Smokey Robinson reflects on the legacy of his longtime friend Aretha Franklin: 'She just had it'

"Aretha and I were just tight," Robinson said on "GMA."

August 17, 2018, 9:16 AM

In his first interview since the death of childhood friend and fellow musician Aretha Franklin, legendary singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson recalled on "Good Morning America" Friday the first time they met in Detroit.

"I hear a piano being played and I hear this little voice singing," Robinson, 78, said. "And I look in, and there's Aretha sitting there at the piano, singing and playing almost like she sang and played in her adult life.

"But she was probably about five years old or so and she just had it."

Smokey Robinson on "Good Morning America," Aug. 17, 2018.
ABC

Robinson, the founder and frontman of Motown group the Miracles, also spoke about the friendship that developed between him and Franklin, who died Thursday at 76.

"Aretha and I were just tight," he said. "We had a wonderful, wonderful friendship that lasted throughout her entire life. Up until the day before yesterday, Aretha was my longest friend on earth."

Aretha Franklin hugs Smokey Robinson at a rehearsal for the 'Aretha Franklin: Duets' concert to benefit the Gay Men's Health Crisis at the Nederlander Theater in April 1993 in New York.
Catherine McGann/Getty Images

But their friendship had little to do with successful show business careers, he said.

"When we were kids, when we were young, we all wanted that," he said of the fame. "Diana Ross lived four doors down the street. The Four Tops, we had two blocks over. And The Temptations lived three blocks over.

“There were a lot of us in that neighborhood and those of us who were blessed enough to get our wish or our dream to be in show business, we just always had regular relationships."

Aretha Franklin performs during the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival Opening Gala premiere of "Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of our Lives" at Radio City Music Hall, April 19, 2017 in New York City.
Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Aretha Franklin poses for a portrait in 1965.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

As for what fans don't know about Franklin, Robinson said there was much more to the “Queen of Soul."

"Aretha had a great sense of humor," he said. "... she could throw down in the kitchen. She cooked me many of meals.

"She was just a great person, great cook, great woman."

Related Topics