Aretha Franklin’s Granddaughter Shares Video Of The Queen Of Soul Singing At Home Before Her Death
Aretha Franklin passed away on August 16 after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer, and since then tributes have been pouring in from everyone that knew and loved her.
Her granddaughter, Victorie Franklin, 18, also took to social media, attaching a grainy black and white video of the “Queen of Soul” singing at home to a Twitter post. The timestamp on the clip is March 17, 2018, just days before Franklin’s 76th birthday and five months before she died.
Throughout the two-minute clip, Franklin is accompanying herself on the piano, stopping occasionally to just cheekily tickle the ivories, and once to blow her granddaughter a kiss while she recorded. The singer looked quite frail in comparison to the fuller figure she was always known for.
Victorie wrote a moving tribute to her grandmother in the caption of the post.
“I have many memories of me coming into her home and she would be playing the piano and singing. Words can’t describe the pain I’m feeling, but God is telling me that she is at peace. Today we lost an icon, a legend, but today I lost my grandma. I love u and imma make u proud.”
I have many memories of me coming into her home and she would be playing the piano and singing. Words can’t describe the pain I’m feeling, but God is telling me that she is at peace. Today we lost an icon, a legend, but today I lost my grandma. I love u and imma make u proud ? pic.twitter.com/cSFK5pibEV
— ?? (@Victorie_____) August 16, 2018
The clip has already been viewed over 4 million times, and other social media users wrote back to Victorie to offer their condolences to her and the rest of Franklin’s family. Victorie later posted another tweet to thank everyone for the support in this difficult time.
Exquisite. Thank you for sharing this. Love to you and all your family
— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) August 17, 2018
Franklin’s career spanned more than six decades and included a number of moments that will be remembered forever, such as the time she sang “My Country ‘Tis Of Thee” at the first presidential inauguration of former President Barack Obama in 2009.
It seems Victorie may have inherited her grandmother’s singing talents. She’s recently tried to start her own career in the music industry. She performed “Take Me To The King” at the 2014 BET awards, with her grandmother watching from the audience. She also lent her voice to Franklin’s unreleased album, recorded around the same time as the home video.
CBS News reported that Mariah Carey, who performed with Franklin once, called her “the ultimate singers’ singer,” and further described her as “an inspiration, a mentor, and a friend.”
The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History will be hosting public visitation on both August 28 and 29 in a celebration of the life and career of the “Queen of Soul,” according to Click On Detroit.
