'Queen Of So Many Things': Berklee College Remembers Aretha Franklin
BOSTON (CBS) - At Berklee College of Music, the loss of Aretha Franklin was felt immediately.
"Oh Queen of Soul. I don't have to think twice about it," Professor Gabrielle Goodman said.
Gabrielle Goodman is a professor of voice and for her the list goes on. "Queen of so many things, Queen of Soul, Queen of Improvisation," she added.
Goodman still remembers one of the best compliments she ever received.
"She said, 'Oh that's great, sounds like Aretha!' and I thought what a huge compliment, there is just no greater compliment for someone to say that you sound like Aretha," she said.
Students hear about Aretha every single day. "They try to teach that stuff and we get close but some of that is all from the heart," Trevin Kraus said.
"My feeling is if you can sing Aretha Franklin's music and sing it well than you are doing something special," Goodman explained.
Aretha received an honorary doctorate in music from Berklee in 2006 and Professor Goodman actually met her in New York City.
"We had an opportunity to meet her momentarily and shake her hand and tell her how much she meant to us and she was so gracious and wonderful," she said.
Even though it is sad the Queen of Soul is no longer with us, "It's emotional so I'm going to stop crying now or keep from crying now," she said.
Here, she will live through her music.
"She's truly one of a kind. People will be mimicking her until the end of time," Kraus added.