Tuesday, August 14, 2012, the Gospel Music Association inducted Aretha Franklin into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The ceremony was held at the Trinity Music City venue and though Franklin was not present for the induction ceremony, she sent a video message to be played in her absence.
Franklin is best known to the world as the “Queen of Soul” for such songs as “R.E.S.P.E.C.T” and “Natural Woman,” but she burst on to the music scene as a Gospel artist in 1072 with her live album, “Amazing Grace.” The album was recorded at her father, Reverence C.L. Franklin’s New Bethe Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan. “Being a singer is a natural gift,” Franklin once said. “It means I’m using to the highest degree possible the gift that God gave me to use. I’m happy with that.”
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame also inducted country/bluegrass star Ricky Skaggs, who told The Tennessean that he was surprised to receive such an honor, “I’m a Christian, but I’m really a secular artist, more ‘marketplace music’ you would call it. So this one kind of really slipped up on me, and when I saw it come in, that they were honoring me, it was a special treat. It was such a shock, such a surprise.”
“It is great to see our Christian and gospel music communities come together to pay tribute to this year’s GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductee,” Jackie Patillo, Executive Director of the Gospel Music Association and President of the Gospel Music Foundation said in a statement. “It is an honor to recognize our trailblazers and remind the world of the people God has used to spread the gospel through music.”
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