Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin coming off a very succesful concert in Brooklyn for over 10, 000 fans last Thursday (Aug. 4th), will be singing at the ceremony dedicating the statue of Martin Luther King in Washington DC on Sunday, August 28th. Preisdent Obama, Stevie Wonder and others will also be there.

Ms. Franklin will sing King's favorite song - "Precious Lord, Take My Hand".

Before heading to DC, Franklin will perform in the suburbs of Detroit at the DTE Music Center for her first concert in her hometown since being stricken with an undisclosed serious ailment last year that resulted in her being out of commision for nearly 7 months.

In September Aretha receives awards from the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz - The Legends Award, on the 12th at the Kennedy Center in DC. On the 19th she receives the Society of Singers Legends Award in Beverly Hills, California.

The following week she performs in Chicago for the Ice Show on the 25th at the Sears Center (it will be taped and televised on November 13th).

Last night, Franklin sang for Congressman Charlie Rangel's 81st birthday party at the Plaza Hotel in NYC.

Her upcoming tour dates announced are:

Thu 08/25/11 Clarkston, MI DTE Center

Mon 09/12/11 Washington DC Kennedy Center Thelonius Monk Award

Mon 09/19/11 Los Angeles, CA Beverly Hilton Hotel Society of Singers Legends’s Awards

Sat 09/24/11 Chicago, IL Hoffman Estates Sears Center

Fri 10/07/11 Minneapolis, MN Mystic Lake Casino

Sun 10/16/11 Durham, NC Durham Performing Arts Center

Tue 10/19/11 Nashville, KY Ryman Auditorium

Sat 10/22/11 Richmond, KY Eastern Kentucky University

Tue 05/08/12 Kansas City, KS Kaufman Center

Forever and ever.

Much love and respect to Aretha..... but I would prefer someone who still has their voice like Gladys, Natalie Cole, Deniece Williams etc to perform at the MLK event. It was painful to listen to Ree at the Obama events.

PlayboyOriginal said:

Much love and respect to Aretha..... but I would prefer someone who still has their voice like Gladys, Natalie Cole, Deniece Williams etc to perform at the MLK event. It was painful to listen to Ree at the Obama events.

You should google Aretha 2011 on YouTube. Her voice has improved since the surgery. Go NOW!

Timmy84 said:

PlayboyOriginal said:

Much love and respect to Aretha..... but I would prefer someone who still has their voice like Gladys, Natalie Cole, Deniece Williams etc to perform at the MLK event. It was painful to listen to Ree at the Obama events.

You should google Aretha 2011 on YouTube. Her voice has improved since the surgery. Go NOW!

LMAO I'll take your word for it.... I rather listen to Aretha from the 90's on back. She is a national treasure.

Timmy84 said:

Forever and ever.

Ms. Aretha was pretty when she was younger. I've never seen this pic before, where exactly is it from?

Cinnamon234 said:

Timmy84 said:

Forever and ever.

Ms. Aretha was pretty when she was younger. I've never seen this pic before, where exactly is it from?

I forgot the name of the place but it was in Chicago and years vary. Aretha said this was around 1966 (this is when she was crowned "The Queen of Soul"). The UK docu I listened to her of hers said 1968 lol

The Regal Theatre in Chicago, this was prior to her hey day at Atlantic Records.

She was crowned that night as 'The Queen of The Blues' as an honor to take Dinah Washington's place in fact.

Timmy84 said:

Cinnamon234 said:

Ms. Aretha was pretty when she was younger. I've never seen this pic before, where exactly is it from?

I forgot the name of the place but it was in Chicago and years vary. Aretha said this was around 1966 (this is when she was crowned "The Queen of Soul"). The UK docu I listened to her of hers said 1968 lol

RnBAmbassador said:

The Regal Theatre in Chicago, this was prior to her hey day at Atlantic Records.

She was crowned that night as 'The Queen of The Blues' as an honor to take Dinah Washington's place in fact.

Timmy84 said:

I forgot the name of the place but it was in Chicago and years vary. Aretha said this was around 1966 (this is when she was crowned "The Queen of Soul"). The UK docu I listened to her of hers said 1968 lol

That's right! "Queen of the Blues".

Those dates are kind of close together. I hope she's not over-extending herself.

HotGritz said:

Those dates are kind of close together. I hope she's not over-extending herself.

I thought the same...

RnBAmbassador said:

The Regal Theatre in Chicago, this was prior to her hey day at Atlantic Records.

She was crowned that night as 'The Queen of The Blues' as an honor to take Dinah Washington's place in fact.

Nice;-)

I thought she was a beauty pageant at first lol