Aretha Franklin, forever the Queen of Soul, passed away on August 16th from pancreatic cancer. Prior to Nicki Minaj, she held the record for having the most titles on the Billboard charts as a female artist, ranking 73 songs on The Hot 100. Franklin didn’t stop at topping the charts, she also came for 18 well-deserved Grammy Awards throughout her career. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted Aretha Franklin — the first woman to make it to that position.
Despite the queen’s passing, her legacy, music and iconic strides will remain. As we remember the Queen of Soul, we’ve put together a list of some of her most iconic looks during her most legendary live performances. Check them out below:
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"
Aretha tore it up, effortlessly singing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," with a metallic, mock-neck dress featuring pink and purple zig zag stripes. She also donned a wig with micro-bangs and a half-up-half-down look, with an elaborate half-up portion. We stan a queen who can slay this hard, vocally and through her iconic style.
"R-E-S-P-E-C-T"
The Queen of Soul wore a full-coverage dress with puff sleeves and her natural hair for the live performance of "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" in 1967. The dress features metallic sparkles that shined as bright as she did.
"Say A Little Prayer"
While the YouTube title claims this is Aretha’s best live performance, and we agree to an extent even though we truly love them all, but what is the best about this performance is Aretha Franklin’s amazing hat. The iconic metallic appeared again, this time through her woven hat which sat perfectly on the tip of her head. She accompanied it with a metallic silver blazer and a statement necklace with purple accents.
"Amazing Grace"
During Pope John Paul II’s visit to Detroit, they called on the queen herself to bless everyone with her beautiful vocals. She wore an off-white (color, not the label) dress with a matching blazer that featured black trimming. She wore her hair naturally and look elegant as always.
"Ooh Baby Baby" ft. Smokey Robinson
While her dress isn’t entirely visible, Aretha is still turning heads with her stunning hair. She remained a boss throughout her interview and continued by gracing the audience with her sweet melodies accompanied by Smokey Robinson himself.
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