Remembering Aretha Franklin

Updated 5:03 p.m. ET, August 16, 2018

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12:46 p.m. ET, August 16, 2018

The Obamas: Aretha Franklin "helped us feel more connected to each other"

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama just released a statement on the passing of music legend Aretha Franklin.

"Aretha may have passed on to a better place, but the gift of her music remains to inspire us all," the Obamas said.

Franklin performed at Obama's inauguration in January 2009.

Read the Obamas' statement:

"America has no royalty. But we do have a chance to earn something more enduring. Born in Memphis and raised in Detroit, Aretha Franklin grew up performing gospel songs in her father’s congregation. For more than six decades since, every time she sang, we were all graced with a glimpse of the divine. Through her compositions and unmatched musicianship, Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade — our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. She helped us feel more connected to each other, more hopeful, more human. And sometimes she helped us just forget about everything else and dance. Aretha may have passed on to a better place, but the gift of her music remains to inspire us all. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace. Michelle and I send our prayers and warmest sympathies to her family and all those moved by her song."

Barack Obama followed up the statement with this tweet:

12:14 p.m. ET, August 16, 2018

Aretha Franklin's name is in lights at New York City's Apollo Theater

New York City's Apollo Theater changed its marquee this morning to honor Aretha Franklin.

Earlier today, they tweeted a photo of the marquee from the 1970s, showing Franklin's name in giant letters:

12:34 p.m. ET, August 16, 2018

He visited Franklin twice Wednesday and prayed with her family

From CNN's Ralph Ellis

Civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson told CNN he visited Aretha Franklin’s home twice Wednesday to pray with her and the family.

Jackson said Franklin, as well as her father and other family members, was deeply involved in the civil rights struggle of the 1960s.

"I remember one time, Dr. (Martin Luther) King was under real attack and couldn’t raise money. She did an 11-city tour with Harry Belafonte raising money for the (Southern Christian Leadership Conference). She never stopped giving, caring and sharing," Jackson said.

Franklin lent support to other struggles, with her last concert being with Elton John to raise money to fight AIDS, Jackson said.

“She had a sense of social justice,” Jackson said.

Watch:

12:04 p.m. ET, August 16, 2018

They were inspired by Aretha Franklin and now they remember her

Some of today's top women in music are remembering the iconic Aretha Franklin this morning.

Some shared videos of the star's earliest performances, and photos of a young Franklin.

Britney Spears:

Missy Elliott:

Christina Aguilera:

Fergie:

11:56 a.m. ET, August 16, 2018

Dionne Warwick: "Rest in peace my friend"

From CNN's Anisa Husain

Grammy-award winning music legend Dionne Warwick shared her condolences today on the death of legendary singer Aretha Franklin.

"She sincerely will be missed throughout the musical world, family, and friends," Warwick said in a statement.

Read her full statement:

"Our Heavenly Father has chosen one of our most prolific voices to join His Heavenly Choir ... Aretha now rests in peace!! I, like I'm sure she was taught, that we are all put on this earth for a purpose, and once that is fulfilled, we will then be "Called Home!" She sincerely will be missed throughout the musical world, family, and friends. My deep heartfelt condolence I send from my family to her family and do hope the grief I know they are feeling will begin to subside with time, as losing a family member is a VERY HARD THING to process. Know that her pain is over and she suffers no longer! Rest in peace my friend."

11:46 a.m. ET, August 16, 2018

Civil Rights icon John Lewis says Aretha Franklin's music "strengthened" activists

Riccardo S. Savi/Getty Images for U.S. Postal Service

Civil rights icon and congressman John Lewis remembered Aretha Franklin as "one of the great artists of our time" — and a strong supporter of civil rights. Her voice, he said, gave strength to activists.

"We have lost one of the great artists of our time. Aretha Franklin was so talented. She was one of God’s precious gifts to the world — one of God’s shining jewels," Lewis said in a statement.

Here's more from his statement:

"What made her talent so great was her capacity to live what she sang. Her music was deepened by her connection to the struggles and the triumphs of the African American experience growing up in her father’s church, the community of Detroit, and her awareness of the turmoil of the South. She had a lifelong, unwavering commitment to civil rights and was one of the strongest supporters of the movement. She was our sister and our friend. Whenever I would see her, from time to time, she would always inquire about the well-being of people she met and worked with during the sixties.
When she sang, she embodied what we were fighting for, and her music strengthened us. It revived us. When we would be released from jail after a non-violent protest, we might go to a late night club and let the music of Aretha Franklin fill our hearts. She was like a muse whose songs whispered the strength to continue on. Her music gave us a greater sense of determination to never give up or give in, and to keep the faith.
She was a wonderful, talented human being. We mourn for Aretha Franklin. We have lost the Queen of Soul.”

11:43 a.m. ET, August 16, 2018

President Trump: Franklin's voice was a "wonderful gift from God"

President Trump took to Twitter to pay his respect to legendary singer Aretha Franklin, who died this morning at home in Detroit.

"She was a great woman, with a wonderful gift from God, her voice," he tweeted.

11:33 a.m. ET, August 16, 2018

How one of Aretha Franklin's hits inspired millions of women and African Americans

From CNN's Brandon Griggs

Nobody would call Aretha Franklin a central figure of the civil rights movement. And she was not an overt feminist.

But the singer, who died Thursday at 76, shot to fame in 1967 with a hit song that inspired millions of women and African Americans during a turbulent period of social upheaval in America.

You know the tune, and you even know how to spell it: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Franklin's signature song and biggest hit, "Respect" burst from dance halls, car radios and porch windows amid a turbulent year marked by racial tensions and women lobbying for equal rights.

"I think 'Respect' was her national anthem, because everybody could relate to that," Leon Jones, 60, told CNN Wednesday at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, where he had stopped to pray for the ailing Queen of Soul.

"I think she was just talking to people in general," added Jones, who is black. "Not just African Americas, not just Asians, not just Caucasian people, but everybody, because you could get disrespected in daily life."

11:18 a.m. ET, August 16, 2018

The Beatles remember the Queen of Soul

The Beatles' Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr took a moment today to remember the life of music legend Aretha Franklin.

McCartney and Starr both tweeted tributes to Franklin this morning:

Paul McCartney: "Her greatness as a musician and a fine human being will live with us forever"

Ringo Starr: "God bless Aretha Franklin"