Don Lemon Honors Aretha Franklin in Tearful Tribute: ‘Her Voice Has Been the Soundtrack of My Life’

Remembering the passing of Aretha Franklin, CNN’s Don Lemon paid an emotional tribute to a woman he remembered not just as a musical legend, but also as his friend.

“People across America, I’m one of them, have been playing Aretha Franklin’s music, celebrating her incredible life and career, and singing along to their favorites,” he said during his Thursday evening monologue. Lemon then played his favorite, a cover of Sam Cooke‘s You Send Me.

Singing along to the music, Lemon said the loss hit home.

“This is very personal for me, as you can probably tell,” he remarked. “One of the greatest blessings of the work that I do is that I get a chance to meet and have conversations with some really incredible people. More than once I’ve met a hero of mine, but nothing compared to getting to know Aretha Franklin.”

Lemon recalled the times he’d spent enjoying the Queen of Soul’s music, calling it “the soundtrack of my life,” something which was known even by his colleagues.

“For as long as I can remember, I have been listening to and loving Aretha. In my house, at picnics, cookouts, parties, in the car, on the plane, wherever I could listen to her,” he said. “And the people who work on this show have heard me sing her songs more than a few times even in the commercial breaks here in the studio. They have to listen to me.”

Franklin, who passed earlier day after her health had declined significantly throughout the week, was honored throughout Lemon’s show by guests including Motown greats Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson, as well as actor Tyler Perry.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

[Image via screengrab]

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