Aretha Franklin Fun Facts, Quotes and Tweets
22nd April 2016
Quote: "They’re saying flu-like symptoms. I’m wondering if it has anything to do with this Zika virus... It’s such a blow. It’s really surreal. It’s just kind of unbelievable. He was definitely an original and a one-of-a-kind. Truly there was only one Prince." Aretha Franklin fears music icon Prince may have succumbed to the fast-spreading Zika virus as she pays tribute to the late superstar.
21st December 2014
Quote: "When I was a little girl, I remember there were certain restaurants that I could not eat at. We went to the market instead. We brought groceries and ate in the car.... When we'd stop to get gas, we had to go to certain gas stations because we could not use the restrooms at all of them. We could only use the restrooms at Gulf. We’ve come a long way... because of Dr. King and the civil rights movement, my life is forever changed." Aretha Franklin thanks late civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for the freedoms she enjoys in America today.
11th December 2014
Quote: "It was good, up to a point. I met with the producers prior to that movie. Had we agreed on a creative approach, it would've been my movie." Aretha Franklin reveals Mick Jagger's recent James Brown biopic, Get On Up, was almost a film about her life.
4th October 2014
Quote: "He's far too young for me. He wouldn't know where to start with me. He's cute; he's a nice kid." Aretha Franklin confesses to a crush on soul singer Maxwell.
29th September 2014
Fact: Aretha Franklin has covered Adele's Rolling In The Deep hit for her new album Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics. The new release will also feature the Queen of Soul's renditions of Midnight Train To Georgia, Donna Summer's Last Dance and Tina Turner's What's Love Got To Do With It.
10th March 2014
Quote: "I'm sure the President had much on his agenda and was just a little tired. However, spelling and giving it, is a huge difference. The President and I are mutual when it comes to R-E-S-P-E-C-T." Legendary singer Aretha Franklin laughs off U.S. President Barack Obama's spelling flub of her hit song after he stumbled over the lyrics to Respect during her introduction at the Women of Soul event at the White House last week (06Mar14).
30th September 2012
Quote: "It's been a long time since an artist like Adele has come along. Carole King is the last person who wrote the kind of lyrics women could immediately relate to. I love to hear a schoolgirl on the school bus yelling, 'We could have had it all'." Aretha Franklin heaps praise on Rolling in the Deep singer Adele.
15th July 2012
Quote: "Yes, I am interested as a judge!" Aretha Franklin adds her name to the mix as a possible replacement for Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler on the American Idol judging panel.
4th June 2012
Fact: Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin swapped the recording studio for the kitchen on Monday (04Jun12) to share her recipe for Aretha's Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Peanut Butter Shrimp. The singing icon showed off her culinary skills during a segment on U.S. breakfast show Today.
18th May 2012
Quote: "So shocking to hear about the passing of Donna Summer. In the '70s, she reigned over the disco era and kept the disco jumping. Who will forget Last Dance. A fine performer and a very nice person." Music icon Aretha Franklin pays tribute to the late disco legend, who lost her battle with lung cancer on Thursday (17May12).
27th April 2012
Quote: "It's actually still very active, we've just been having a lot of conversations about who would play my dad and my family. So, right now it's a Mexican standoff... I've got another call on the biopic so it won't be that long if we're going to do it." Aretha Franklin insists work on a proposed biopic is ongoing.
19th April 2012
Tweet: "I am so sorry to hear of DICk Clark's passing, an American institution. DICk Clark was a real gentleman and the ears of young America enjoying milk shakes, fries and bobby sox." Soul legend Aretha Franklin pays tribute to the beloved U.S. TV personality, who died on Wednesday (18Apr12).
17th February 2012
Fact: A devastated Aretha Franklin has paid tribute to tragic Whitney Houston with a special poem all about the twinkle in her eye. Based on the famous nursery rhyme Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, it reads, "Twinkle twinkle superstar, we don't wonder where you are. Up above the world so bright, like a diamond in the night. Twinkle twinkle she's still alone, I can't believe that she's gone."
