Aretha Franklin To Be Honored With Tribute Concert

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Update (Feb. 3): CeeLo Green, Ledisi and Sam Moore (of Sam and Dave fame) have now been added to the list of performers who will be paying tribute to the Queen of Soul on March 6.

Our original report from last fall…
Live music impresario Michael Dorf has announced that Aretha Franklin will be the 2017 honoree for his annual benefit concert. The Music of Aretha Franklin at Carnegie Hall will be held on March 6, 2017. The list of performers includes Melissa Etheridge, Kenny Loggins, Ann Wilson, Todd Rundgren, Taj Mahal, Living Colour, Sarah Dash and more.

Past tributes have all sold-out and included the Music of Bill Withers, Talking Heads, Prince, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan, Elton John, REM, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Paul Simon and most recently David Bowie.

This 14th annual “Music Of” tribute will feature 20 artists performing the Queen of Soul’s songbook. Tickets are available here.

All net profits raised by this show are donated to music education programs, serving underprivileged youth. Says Dorf: “We are very proud to say that so far, we have raised over $1.5 million NET dollars for music education by giving to worthy organizations such as Little Kids Rock, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Young Audiences, ASOMusic Notes, Grammy in the Schools, and Church Street School for Music & Art and others over the past 11 years.”

Franklin has earned 17 Top 10 pop singles and 20 #1 R&B singles. Among her most memorable recordings are such ’60s hits as “Respect,” “Think” and “Chain of Fools.” Two decades later, she enjoyed a resurgence with songs like “Freeway of Love” and “Who’s Zoomin’ Who.” And along the way, she has earned just about every accolade and award imaginable including 17 Grammys and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, became a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1994 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.

Watch the Queen of Soul perform this Burt Bacharach – Hal David chestnut…

Bowie was selected as the 2016 honoree well before his sudden death in January of this year. The demand for tickets and the enthusiasm of the creative community to participate led to the addition of a second evening at the much-larger Radio City Music Hall. Among the classic rock performers: Ann Wilson, Debbie Harry, Michael Stipe, Cyndi Lauper, Perry Farrell, Rickie Lee Jones, Jakob Dylan and Mumford & Sons.

Watch Debbie Harry perform “Starman”…