Long live the queen
The Queen is dead.
Aretha Louise Franklin, a preacher's daughter from Memphis who was broadly acclaimed the greatest singer of the last half-century -- indeed, one of the greatest singers in the history of American song -- died of pancreatic cancer Thursday at her home in Detroit, surrounded by family and friends. She was 76.
Singer Aretha Franklin dies at age 76
And if you are seeking to understand what makes her worthy of those accolades and superlatives, you're going about it all wrong. Don't just read this or any other appreciation. Don't just sit and watch august personages pay homage on the cable news channel.
No, get out your music player and put on "Chain of Fools." Put on "Freeway of Love" or "(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman." Put on her version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water." And for goodness sake, put on "Respect." Do that, and you will understand why she was called -- with no hint of irony or crass showbiz hokum -- the Queen of Soul.
Now the Queen is dead. Some radio stations have gone to a new format: all Aretha, all the time. Everyone from Taraji P. Henson to Paul McCartney to Steve Harvey to Al Gore to Rep. John Lewis is paying tribute online. Meantime, writers of newspaper appreciations
