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Family Asks Prayers for Aretha Franklin

H. Michael Harvey, JD
2 min readAug 13, 2018

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Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash

Aretha Franklin, the undisputed Queen of Soul is said to be gravely ill in her beloved Detroit, Michigan. Franklin, 76 years of age announced last year that she was retiring from touring and recording music.

In recent years Franklin has had several undisclosed medical conditions that have caused her to cancel public performances. She has always been a very private person and never revealed the nature of her medical problems.

Franklin is the daughter of the legendary gospel singer, Rev. C. L. Franklin. She was born in Memphis, Tennessee, but moved to Detroit at age two. During the height of her early singing career she lived in Los Angeles, but moved back to Detroit in the 1980s.

In the 1960s, it was said of Franklin that everything she touched turned to gold, as she had one hit record after another. Her soulful voice on such renditions as I Never Love A Man (the Way I loved You), R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Chain of Fools and later, Love in a Pink Cadillac put her in a musical class all by herself.

Evrod Cassimy, a personal friend of Ms. Franklin and a television news anchor in Detroit reported earlier today that he had actually spoke with Franklin. He tweeted the following around 11:04 am:

“Just got a chance to speak to Aretha Franklin. She is resting and surrounded by close friends and…

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H. Michael Harvey, JD
H. Michael Harvey, JD

Written by H. Michael Harvey, JD

Harvey is Living Now Book Awards 2020 Bronze Medalist for his memoir Freaknik Lawyer: A Memoir on the Craft of Resistance. Available at haroldmichaelharvey.com

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