17th February 2012
Quote: "I jumped up off the side of the bed... I just said, 'Oh my God. That's not good.'" Aretha Franklin had just finished watching a movie in bed when she saw a newsflash about Whitney Houston's death on TV.
13th February 2012
Tweet: "My heart goes out to Cissy, her daughter Bobbi Kris, her family and Bobby." Aretha Franklin offers condolences to Whitney Houston's mother, daughter and ex-husband following the star's tragic death on Saturday (11Feb12).
3rd January 2012
Fact: Slimmed-down soul star Aretha Franklin is "considering" Donna Karan, Valentino and Vera Wang as wedding dress designers for her summer nuptials. The singer's representative has confirmed Franklin will wed "forever friend" William Wilkerson in June or July (12).
12th December 2011
Quote: "I'm looking for classical artists between the ages of 18 and 35 who are studying to sign to Aretha's Records... Opera trained..." Soul icon Aretha Franklin wants to give aspiring musicians their big break by signing them to her label.
4th August 2011
Quote: "I'm looking for a great audience. They will get to hear everything that they came to hear - all of the hits. You have to give New York Respect." Aretha Franklin promises to put on a dazzling show as she takes the stage in Coney Island, New York for a free concert on Thursday (04Aug11).
11th July 2011
Quote: "Ms. (Jennifer) Hudson and Fantasia are two of the people being considered but Halle Berry is back in the game! She let me know that she still wants to play the role... I do think she could pull it off." Aretha Franklin dreams of seeing former Bond girl Halle Berry play out her life story on the big screen.
2nd May 2011
Quote: "It was so cold out there I could barely talk, not to mention sing... Colin Powell gave me some of those hand warmers to sit on and it didn't help." Aretha Franklin admits she was freezing when she performed at President Barack Obama's inauguration in Washington, D.C.
1st May 2011
Quote: "Stevie (Wonder) and I have got to sing together and Smokey (Robinson) and I have got to sing together and I want to sail the Nile... the Valley of the Kings and The Sphinx and all of those fabulous places in Egypt." Aretha Franklin on what she wants to achieve in life after overcoming a health crisis at the end of 2010.
28th April 2011
Quote: "My tone was a little fuller when I was heavier. At the weight I was at before, I think I had my best, best voice." Aretha Franklin has found a downside to shedding 85 pounds (38.5 kilograms).
26th April 2011
Fact: Aretha Franklin is set to make a return to the charts for the first time since her health battle last year (10). The veteran singer will release Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love, her 38th studio album, on 3 May (11). Franklin underwent surgery in December (10) after she was diagnosed with an undisclosed illness.
22nd March 2011
Quote: "I would love to and it would be an honour and a dream come true, so Aretha, I'm here!" Singer/actress Jennifer Hudson appeals to Aretha Franklin to pick her for the starring role in a biopic about the Queen of Soul. The Oscar winner was part of an all-star tribute to the Respect hitmaker at the 2011 Grammy Awards.
4th March 2011
Quote: "I didn't have a say in the selection. She has to learn that you're not gonna participate in everything you might like to participate in." Music icon Aretha Franklin has a frank warning for singer Fantasia Barrino after she complained about being overlooked to participate in a tribute to the Queen of Soul at last month's (Feb11) Grammy Awards. Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera and Yolanda Adams were among the five divas chosen to salute an absent Franklin at the prestigious prizegiving.
3rd March 2011
Quote: "I would like the person who's going to play me to be more confident. (It) could be Fantasia, could be Jennifer (Hudson). Don't know how that's going to turn out." Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin has no idea who will portray her in a movie about her life, after the icon's first choice, Halle Berry, insisted she would never take on the role because she can't sing.
9th February 2011
Fact: Jennifer Hudson and Florence Welch will join Christina Aguilera and Yolanda Adams for a tribute to Aretha Franklin at Sunday's (13Feb11) Grammy Awards.
21st May 2010
Tweet: "Aretha Franklin and I... My first and ultimate inspiration... I'm about to cry and... Still shaking!" Demi Lovato tweets about finally meeting her idol and having her photograph taken with the veteran singer. She posted the snap for her Twitter.com followers to see.
