Exclusive: Aretha Franklin Approved All-Star Tribute Concert Booked for Madison Square Garden in November

Exclusive:

Sony Music’s Clive Davis proposed this concept to Aretha Franklin in late June: an all-star tribute concert to commemorate her Six decades in show business. her 18 Grammy Awards, and six decade impact on music from pop to R&B to opera.

The date is November 14th for “Clive Davis Presents: A Tribute to Aretha Franklin,” served with Live Nation.

Even before Aretha’s health had been a concern this spring, she and Davis discussed taking that approach intimately. Indeed, each of them mentioned it in my opinion recently when I left for to Detroit to view Aretha. The Queen of Soul was beyond delighted. She personally approved Jennifer Hudson, who may be slated to spend time playing Aretha in the biopic for Sony/Tri-Star, as among the lead performers.

Aretha herself had hoped to the audience otherwise actually perform. If she can’t reach one’s destination, the show shall be live-cast to her in Detroit via a variety of methods.

A fantasy arrange: A true show covering her all hits would refill three hours easily. You can imagine Stevie Wonder singing the hit he wrote for my child, “Unless you Come Back to Me.” Paul McCartney originally wrote “Allow it to needlessly Be” for Aretha. Franklin’s Grammy winning cover hit of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” has been tagged by Paul Simon has his favorite version. Aretha also stood a hit with Dionne Warwick’s “I believe that a bit of Prayer.” She also scored with Elton John’s “Border Song.” Aretha won a Grammy covering Sam & Dave’s “Hang on I’m Coming,” which Sam Moore could perform. Ditto on “Don’t Play That Song for me personally.”

And then, naturally, consider other hits– from “Respect,” “Chain of Fools,” “Think,” Carole King’s “Natural Woman,” along with the two monster? hits Aretha wrote for herself– “Daydreamin” and “Rock Steady.”

Here’s something may well not know: before Nile Rodgers offered “Upside Down” to Diana Ross, he aimed to persuade Aretha to sing it. She just wasn’t feeling it, though. After some duration ago, I got them on the telephone together and they reminisced about that. “I still don’t think it had been to me,” Aretha thought to me later. “Diana was the most appropriate one!”