It's her life and her business but I would bet almost anything this must be weight related. She's got to be pushing 325# easy. That much weight isn't good for anyone.
Queen of Soul cancels concerts Aretha Franklin's decision to postpone all professional activity for the next six months has some worried about the state of the Queen of Soul's health.
Among the casualties of Franklin's announcement, which was spurred by doctor's orders, was a planned Dec. 9 Christmas concert at Detroit's Fox Theatre. The concert, which was to feature former Temptations lead singer Dennis Edwards, was announced just last week.
"I'm not upset about the cancellation; I'm more concerned about her health," Edwards said Friday. He said he had tried to get in touch with Franklin but couldn't because she had recently changed her phone numbers, which he said she does often.
"We go back 40-50 years, from the early Motown days and growing up in Detroit," he said. "She's a personal friend of mine, and her health is more important to me than the show."
Up in the air is Franklin's involvement in the Thanksgiving activities at Detroit's New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, once pastored by her father, the late Rev. C.L. Franklin. The church is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner billed as "Aretha's Thanksgiving Gospel Feast," but the Rev. Robert Smith, the current pastor, said by e-mail Friday that he wasn't sure whether Franklin would attend. There has been "no word from her," Smith said.
The Fox Theatre concert is among a rash of recent concert cancellations from Franklin. The Fox show was announced the same day Franklin, 68, canceled a concert appearance in Charlottesville, Va., "for health reasons," according to her representative. The next day, Franklin pulled out of an Oct. 30 concert at Drury University in Springfield, Mo., also citing health concerns.... ***********************************************************
New Bethel is right down the street from where I grew up.
Aretha Franklin's annual free gospel concert will happen as planned even though doctors have ordered the Queen of Soul to take it easy until May. Franklin was released Saturday from Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit after treatment for an undisclosed illness.
"She is up and about and doing real good but not well enough to perform right now," said her longtime friend, Fannie Tyler of Detroit. Franklin is expected to be present at the event later this month. Franklin began offering a free gospel concert and feast to Detroiters seven years ago -- kind of a pre-holiday gift to the city.
Sometimes she performs or joins others performing, but usually other artists are the focus of the gathering.
This year, "Aretha's Thanksgiving Gospel Fest" will be at 6 p.m. Nov. 25 at the church she grew up in, New Bethel Baptist Church at 8430 C.L. Franklin Blvd. in Detroit. A portion of Linwood Boulevard was renamed in honor of her late father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin, who was pastor at New Bethel for many years.
Among those scheduled to perform are Dorinda Clark-Cole of the Grammy Award-winning Clark Sisters, Esther Smith, Paul Porter of the Christianaires, Spencer Taylor and the Highway QCs, Slim and the Morning Echoes and the Mighty Voices of Wonder....
Last edited by Lilo; 11/06/1006:42 AM. Reason: added info
"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives." Winter is Coming Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
