Video of Aretha Franklin’s stunning solo piano rendition of the yuletide classic “O Tannenbaum” —performed in 2015 at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center — has been released for the first time. The Queen of Soul served as surprise guest at the Wynton Marsalis-led 2015 Big Band Holidays concert, where …
Read More »Aretha Franklin Anthology Series to Star Cynthia Erivo
National Geographic has announced Aretha Franklin will be the next subject for the third season of its Genius anthology series, The Hollywood Reporter reports. The Queen of Soul will be portrayed by singer, songwriter and actress Cynthia Erivo, who also plays the titular role in 2019’s Harriet. She also won …
Read More »Trailers of the Week: 'Lost' Aretha Franklin Movie, New Coens, 'True Detective'
It was a really light week for trailers last week (the main event, i.e. an official full trailer for True Detective‘s Season Three, did not drop until late on Friday) — then, starting last Monday, came the deluge. Prepare to catch up on: a sneak peek at the now-in-theaters, soon-to-be-streaming-on-Netflix …
Read More »Hear Aretha Franklin Talk About Recording 'Respect'
The new episode of our podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, is a tribute to the life and music of Aretha Franklin, starting with an interview with writer David Ritz, who co-wrote Franklin’s autobiography (Aretha: From These Roots) and also went on to write the unvarnished biography Respect: The Life of …
Read More »Mavis Staples on Aretha Franklin: 'She was just special'
Mavis Staples paid tribute to longtime friendAretha Franklin in her own words to the Los Angeles Times,following Franklin’s death from pancreatic cancer Thursday at the age of 76. Staples, who was an important voice for civil rights in the Chicago-based family band the Staple Singers, refers to Franklin as “Ree” …
Read More »Dionne Warwick Remembers Aretha Franklin: 'One of Our Most Prolific Voices'
Dionne Warwick honoredAretha Franklin on Thursday after the Queen of Souldied at age 76. Warwick and Franklin were both vocal virtuosos and preeminent hitmakers in the Sixties and early Seventies. They moved in overlapping circles, and the two were closely connected with Warwick’s cousin, the star Whitney Houston. “Our Heavenly …
Read More »Jennifer Hudson to Portray Aretha Franklin in Biopic
Jennifer Hudson will portray Aretha Franklin in an upcoming biopic about the Queen of Soul, Clive Davis revealed Saturday night at his annual pre-Grammys party. Davis made the announcement while introducing Hudson at the Jay-Z-honoring gala, where the singer performed a medley of Franklin’s hits including “Think,” “Rock Steady” and …
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