Aretha Franklin Takes the Stage at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood Florida March 16, 2010

There are only a handful of titles bestowed to artists in popular music. Elvis is "The King," Michael Jackson, the self proclaimed "King of Pop," Tina Turner, "The Queen of Rock'n'Roll." All are arguable true; however this there no doubt the "Queen of Soul's" title belongs to the legendary Aretha Franklin. Her incredible career spans all genres of music: jazz, pop, blues, gospel, soul. She has won 18 Grammy's to date, is ranked number one in Rolling Stone magazine as the Greatest Singer Of All Time, she has scored 20 number one singles on the Billboard R&B chart, the accolades are endless. She was the first female artist inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1987. She has performed before Kings and Queens and was the only featured performer at the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009.

Aretha is kicking off 2010 once again at the place she seems most at home, the concert stage. Her one night engagement at the Hard Rock in Hollywood Florida has been the talk of the town since the date was announced. After all, it's not often we get a royal visit in these parts. Aretha took the stage in a red sequined gown fit for a queen. Her voice was strong and clear as it resonated throughout the concert hall. Her first ovation came with her chart topping it "A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)." In a classic monologue moment, "Good evening Hard Rock, we're going to rock hard," was met with thunderous applause. Franklin played very well to the crowd the entire show. Her connection with the audience was apparent and heart felt.

Introducing her son Teddy on guitar, he led The Queen into "Chain of Fools," which brought the crowd to their feet; including the folks in the rafters. The dancing in the aisles had begun. Forty minutes into the show Aretha took a ten minute break leaving her band on stage to jam in a jazz fusion groove. A ten piece brass section, eight band members, and five backup singers (conducted by H.B. Berm) filled the time well with inspired solos.

Upon Aretha's return to the stage she kicked into the Blues Brothers Movie hit "Think," another highlight which woke the crowd with rousing vocals and an inspired groove. My favorite moment of the evening was the gospel song "One Night with the King." She performed it in dedication to Sidney Miller, Dick Gregory and Deborah Cox (whom co-incidentally were all in attendance and introduced to the audience). "Respect," brought the show to a close and one last ovation for Aretha. My only criticism of the show is: too short and not enough hits. Minus her 10 minute break, Franklin's show only ran 65 minutes. Considering her incredible career, which began at the tender age of 17, not nearly enough hits were performed. Understandably she's not going to perform for hours upon hours but being a fan there are always songs we'd love to hear live. Imagine seeing the Rolling Stones and them not play "Satisfaction," or "It's Only Rock And Roll." Sure, it could happen but what a disappointment.

I enjoyed the show and had a great time. The Hard Rock is a great place to see every performer, nice and intimate, great acoustics. And after all, I did have an audience with the "Queen Of Soul."