Legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin’s death on Thursday at the age of 76 inspired many celebrities like Beyoncé, who dedicated her Detroit concert in memory of the Queen of Soul, to pay tribute. Ariana Grande took advantage of her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to honor Franklin with a cover of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” while accompanied by The Roots.
Franklin released “Natural Woman” in 1967 as a single from her fourteenth studio album Lady Soul. The track became one of her biggest hits, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s produced by Jerry Wexler, who co-wrote the song with Carol King and Gerry Goffin.
On the song, Franklin praises her significant other:
When my soul was in the lost and found
You came along to claim it
I didn’t know just what was wrong with me
Till your kiss helped me name it
Now I’m no longer doubtful of what I’m living for
And if I make you happy, I don’t need to do more
Over the past several decades, “Natural Woman” has been covered by many notable artists such as Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, and Mary J. Blige. King also recorded her own version of the song for her Grammy-winning album Tapestry.
In 2015, Franklin gave a powerful performance of “Natural Woman” at the 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors to pay tribute to honoree Carol King:
During her interview with Fallon, Ariana spoke about her limited interactions with Franklin and shared the story of a surprise call asking the pop singer to listen a family member’s demo:
This is one time only, [she] called me. And she goes ‘Hi, it’s Aretha.’ And I was like ‘Franklin?’ So I was like, ‘How are you?’ She was like, ‘I’m good, I’m good. You know my grandson or nephew…’ I don’t remember which one it was ‘cause it was Aretha Franklin on the phone, and I didn’t know what was happening. She was like, 'He’s an artist, I want to send you some music,’ and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’d be honored to listen.’ Like, ‘Thank you for thinking of me. Send it. Just, text me the MP3 or something.’ And she was like, ‘Well, I don’t know how to do that so I’m gonna send it to you.’ And four months later, I got a package with like a CD.
Genius honored Franklin’s illustrious career and cultural impact in a video:
Read all the lyrics to Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” on Genius now
