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The song was actually written and recorded by Otis Redding, but Aretha recorded it and made it her own. Otis even said as much.
when her baby popped out and said, "Hi Mommy!"
Her father said, she started singing and playing the piano at home, at 6 or 7 years old.
Many media sources have reported that it was Aretha Franklin, but in an interview with Al Roker after Whitney Houston's death, Aretha stated that she was not Whitney's godmother, but rather, a very close family friend. That said, Whitney thought of Aretha as a member of the family, and there are reports she called her "Aunt Ree" when still a child. But after Whitney died, reports also surfaced that Aretha and Cissy Houston (Whitney's mom) had a dispute and became estranged from each other; this may explain why Aretha began to disavow any relationship to the family. Who_is_Whitney_Houston_godmother
By most accounts, Aretha was a very close friend of the family, and when Whitney was growing up, she thought of Aretha as an aunt. It is not unusual for a close family friend to be asked to be the godmother. But it should be noted that after Whitney died, Aretha went on a TV program (the Today Show) and said she had never been Whitney's godmother, even though this had been reported in the media for many years.
Until Whitney's death in February 2012, most media sources said it was soul singer Aretha Franklin. But since Whitney died, there seems to have been a falling-out between Whitney's mom (Cissy Houston) and Aretha, and when Aretha was interviewed on the Today Show by Al Roker, she denied being Whitney's godmother, and said she had only been a friend of the family. But it was widely reported for years that Whitney thought of Aretha as a part of her family, even calling her "Aunt Ree," and it was also widely reported that Aretha was in fact Whitney's godmother. We may never know the full story.
Until Whitney's death in February 2012, most media sources said it was Aretha Franklin. But since Whitney died, there seems to have been a falling-out between Whitney's mom (Cissy Houston) and Aretha, and when Aretha was interviewed on the Today Show by Al Roker, she denied being Whitney's godmother, and said she had only been a friend of the family. But it was widely reported for years that Whitney thought of Aretha as a part of her family, even calling her "Aunt Ree," and it was also widely reported that Aretha was in fact Whitney's godmother. We may never know the full story.
Until Whitney's death in February 2012, most media sources said it was Aretha Franklin. But since Whitney died, there seems to have been a falling-out between Whitney's mom (Cissy Houston) and Aretha, and when Aretha was interviewed on the Today Show by Al Roker, she denied being Whitney's godmother, and said she had only been a friend of the family. But it was widely reported for years that Whitney thought of Aretha as a part of her family, even calling her "Aunt Ree," and it was also widely reported that Aretha was in fact Whitney's godmother. We may never know the full story.
Until Whitney's death in February 2012, most media sources said it was popular vocalist Aretha Franklin. But since Whitney died, there seems to have been a falling-out between Whitney's mom (Cissy Houston) and Aretha, and when Aretha was interviewed on the Today Show by Al Roker, she denied being Whitney's godmother, and said she had only been a friend of the family. But it was widely reported for years that Whitney thought of Aretha as a part of her family, even calling her "Aunt Ree," and it was also widely reported that Aretha was in fact Whitney's godmother. We may never know the full story.
You are probably referring to Aretha Franklin, with whom she always had a close relationship, and as a child, she called her as "Auntie Ree." There have been some sources that said Aretha was also Whitney's godmother, but after Whitney died, Aretha went on some talk shows and denied this. It should be noted that Aretha seems to have had some sort of dispute with Cissy Houston (Whitney's mom), so this may explain why she no longer claims to have been Whitney's godmother.
Aretha Franklin is 5'5" tall (165 cm) -- that's a constant. Her weight, in contrast, goes up and down. In a 2007 interview with PEOPLE, she said she had lost a lot of weight, but wouldn't say how much. At the 2009 "A Capital 4th", she seems to have gained quite a lot of that weight back. At that time, she appeared to weigh around 300 pounds.
It has been widely reported for years that Aretha was Whitney's godmother, but after Whitney died, Aretha was interviewed on the Today show and said she had only been a friend of the family and not Whitney's godmother. However, many articles have noted that Whitney felt very close to Aretha, even calling her Aunt Ree. And there have been a few stories since Whitney's death that indicate Aretha and Whitney's mom (Cissy Houston) had some sort of disagreement or dispute, so that may have contributed to Aretha now saying she was never Whitney's godmother.