Aretha Franklin Dies

Aretha Franklin, the American singer deemed the Queen of Soul, came to The Bahamas in the very early part of her stellar career to perform at the Oakes Filed Hangar, then a left over from the abandoned international airport that was bequeathed to us from the Harry Oakes Estate.  It was not a good story because even though she performed, the promoter of the concert stiffed her and didn’t pay her her money.  We don’t know if she got paid eventually and whether she ever came back to Nassau.  But she was here.  All that aside, a wonderful, full talent has passed on to the ages. Her death on Thursday 16 August brought down the curtain on a life well lived and a talent utilized to its fullest for happiness, joy and uplifting of the human spirit. Our favourite y Aretha Franklin is the performance with James Cleveland in Los Angeles live in 1972 of Oh Mary Don’t You Weep.