Aretha Franklin was honored at the 2018 American Music Awards with a star-studded performance of the Queen of Soul’s timeless gospel classics … with Gladys Knight leading the way.
Gladys, a friend of the late singer, started the tribute with a beautiful rendition of “Amazing Grace” … bringing the audience to its feet one last time at the end of the 3-hour award show.
Gladys introduced Donnie McClurkin, and he energized the room by singing “Climbing Higher Mountains.”
A gospel choir came onstage for CeCe Winans‘ performance of “Mary Don’t You Weep” … and people were dancing in the aisles by the time Ledisi launched into “How I Got Over.”
The memorial performance ended with gospel duo Mary Mary singing a traditional gospel, “Old Landmark.”
Aretha died August 16 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 76.
