Aretha Franklin's funeral was slated to be a "celebration" of the soul queen's life, and former President Bill Clinton took that label seriously.
Franklin, who died at 76 earlier this month, was honored Friday with a glitzy memorial service that went far beyond its planned six hours. While Ariana Grande brought the pop and Rev. Al Sharpton took on the political, Clinton opted for a personal reflection on Franklin's influential career.
Clinton said that he and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "started out not as a president and a first lady ... but as Aretha groupies" in the years after they graduated from college. And after Franklin performed at his inauguration celebration in 1993, that fandom turned into friendship. They bonded as Franklin became "the composer of her own life song," Clinton said, and he made sure to take note of what she was wearing along the way.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Clinton and Franklin's jokes lasted right up until what turned out to be Franklin's last show. Even though Franklin was obviously ailing from pancreatic cancer, she "summoned" Clinton backstage, stood up, and asked "How're you doing, baby?," he recalled. Then, Clinton said, she powered through "not one song, not two songs," but a whole 45-minute performance.
A spectacular show was the perfect end to the queen's career, a fact Clinton made obvious by giving Franklin the last word in his eulogy as well. Kathryn Krawczyk
-
England’s ‘dysfunctional’ children’s care systemIn the Spotlight A new report reveals that protection of youngsters in care in England is failing in a profit-chasing sector
-
Cider farms to visit this autumnThe Week Recommends With harvest season fast approaching, spend an afternoon at one of these idyllic orchards
-
Endangered shark meat is being mislabeled and sold in the USUnder the radar It could cause both health and ecological problems
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
