Detroit Residents Hold Vigil For Aretha Franklin

On Wednesday, residents and community leaders in Detroit held a prayer vigil for ailing singer Aretha Franklin. City councilwoman JoAnn Watson led the gathering in Detroit's downtown honoring the 68-year-old Franklin, who is reportedly having a surgical procedure today.

WDIV Detroit reported that Watson spoke to the singer before the vigil. "We asked her, 'Where would you like us to have it? Inside? Outside?' She said, 'Where the Detroit statue is — [that's] a beautiful place to have it,' " Watson told WDIV. "So we are standing, and praying, on her behalf, and it's a blessing to do that."

Aretha Franklin: Rolling Stone's No. 1 Singer Of All Time

In November, Franklin's doctors ordered her to cancel all of her tour dates and personal appearances for the next six months.

On Wednesday, the National Recording Academy of Arts & Sciences announced that Franklin had been nominated for a Grammy Award for her duet with Ron Isley, "You've Got A Friend," in the Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals category. Franklin was honored with the Grammys' Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994.

Community Holds Vigil For Aretha Franklin [ClickOnDetroit.com]

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Song Stories

“Satisfied”

Tom Waits | 2011

Only the genius of Tom Waits could combine the subject of mortality, a reoccurring theme in his work, with wordplay that name checks both Mick and Keith, whom he calls "Mr. Jagger" and "Mr. Richards," and the title of their magnum opus, "Satisfaction." And to show just how cool Waits really is, he even got Mr. Richards to play along, one of nine guest appearances the guitarist has made on three Waits albums. "This growling roadhouse stomp is a late-breaking response to the Stones' greatest hit," Rolling Stone said of the track.

More Song Stories entries »

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