VIDEO: Carol King reacts to her Kennedy Center honor salute from Aretha Franklin

buzzz worthy. . .

Aretha Franklin delivers world class entertainment at the 2015 Kennedy Center honors

Singer/Songwriter Carol Kng at the Kennedy enter Honors on Dec.6, 2015.
Kennedy Center Honor recipient, Carol King forgot she was the guest of the president when it was her turn to be feted during the Tuesday night airing of the "38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors" on CBS.

Acting as if she was in the room all alone, Carol stood to her feet some, gawked and gasped some, did the church praise wave some and sang along to the lyrics she wrote, all the while having that kid-in-a-candy store flicker in her eyes.  Who elicited such a response from the honoree? Aretha. Franklin.  ("Re Re" as the veteran entertainer is affectionately known, will make you go there.  Take you straight to church, no matter what she is singing.)  There she was, right before King's eyes.   The Queen of Soul was singing the song  that put King on the proverbial map over 40 years ago-- there in the flesh singing - to her. From the moment Frank emerged from stage right, King anticipated it was about to go down epicly. And it did. Franklin glided onto the stage decked in a full length brown fur, carrying her purse.  She laid the purse on top of the baby grand. Unable to contain her excitement, the elated celebrant freely absorbed the regal performance of "Natural Woman" which ended with the crowd on its feet and the fur coat the Queen of Soul was wearing on the  stage.  Franklin, 73 was the final performer in a set that included Sara Barielles, James Taylor and Janelle Monet.


When so many American music icons have passed along, being in the presence of the living musical monument herself is an honor and the audience looked like they were glad just to see her. But the audience's enthusiasm also came from the fact that Franklin brought it like a boss in her nether years! She exuded all the soul, bravado and elegance she could muster. The crescedo of praise she received swole to a climax   mid-song, she got up from the piano at the start of the verse that goes "Oh baby what yo doing to me" and reeled the entire audience in.  The crescendo of praise she received started there.  Her command of the stage and untouchable vocals not only moved King to sheer joy, but also it moved President Obama who was seated nearby.  Many news outlets are reporting that Franklin sang so well.President Obama cried.  The camera caught POTUS wiping his eye, but it did not look like he was in tears.  However, like everyone else in the room he clearly felt Aretha's performance.

Check out the performance everyone is talking about in the video. It may be one of Aretha's best ever.

Popular Posts