Aretha Franklin Cancels Tour

Aretha Franklin has been released from Detroit's Sinai Grace Hospital after a brief stay for undisclosed health reasons — though she has cancelled all of her concert dates for the next six months on her doctor's orders. "I would like to thank my friends, fans and supporters for all the beautiful flowers and their many well wishes," she said in a statement.

The 68-year-old Franklin, whom Rolling Stone named the greatest singer of all-time in 2008, canceled two shows in August after breaking two ribs in a fall. In October 2009 she performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25 Anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden.

Read Mary J. Blige's tribute to Aretha

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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