Music legend Gladys Knight, along with soul veterans Ledisi and CeCe Winans, were tapped to tribute the late Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin at the American Music Awards next month (Oct 2018). The October 9th tribute at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles will focus on Franklin’s gospel roots and her 1972 album Amazing Grace.
“When I heard some of the initial ideas for the tribute, I knew without a doubt that this tribute will go down as one of the best in American music,” a statement from Sabrina Owens, Franklin’s niece and the executor of her estate, reads.
Franklin was one of Gladys’ good friends; she previously paid tribute to Aretha on the eve of her funeral in Detroit, Michigan, singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” during a gig in a local park, which is to be named after Franklin.
Last month she recalled the close relationship she shared with her fellow soul legend.
“We were both little girls, and I say little girls even though, you know, we have, like, three or four years between us, but we had that same road to go and over the years I saw her grow and hopefully she saw me grow,” Knight told Entertainment Tonight. “We were both blessed enough to be working all the time, so if we were anywhere near where we were going to be playing, she would just show up. I would show up (to see her).”
Meanwhile, record executive Clive Davis, who signed Franklin to Arista Records in 1980, is reportedly planning a tribute show titled Clive Davis Presents: A Tribute to Aretha Franklin on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York.