Funeral Held For Queen Of Gospel Albertina Walker
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Heavy hearts were lifted Friday with a celebration in memory of the Queen of Gospel, Albertina Walker. CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot takes us inside the moving ceremony.
Family, friends and fellow musicians celebrated the life of Albertina Walker at a funeral Friday at West Point Baptist Church at 36th and Cottage Grove.
During her career, Walker recorded 71 albums and wrote more than 100 songs. At 22, she organized her own singing group, the Caravans. The surviving members, among them gospel great Shirley Ceasar, performed a musical tribute.
"She was my mentor. She treated me like I was her daughter. Because of Albertina, I am; she gave me a chance," Caesar said.
Walker's former business partner, Sasha Daltonn, said, "Albertina had a special expression. … When she was making a point, she'd say, 'I'm gonna say it slow, so I can say it some more.' So to borrow her expression, I'm gonna say it slow, so I can say it some more. She was the greatest!"
Walker faced discrimination during her career because of the color of her skin, but would go on to win numerous awards and perform in front of world leaders.
"I don't think enough credit goes to people like her." Gospel singer Tramaine Hawkins said. "She couldn't even go to a restaurant and eat. She couldn't even go to a hotel and I'm flying in first class now and I can go to any hotel I want."
Among the numerous gospel greats who said their lives where shaped by Walker were those who cherished the lifelong bond they shared.
"It's an emotional moment for me and I'm still collecting myself," Walker's friend Jacqueline Jackson said. "She was like a magnet, always investing her energy to make life better for so many people."
The final tribute was left to none other than the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin.
"As a young girl, I used to listen to and just lie on the floor by my record player, and listen to the Caravans," Franklin said. "I'm so glad that I was weaned and brought up on the Caravans."
Her legacy includes not only includes her body of legendary gospel tunes, but the Albertina Walker Scholarship Foundation, dedicated to helping young students studying the arts.
