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U.S. OPEN

August 27, 2007

Aretha Franklin

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Ms. Franklin.

Q. You sing in so many different kinds of venues and events, what was this like for you on a night honoring Althea Gibson?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: It was wonderful, tremendous. I'm delighted to have been asked. What a night.

Q. Did you know Althea?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: No. I'm sorry, I didn't. I would have loved to have, but, no, I didn't.

Q. Is there a special relationship between athletes and entertainers? Can you relate to the Williams sisters, the way they have come into the spotlight like you did?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: Oh, absolutely. They were young girls. Their father brought them along. I've always loved tennis, so it's very easy for me. I go all the way back to Rosie Casals, Chrissy Evert, the backhand, that treacherous backhand that she had. Ilie Nastase, Billie Jean, players like that. Evonne Goolagong. I've been watching tennis players for a long time.
I loved to play. I tried to play, yeah.

Q. Putting you on the spot, who was your favorite player of past generations and your current favorite now?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: My current favorites now? Of course, the Williams sisters. I like Justine Hardenne. There's another girl, she played last night, as a matter of fact. She's really, really good. Then there's Lindsay Davenport.
I like her a lot. She perseveres to the very end. She's going to play you for every point. You got to play her all night. She's shows going to give you a great game, yeah.

Q. Have you ever had a chance to attend either a match at Wimbledon or the French Open?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: No, I never have. Unfortunately, not, no. But I have tea at Wimbledon every time it comes up on TV. I sit and have tea. I say, All right, get the tea. Turn it on.

Q. Earlier Roger Federer, the top-ranked men's player, was sad to say he didn't know anything about Althea Gibson. I'm guessing he knows of you.
ARETHA FRANKLIN: Who said this?

Q. Roger Federer, from Switzerland.
ARETHA FRANKLIN: Okay.

Q. What do you think it takes for the achievements of certain African Americans to become global as opposed to just in a way that Wimbledon didn't seem to make a big deal about Althea in this year?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: What do I think it takes for certain Americans to become global? I understand. Make a hit record (laughter).

Q. What was it like, just that collection of women from astronauts to athletes to entertainers?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: What a fabulous group of women. Chief, she's from Detroit. Of course I know her, her and Mr. Cummings. Roberta I've known for many, many years, ever since we both started at Atlantic records. I wanted to meet Carol Moseley Braun tonight, and I did.
I wanted too meet Jackie Joyner-Kersee tonight, I met her as well. Zina Garrison, Debi Thomas skater; Zina, tennis.
But it's a wonderful, magnificent group of women. They're true champions. That's all I can say.

Q. Who would you say is the most influential African American woman, past or present, that you can think of?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: Who would I say is the most influential African American woman? Hmm. Now, that's interesting. There are a lot of interesting women, and there are a lot of influential African American women, as well as other women. But there are many, so many.
In fact, just the group that was here tonight, they're very influential people. They have excelled to the highest degree in their craft, and they're loved by many. I can't think of a better group of women.

Q. During the civil rights movement there were many people who worked directly on the issue like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers. What was the role of the athletes like Jackie Robinson, like Althea, and Arthur Ashe?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: Well, certainly they were the frontrunners. They were men and women of courage who stepped out in spite of the adversity they knew they would face and represented themselves as well as the African American community.

Q. When you were coming up, you were starting to sing and begin your career, were there things you faced in the early days?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: The early days, yes. I traveled with my dad. And many times we were not able to go into the restaurants, different restaurants, in the South. So we would find grocery stores, just get a bag of groceries, have a good time eating them, yeah, in spite of it all.

Q. Can you relate to the kind of pressure that athletes feel playing in an environment like Arthur Ashe? Is it like that when you get on stage?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: The little queasy, queasy, yeah, uh-huh, I had that. I really just came to have a good time tonight. I really wanted to see this stadium get up and rock, and they did. So that was fabulous for me.

Q. Is there an athlete you've always wanted to meet but have yet to meet?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: That I've always wanted to meet that I have not met yet? In tennis or?

Q. Any sport.
ARETHA FRANKLIN: Let's see. I know a lot of people in boxing, Ray Leonard, Ali, Tommy Hearns who comes from Detroit. I've watched a lot of boxers over the years, just like I have tennis players, because my dad loved boxing.
So we would sit in the evenings. I would run out and get the ice cream, come back, we would sit and watch a bout. I know who they all are. Smokin' Joe, Big George Foreman, Larry Holmes. You want to know the stats, I know the stats (laughter).

Q. You obviously know your tennis. What is it that you love about the sport of tennis? Its grace, expression of personality? The one on one?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: Yes. I like the grace of it. I like the skill, to see who is going to out-maneuver the other. I love the little tennis outfits that Chrissy used to wear with the little frilly panties, that kind of thing.
I've been loving it a long time.

Q. What do you think of Venus and Serena's outfits?
ARETHA FRANKLIN: Very daring (laughter). Very daring. But they're young. Young people start new trends, yeah. I wish I was in the shape that Serena is. You know, the little body suit, all of that.
One of my sons said, Mom, you know, I like her shape. Her shape is okay. All right, I think I know what you're saying (laughter).

Q. I imagine it wasn't hard to pick which song you would perform tonight.
ARETHA FRANKLIN: No, they asked me to sing Respect, yeah.

Q. What is it like to reach people globally with a song that people just know wherever you go? That must be a pretty powerful feeling.
ARETHA FRANKLIN: It's a great feeling. It's a wonderful feeling. It's just another way to say "welcome" I think. I very much enjoy it. It's kind of like the song, You Like to Go Where Everybody Knows Your Name. Everybody knows Respect, and that's great. They sing along with me, and I like that.

End of FastScripts

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