Janet Jackson recalled what it was like living down the street from the Queen of Soul herself.
Pop royalty Janet Jackson remembered living down the street from the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin.
Her voice breaking, Jackson, 52, described how Franklin, who passed away Thursday at 76, lived near the family during part of her childhood. The Jacksons resided in Detroit when her brothers recorded for Motown Records as the Jackson 5.
“Her kids used to come over to our house and play and we’d go over to hers,” Jackson, a Gary, Indiana, native, told iHeart Radio Thursday night. “I remember her with the red hair, shoulder-length hair… she had this white midriff [top], this white skirt, and there she was, Miss Aretha Franklin.”
“‘Respect,’ ‘You Better Think,’” Jackson sighed. “It’s sad, you know? But she’s still here with us. Her music will live on forever. What a voice. What a great body of work that inspired so many people.”
