Upon hearing the news last week that Aretha Franklin had died at age 76, following a battle with pancreatic cancer, we went into overdrive to produce a Daily Detroit podcast episode that could pay proper tribute to the Queen of Soul. This episode is wall-to-wall Aretha.
It includes audio and interviews with mourners at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, the church where her father, the late Rev. C.L. Franklin, was pastor and in which she grew up singing. We also spoke with Evrod Cassimy, a family friend and journalist at WDIV-TV; Marsha Battle Philpot, whose father recorded her first single in Detroit; and Dan Austin, of HistoricDetroit.org and host of the Motor City Soul Club.
We wrap up by highlighting a couple of our favorite songs. For Jer, it’s “Baby I Love You” from 1967.
I went a different route by talking about “Freeway of Love” from 1985. It’s hardly my favorite Aretha song, brought down by its high-gloss ’80s overproduction and bouncy synths and drumbeat, but it’s undeniably a fun love letter to her hometown, and the video for it was filmed right up the street from me at the former Doug’s Body Shop on Woodward Avenue in Ferndale.
God bless the Queen of Soul. May she rest in peace. Thanks for the incredible music.
Recent Comments