Aretha is one of the greats and I’ve been feeling reflective while listening to her music this week.  I’ll keep it brief but The Queen of Soul has an incredibly powerful musical legacy that starts in the 50’s. Her voice had the ability to touch so many people in a deep way.  Some of her songs such as Respect offered hope, encouragement and joy too.

She has some incredible performances and one of my favourite 80s cult movies is The Blue Brothers with a stellar line up of musical talent including Aretha, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker and James Brown. The making of this movie with John Belushi sounded all out crazy and also included Carrie Fisher as the vengeful jilted ex girlfriend. Aretha’s rendition of Think in the fried chicken store is  a classic.

Rock Steady, a 70’s funk track is another favourite. Music doesn’t come much better than this. The word legend is frequently overused but it’s straight up honest here.

And a word from President Obama.

“Nobody embodies more fully the connection between the African-American spiritual, the blues, R&B, rock and roll–the way that hardship and sorrow were transformed into something full of beauty and vitality and hope.”

RIP Aretha.

Notes : Featured Image is the album Aretha, artwork by Andy Warhol