Excerpt
SUMMARY: Aretha Franklin was honored recently by the National Portrait Gallery with a “Portrait of a Nation” prize, given out to some of the people who appear in its collection. Gwen Ifill spoke with the Queen of Soul about her career, her voice and her legacy.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): Aretha Franklin been given many honors over the years, but, last week, she was honored in a new way, as Gwen and I emceed the inaugural American Portrait Gallery event to honor the portraits of a nation.
Gwen is back with a conversation with the Queen of Soul about her remarkable career and her big plans still coming up.
GWEN IFILL (NewsHour): It was an evening to honor legends, from designers to heroes from the world of sport and the military.
But it was the Queen of Soul who got the red carpet crowd to their feet. Mid-concert, Detroit’s own Aretha Franklin added another prestigious honor to her extensive collection.
JUDY WOODRUFF: There is only one Aretha Franklin.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
GWEN IFILL: The National Portrait Gallery’s first Portrait of America Award.
Franklin’s likeness hangs at the Washington museum.
ARETHA FRANKLIN, Portrait of a Nation Prize Winner: We were ladies and gentlemen, and we weren’t overnight stars. It was gradual. And, for me, I just try to keep my head out of the clouds, keep my feet on the ground.
GWEN IFILL: The 73-year-old Franklin has been honored for her jazz, rock, pop, classical, and gospel singing. She is the first female and just the fourth artist overall to place 100 career titles on Billboard’s hot R&B/hip-hop songs chart.
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