MUSKEGON, Mich. — Pastor Charles Poole was there when Aretha Franklin was just the Princess of Soul.
"It goes back to my grandfather's church where she sang," says Poole.
Poole now leads Bethesda Baptist Church in Muskegon but he met Franklin through her father's church in Detroit.
"Whenever she sang it was her whole self and the spirit that she brought and communication through song. You can't even measure it," says Poole.
He said, even though there were many talented singers at church Aretha stood out.
"Everything about Aretha was different. The voice, I think it was a God-given gift, others could not copy or really match because wherever she was, she was distinctive," says Poole.
Poole was saddened to hear about his friend's death but he now wants people to know that Franklin was much more than just a great singer.
"She was not selfish, she was willing to help to promote and bring the kind of unity in the country that we still dream of," says Poole.
But he says the greatest gift she had is the love for her family.
"She recognized that she had a privilege that not one else had, she alone is Aretha Franklin and has had a gift and has made good use of that gift by giving to her family first," says Poole.
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