A Musician and Friend Remembers The Queen of Soul

L.J. Reynolds, of Detroit’s legendary soul group The Dramatics, remembers his friend Aretha Franklin.

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Listen with the audio player above. CultureShift airs weekdays at noon on 101.9 WDET. 

 

Dozens of artists will pay tribute to Aretha Franklin on Thursday, August 30, at Chene Park in Detroit.

One of those performers is L.J. Reynolds of Detroit’s legendary soul group The Dramatics

Reynolds was not only a musical contemporary of Franklin, he was also a friend.

CultureShift’s Amanda LeClaire spoke with Reynolds about the Queen of Soul’s singular talent and how her legacy lives on. 

 

Check out Reynolds’ 1972 underground soul classic ‘We’re in the Middle’ below. 

Author

  • Amanda LeClaire is an award-winning journalist and producer of the CuriosiD podcast for 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. She served as the host of WDET's now discontinued program CultureShift, was a founding producer of WDET’s flagship news talk show Detroit Today, and a former host/reporter for Arizona Public Media.