18th September 2009
Fact: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bosses have lined-up an all-star list of honourees including Bruce Springsteen, U2, Stevie Wonder, Metallica and Aretha Franklin to perform at the organisation's 25th anniversary concert in New York next month (Oct09).
18th July 2009
Fact: Model-turned-singer CARLA BRUNI-SARKOZY's New York concert on Saturday (18Jul09) in which she'll mark the 91st birthday of Nelson Mandela, will be her first since becoming France's first lady in February 2008. The Italian-born songstress will join an all-star line-up, including Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys, as they celebrate the former South African president and his legacy at Radio City Music Hall.
27th March 2009
Fact: Soul singer Aretha Franklin will be honoured by the U.S. civil rights organisation National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at its annual Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner on 3 May (09) in Detroit, Michigan.
19th March 2009
Quote: "About three weeks prior to the inauguration I was told Id be invited to sing at the swearing in. I couldnt hardly sleep at night, I was jumping, so excited. I couldnt hardly settle down after the first night or two. I've had many, many honours, but that was unparalleled I think. That can only happen one time in history." Aretha Franklin treasures her performance at U.S. President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony.
6th February 2009
Fact: The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin has cancelled a 28 March (09) benefit concert in Indiana. Ticketholders for the show at Roberts Stadium in Evansville have been offered refunds for the scrapped date; no reason for the cancellation was given as WENN went to press.
31st January 2009
Fact: The hat Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin's wore to perform at Barack Obama's presidential inauguration is being requested for an exhibit in Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. If she parts with the iconic accessory, it will be displayed in the President Obama Inaugural display alongside Michelle Obama's Jason Wu gown.
26th January 2009
Quote: "I was there... I was behind Aretha Franklin, so you didn't see me... She wore that hat so you could tell the difference between her and the Washington Monument. I mean, she likes to eat, God bless her." Comedienne Joan Rivers pokes fun at the Queen of Soul, who performed at President Barack Obama's inauguration on Tuesday (20Jan09).
28th August 2008
Fact: Singer Aretha Franklin, actors SAMUEL L. JACKSON and Nia Long, comedian Steve Harvey, and rapper Ice Cube will mark the 45th anniversary of DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'s "I have a dream" speech when they come together to raise money for King's National Memorial at a Washington, D.C. radiothon on Thursday (28Aug08).
8th February 2008
Quote: "Music is my thing, it's who I am. I'm in it for the long run. I'll be around, singing, 'What you want, baby I got it.' Having fun all the way." Soul legend Aretha Franklin has no plans to retire from the music industry.
7th February 2008
Fact: Soul queen Aretha Franklin hasn't set foot on a plane since a frightening 1983 flight from Atlanta, Georgia to Detroit, Michigan put her off taking to the air for life. She now travels from show to show on a luxury bus and refuses to perform outside of America.
6th February 2008
Fact: Soul legend Aretha Franklin will receive the Person of the Year award for MusiCares, a Recording Academy charity supporting music education, on Friday (08Feb08).
10th October 2007
Fact: Pop superstar Christina Aguilera is working on a duet with soul veteran Aretha Franklin. The unnamed track, which is being produced by DJ PREMIER, will feature on Franklin's forthcoming LP, JEWELS IN THE CROWN: ALL STAR DUETS WITH THE QUEEN - which is set for release later this year (07).
16th January 2007
Quote: "KELLY's really one of the top five singers in the world today. This girl is a young Aretha Franklin." Simon Cowell has high praise for American Idol star Kelly Clarkson.
7th January 2007
Fact: Country star Faith Hill will duet with Aretha Franklin on the soul queen's new album ARETHA: A WOMAN FALLING OUT OF LOVE.
3rd February 2006
Quote: <p>"I won't have a wardrobe malfunction, I can tell you that." Aretha Franklin insists the censors won't need to worry about her Super Bowl performance on Sunday (05FEB06). </p>
Aretha Franklin
