Aretha Franklin is a legend in her own time. Born in 1942, she is commonly referred to as The Queen of Soul, but make no mistake — she is also adept at jazz, rock, blues, pop, R&B and gospel music.
She is one of the most honored artists by the Grammy Awards, with 18 so far. They include the Living Legend and Lifetime Achievement awards. She has 20 No. 1 singles. Since 1961, Franklin has scored a total of 45 “Top 40” hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Aretha became the first female artist to to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and she sang during the 2009 presidential inauguration swearing in ceremony for Barack Obama. Who can forget that HAT?
Her appearance last night at the Tony Awards 2010 was shocking to many, who are concerned for the health of one of the musical greats of our time. The 68-year-old appears to be morbidly obese. With all of the resources that she has available, we cannot understand why she chooses to be a walking time bomb. Scary!
Check out the amazing recent transformation photos of actor John Goodman.
More then and now photos and “I Say A Little Prayer For You” video below: