Real Music People

The Queen of Soul thinks we should reserve comments about the King of Pop’s drug use until after the full coroner’s report is released.

Aretha Franklin – who lived next door to the Jackson family in Encino, California, in the late 1970s and early 1980s – says: "Those are natural questions, but in fairness to him, we should wait for the coroner’s report and stop speculating."

The 67-year-old says she befriended Michael Jackson back in 1970 when she and her two sons met the Jackson 5 backstage at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Franklin says of the singer, who was about 12: "I thought: ‘This little boy can really sing.’

"He liked James Brown and Jackie Wilson, especially his rendition of Doggin’ Around.

"He kind of emulated that. But when you listened to his albums, you knew he was an original and had things of his own coming from his heart."

Franklin lived next door to the Jacksons from 1979 to 1982 before she returned to Detroit.

She found the talented family to be "very intelligent and well mannered". Jackson, who was in his early 20s at the time, was, "quiet but still very precocious".

Franklin treasures those days with the superstar family, including a picture of the singer and his baby sister Janet taken under a tree in her garden when they came over for a swim.

She says she and her sons had a "super time" visiting Disneyland with Jackson. "He was very playful that day," she says.

"My son told me he kept sneaking up behind me like he was going to run into me."

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was recently vandalized by some anti-fur activists. The words “fur hags” were scribbled across their star. It seems that those activists aren’t stopping though as they have targeted other stars. The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, who happens to have questionable judgment when it comes to hats, is also dealing with a vandalized star as her spot on the Walk of Fame has “fur hag” written on it. Sharon Stone is also another star that was targeted with her spot having the same treatment as Aretha’s. If you want to get your point across, don’t do anything illegal. Boycott peacefully.

Whether Beyonce meant to do it or not, she initiated an epic battle of the divas by dubbing Tina Turner as the queen during the Grammy Awards in February which set Aretha Franklin into an indignant frenzy. Aretha called Beyonce’s comment a “cheap shot at controversy.” Tina remained silent at the time but USA Today got a response recently where she said “She’s the queen of soul, and I’m the queen of rock ‘n’ roll. There were so many kings and queens there that night. Her ego must be so big to think she was the only one. That’s how queens are!” Aretha was quick to retaliate proving that today’s celebrity feuds don’t have anything on the certified divas. Aretha said “I never figured her to resort to tacky press just to sell a few tickets. I really had put her in a different class — higher than that. No one has been more gracious…to their peers than I have, and I am confident and secure enough to do so, unlike some others.”