Aretha Franklin's Emergency Grammy Aria

At the 1998 Grammys, Luciano Pavarotti withdrew from a planned performance of Puccini's "Nessun dorma" because of a severe sore throat. Producer Ken Ehrlich asked Aretha Franklin to fill in: she had sung the aria at a dinner honoring Pavarotti two nights earlier. Aretha Franklin filled in for him at "literally a moment's notice" and sang an acclaimed rendition of the aria and received a standing ovation.

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