The Special Bond Between Aretha Franklin and Barack Obama

August 16, 2018 11:05AM ET
The Special Bond Between Aretha Franklin and Barack Obama
No performer meant more to America’s 44th president than the Queen of Soul
By Ryan Bort

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The aforementioned 2015 performance at the Kennedy Center Honors will likely endure as the defining exchange between Franklin and Obama, but the president’s love for the Queen of Soul is a thread that can be traced through most of his career in public service, from the tail end of his presidency back to when he was on the campaign trail in 2008. After that historic campaign ended, Franklin was there at the National Mall when Obama was inaugurated in January 2009. She sang “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee,” and though he wasn’t bobbing and weaving like he was during the Kennedy Center Honors just under seven years later, Obama stood with his chin up, resolute as Franklin paid homage to the “holy light” of freedom that shines within the nation he would soon swear to protect. Again, Obama looked as if he were fighting off tears.

One of the charms of Obama’s time in office was his appreciation of popular music, especially anything with soul. During a 2012 campaign fundraiser at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, he famously sang a few bars of Al Green’s “Let’s Get Together.” A few months later he brought B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger and a host of other legendary musicians to the White House to perform. As they cued up the opening chords of “Sweet Home Chicago,” Guy convinced Obama to take the microphone and pay tribute to their adopted home city. “I heard you singing Al Green,” Guy said after pointing to the mic. “You done started something, you gotta keep it up now.”

From 2009, when he sang Dionne Warwick’s “Walk On By” during a Democratic rally in New Jersey, to 2016, when he chimed in — and then ultimately led — a performance of “What’d I Say” during a White House tribute to Ray Charles, Obama was never shy about expressing himself through song. The most powerful example of his vocalizing came during the funeral for South Carolina State Senator Clementa Pinckney, who was killed along with eight others when on June 17th, 2015, Dylann Roof opened fire in a Charleston church. After reflecting on the idea of grace, the president paused, bowed his head, and began singing “Amazing Grace.” Everyone in attendance stood up and joined him. Where President Trump has largely refused to acknowledge arts and culture in America, Obama was a champion of the artistic community. He regularly invited artists to the White House, released playlists of his favorite music and has shared a stages with everyone from Willie Nelson to Lin Manuel-Miranda. He has embraced the cultural leaders of the future like Chance the Rapper, while honoring those who have passed. When Prince died in 2016, Obama released a statement — not just a tweet — mourning the loss.

Franklin was of course among the many musicians Obama welcomed to the Washington. Just a few months before the president would sing “Amazing Grace” at Pinckney’s funeral, he hosted a celebration of the gospel tradition at the White House, headlined by the Queen of Soul and the Morgan State University Choir. It wasn’t so much a concert as a religious experience. Despite a broken air conditioner that left many in the room dripping with sweat, an inspired Franklin invoked a higher power for nearly 30 minutes. Obama stood clapping along in the front row before eventually taking the stage. “We’ve been to church tonight,” he said. “It feels like old-time religion here. Air conditioner broke. Women all fanning themselves.”

No performer stood closer to the core of Obama’s love of music, an in turn his love of America, than Aretha Franklin. When New Yorker editor David Remnick emailed Obama after her performance at the Kennedy Center Honors later that year, the president didn’t hold back in his response:



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