When the beloved Queen of Soul made her grand exit from this world on Thursday (Aug. 16, 2018), it was a day that was forever marked in history, as the day soul music lost a TRUE gem. Aretha Franklin was 76 years young when she lost her life after a long battle with cancer. She’s loved by many and one of her dearest friends, Stevie Wonder, spent a lot of time with her in her final days. On Friday morning, he took a minute to recall what those final moments with her was like.
(VIDEO) Stevie Chokes Up While Revealing What He Said To Aretha
In Stevie’s interview with “CBS Morning,” he explained the heartache he feels after losing Aretha, whom he refers to as his “sister.” During his recollection of their interaction in her last days, he broke down to tears, but still managed to give a beautiful, yet heartbreaking picture of what their interaction was like when he visited her home in Detroit on Tuesday:
Stevie Wonder: “She wasn’t able to speak back, but her family felt that she could hear me, and so I just said all the things that I’ve always said and told her to say hello to my sister – that I lost this year as well,” said Stevie. “But, you know, she did incredible music, incredible singer. She touched every genre. Every singer was influenced in some way by the way she sang, and they will forever be influenced by her because of her voice, her emotion, her sincerity is unforgettable.”
“We’d been talking about it. There was a song that I had written called ‘The Future,’ and we were going to sing it together. And so,” Franklin said, pausing as he was overcome with emotion, “I thought I cried my last tear.”
Stevie then reflected on how coming up in Detroit, Aretha (native of the Motown city) was ALWAYS one of his biggest inspirations:
“She was just consistently a great human being, and she always – even with whatever turmoil may have been happening in her life, even through her illness – she did not put that on anybody else,” said Wonder. “She believed, I think that most of all she was doing God’s work, and she was. She brought joy to others’ lives, and she will – her voice and the essence of her will long live all of us that are here right now.”
In addition to praising his friend for her resiliency as a woman who’s gone through immense pain, Wonder also admired her ability to dominate in music:
“I knew ‘Respect’ from Otis Redding, but when I heard her sing it, it was like hearing a whole new song. Amazing what she did with the song, originally done by Otis Redding,” Stevie said. “But, you know, another similarity to that is the song that I wrote, ‘Until You Come Back to Me.’ … The greatest gift for me was when I heard her sing ‘Until You Come Back to Me.’ Someone said on one of the channels yesterday that when she sings your song, she takes it, and you don’t get it back. And that’s what she did.” Adding, “I don’t mind it at all.”
May the forever Queen of Soul rest in peace and power. Continued condolences to her children and loved ones.
