HONORING A LEGEND

Bill Clinton: Aretha Franklin Was the ‘Composer of Her Own Life Song’

The former president also said that he and Hillary Clinton were “Aretha groupies.”

Former President Bill Clinton paid tribute to late singer Aretha Franklin on Friday, saying that she “had a voice of a generation, maybe the century.” Clinton described himself and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as “Aretha groupies” when Franklin became a breakout star while they were graduating from college. Franklin then went on to perform at Clinton’s inauguration and several other events throughout the years. “She was the composer of her own life song, and what a song it turned out to be,” he said. Over the years, Clinton said he saw Franklin live with courage, faith, and power, but not without overcoming fear, failures, and weaknesses. “I just loved her,” he said. “She cared about broken people, she cared about people who didn’t succeed as much as she did.” To end his speech, he played Franklin’s “Think” from his phone. “She took the gifts God gave her and she kept getting a little bigger everyday,” he said.