The news of Aretha Franklin’s death on Thursday has seen tributes for the Queen of Soul pour in from far and wide, including across the late-night talk shows on Thursday night.
On “The Tonight Show”, host Jimmy Fallon paid his respects to the legendary soul singer by recounting a story of when Franklin appeared on the show and requested the air conditioning be turned off, which almost made Questlove pass out from the heat.
“And she walks out in a long fur coat,” Fallon recalled. “She was so funny and so charming and was so nice to our staff top to bottom… I just love her so much and I’m just happy I got to know her for a little bit.”
RELATED: Watch Ariana Grande’s Emotional Tribute To Aretha Franklin On ‘The Tonight Show’
Ariana Grande, who was on the show promoting her new album, Sweetener, also paid tribute to Franklin, opening the show with an emotional performance of Franklin’s hit “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”
The “God Is A Woman” singer later talked to Fallon about receiving a phone call from Franklin out of the blue one time. The 18-time Grammy winner had called Grande to ask if she could send her some music her relative had made.
“I was like, ‘I’d be honoured… just text me the MP3 or something’,” Grande recalled saying. “And she was like, ‘I don’t know how to do that, so I’m gonna send it to you’ and like four months later I got a package with a CD.”
Over on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, Don Cheadle was a guest on the sofa and expanded on a personal story he’d tweeted about the soul icon earlier in the day. Much like Grande, the “Avengers: Infinity War” actor also received a call from Franklin out of the blue.
He revealed that Franklin had called to compliment him on his role in “Miles Ahead”, the movie about Miles Davis. “She was impressed by the movie and very complimentary, and I was knocked out,” he said, “I mean, Aretha Franklin called me!”
Meanwhile, “The Daily Show” posted a “between the scenes” video on social media which featured a clip of Trevor Noah talking to the studio audience about the heartbreaking news.
“I remember I used to sing the songs with my mom,” he said. “I used to sing all the songs not really knowing what they meant… so as a little kid I was really confident, like, ‘You make me feel like a natural WOMAN!”
Noah also praised Franklin for being an artist that used her platform for causes beyond making music and making money. “She was one of the first people who supported Angela Davis from the Black Panthers, she fought for Martin Luther King. This was at a time when it wasn’t cool to do that. It was risky to you and your livelihood.”
He added: “She’ll be missed… Everything we see today, in so many ways, in the music, male and female, is because of her. Aretha Franklin, rest in peace. It’s a beautiful, beautiful story.”
Finally, on “The Late Show”, the house band, Stay Human, played Franklin’s songs throughout the show. “But with no vocals, because no one can sing that,” house band lead Jon Baptiste said. “Irreplaceable.”
Stephen Colbert talked about seeing Franklin live when he hosted the Kennedy Center Awards in 2015, and he remembered saying to a stage-hand, “I wish I could have seen her when she was younger, when she was in a full voice,” a statement he quickly regretted after Franklin started to perform.
“Boy am I stupid,” he said, before playing a video of that incredible performance.
