After postponing it for three years, the late Queen of Soul will finally be honored at the induction ceremony on November 1.
- September 15, 2018
AceShowbiz - Aretha Franklin is to be inducted posthumously into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.
The Queen of Soul, who passed away in August at the age of 76, will be one of seven music figures connected to the Tennessee city who will be honoured at the induction ceremony on November 1.
Franklin, who was born in Memphis and lived there for two years, will be joined by rock and soul group The Box Tops, gospel artist O'Landa Draper, R&B singer-songwriter Eddie Floyd, rockabilly pioneers The Rock and Roll Trio, Memphis rappers 8Ball & MJG, and radio personality George Klein, a close friend of the late Elvis Presley.
According to USA Today, John Doyle, executive director of the Rock 'n' Soul Museum and the Hall of Fame, explained that committee had been wanting to induct the "Respect" singer for the past three years, but kept postponing her induction with the hope she would attend.
"We'd been talking to her and her people and they were excited about it, but it was all about her schedule," he said, adding that when they learned she was seriously ill earlier this year, they decided to honour her at the 2018 ceremony regardless.
The event will take place at Cannon Center for the Performing Arts on November 1 with a prizegiving and concert that Doyle promises will be "star-studded".
The Memphis Music Hall of Fame began in 2012, and previous inductees include Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Justin Timberlake, and Otis Redding.
Franklin passed away following a battle with pancreatic cancer, and she was laid to rest in Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan, following a public viewing and memorial service. Her final resting place, near her father C.L. Franklin inside a white marble room of a mausoleum, is now open to the public.
