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A new meaning of R-E-S-P-E-C-T will take form as former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice starts gearing up for her next high-profile gig.
This time, she's out of the political realm and joining forces with the Queen of Soul.
Since serving under President George W. Bush and being succeeded by Hillary Clinton, the Birmingham, Ala., native has returned to Stanford University, where she is a professor and the Thomas and Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institute.
On July 27, Aretha Franklin will perform at Philadelphia's Mann Center for Performing Arts with the Philadelphia Orchestra. In addition to singing classical arias, she will be joined by Rice for two songs.
The classically trained pianist, who previously performed for Queen Elizabeth II and alongside famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, will join the internationally renowned soul diva for her staples 'Say a Little Prayer' and 'Natural Woman.'
Franklin, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, previously performed at President Barack Obama's inaugural ceremony but is reportedly eager for the chance to team up with Rice for the bipartisan event.
On working with Rice, the first black woman secretary of the state, Franklin, a 20-time Grammy Award winner said she "is a consummate classical pianist, and since I sing the arias, I thought that we could do something, a bipartisan effort for our favorite charities."
According to the Mann Center's website, the performance will benefit programs that support inner-city children, as well as its own education initiatives.
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By: gape on 7/14/2010 12:47PM
Huge you are pathetic and misinformed. Condi was not uppity. As a matter of fact, one of the children that died in the 16th street church bombing in 1963 was Condi's friend. If they chose not to allow MLK into their neighborhood after six of their children were murdered, you would have to be a real asshole not to understand how they must have been feeling at that point. Stop pointing fingers and do something positive for humanity.
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By: Upintheair on 12/10/2010 11:13PM
Condi did an exemplary job of replacing ol' stiff Laura for several years. Her romps with W around Camp David are legendary. What cannot be denied is that she is a brilliant woman. I happen to believe that any reasonable decision that W made while in office resulted from his cozying up to her. Her only slip was when she accidentally referred to W as her husband. There is no point in condeming her now that she is attempting to return back to Black. Most of us have actions in our past that we regret. Wait until she marries an old white man, then pounce on her.
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