As you all know by now, Aretha Franklin has left us. Many knew her as an angel of a performer, and sometimes a difficult and unpredictable person when off-stage. All that may be, but we are left with an amazing trove of performances, both as a singer and an under-rated piano player, whose subtle keyboard work was often the core of spectacular arrangements. She was a continual voice during my life, both as a singer and as a defender of everyone's rights.