He bobbled the spelling, but President Barack Obama had nothing but R-E-S-P-E-C-T for the “women of soul” who shook and rattled the rafters of the White House on Thursday night.
“What a lineup!” Obama declared at the outset of a concert that featured a generations-spanning array of soul singers that stretched from musical legends Aretha Franklin and Patti LaBelle to 20-year-old Ariana Grande.
Obama paid tribute to Franklin for turning her signature song “Respect” into “a rallying cry for African-Americans, women and then everyone who felt marginalized.”
The pumped-up audience gave a hearty laugh but was more than willing to forgive the president for spelling it “R-S-P-E-C-T.”
First up in the East Room lineup was LaBelle, with a thundering delivery of “Over the Rainbow” that had the audience on its feet.
It was a mutual admiration society of sorts as LaBelle thanked the Obamas for their tenure in the White House, declaring, “Baby, you got swag!”
The program was livestreamed at WhiteHouse.gov/live and will be broadcast as an “In Performance at the White House” concert on April 7 on PBS.
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source: abcnews.com
Obama Shows His R-E-S-P-E-C-T For “Women of Soul” was originally published on praisecleveland.com
