NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WVEC) — Aretha Franklin captured the world with her music but sadly passed away on Thursday at the age of 76.
13News Now spoke with a local friend of Franklin's, Queen Esther Marrow. Marrow said it was who she was that kept them friends for decades.
"To me, she wasn't a diva. It was like, girl, just talking and chit-chatting," said Queen Esther, a soul and gospel singer from Newport News.
Queen Esther met Aretha Franklin in the 60's while touring with Duke Ellington. Their music paths crossed, and they soon shared a passion for civil rights, working alongside Dr. Martin Luther King.
"I would say '67 because it was during that time she was coming out and making hits, and of course, we bonded when we were working with Dr. King," she said.
Losing a lifelong friend isn't easy.
"It's a hurt that you can't say 'oh well' and it goes away," Queen Esther told 13News Now.
But, like the rest of the world, Queen Esther will remember Aretha Franklin through her music.
"Anybody, any nationality, she just would reach in and grab you, hook, line, and sinker and you could not be around her music and not move and pat your foot," she said about Aretha Franklin's music.
Queen Esther said she will always remember the iconic singer as the true Queen of Soul.
"She has touched the world," she said.
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