“We started out as, like, Aretha groupies or something.”
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Former President Bill Clinton honored the late singer, Aretha Franklin, at her funeral service on Thursday both as a friend and as a fan. Clinton said that he and his wife, Hillary, were admirers of the soul singer before they met her.
“We started out not as a president, a first lady, a senator, a secretary of state,” Clinton said. “We started out as, like, Aretha groupies or something.”
Franklin sang at many events for Clinton, including his inauguration. Clinton was not the only politician present at the funeral. Hillary Clinton, Former Attorney General Eric Holder, Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, and Rep. Maxine Waters were all in attendance.
“This woman got us all here in these seats today. Not because she had this breathtaking talent, which she did,” Clinton said.
“… but because she lived with courage. Not without fear, but overcoming her fears. She lived with faith. Not without failure, but overcoming her failures. She lived with power. Not without weakness, but overcoming her weaknesses.”
Clinton sprinkled his tribute to Franklin with plenty of humor, from antidotes of their meeting to lighthearted jokes about her sense of fashion.
“I was so glad when I got here … when the casket was still open, because I said, ‘I wonder what my friend’s got on today. I wanna see what the girl is carrying out,’” Clinton said, sparking laughter from the crowd.
Clinton remembered that he went to Franklin’s last ever public performance and that despite her illness, she put on a show.
“She had to bring a chair out and she sang for 45 straight minutes,” Clinton exclaimed.
“She did this great thing knowing she could not live long and she even told the audience that day she had gotten a good medical report. I have no idea if it’s true or not. But I know one thing, she wanted them to sit back, relax, feel good, and listen to her sing and not worry about how long she was gonna live.”
Clinton finished out his eulogy by playing Franklin’s “Think” on his phone through the microphone.
“Good bless you, Aretha, we love you!”
Other speakers at Franklin’s funeral included Rev. Jesse Jackson and Former Attorney General Eric Holder.
