, her loved ones and fans everywhere. Take her hand, precious Lord, and lead her home. ? pic.twitter.com/I84HTEVZU1
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) August 16, 2018
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