Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Eric Alper takes you inside that year and the business habit almost nobody in the audience ever noticed.
On stage, she looked like the kind woman who would watch your dog. What she kept sitting on top of her piano every night tells a very different story about how she did business.
Find out why her whoop and holler never lands the same for anyone else, and why a gospel singer from Detroit faced zero pushback joining a rock institution. Plus the 1987 duet that ended a twenty-year wait.
Topics: Aretha Franklin, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1987 music, gospel music, George Michael
GUEST: Eric Alper | thatericalper.com | @thatericalper
Originally aired on2026-10-08
