[ON THIS DAY IN HIPHOP] ARETHA FRANKLIN & GEORGE MICHAEL’S SOULFUL DUET

Today in hip-hop the iconic song “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” came out in 1987. This Grammy-Award winning song performed by Aretha Franklin and George Michael as a duet.

Listen to it again here:

This was Michael’s third single since going solo and it gave these two talented artists an opportunity to let their voices meld.

Michael stated,

“I was nervous [about singing with Franklin]. I knew that Aretha would get the melody and then take it all over the place, which sounds great, but the thing also needed tying down. … I just tried to stay in character, keep it simple. It was very understated in comparison to what she did.”

This song won Michael his first Grammy and propelled him to be a recognized soul singer to start his career off extremely strong.

Basically, everything that Aretha Franklin touches is gold. 

Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1942. She is a gifted singer and pianist. Throughout multiple successful attempts to get into the industry, she signed with Columbia Records. The singles that she put out throughout her career have now become certified classics.

In 1987 she became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Then in 2008, she won her 18th Grammy Award which made her one of the most honored artists in Grammy history.

Throughout her career and chart dominance, she earned her the title of Queen of Soul during a time where black women were not respected. She became the symbol of black empowerment during the civil rights movement.

We have to honor the people that made music what it is today and the faces of the civil right movement that paved the way for other musicians and public figures to have a voice.

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