Aretha Franklin pays tribute to Prince with her cover of “Purple Rain”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Aretha Franklin has paid tribute to Prince by performing a cover of ‘Purple Rain’ at the White House, NME reports.

The soul singer celebrated International Jazz Day yesterday by taking part in an all-star concert that featured performances from the likes of Herbie Hancock and Sting.

But after kicking off proceedings with a performance of ‘A Song for You’, Franklin later returned to the stage to sing a section of ‘Purple Rain’ - as an audience that included US President Barack Obama watched on.

Franklin’s performance comes less than two weeks after Prince was found dead at his Paisley Park estate on April 21.

Paying tribute to the singer, Franklin previously hailed him as "one of a kind."

She said: "He was definitely an original and a one-of-a-kind. There was truly only one Prince.

"He put his stamp [on his sound].

"There was a mystique about him that made you want to know a little more about him. Kind of like Stevie [Wonder] he was one of those artists that loved to go into and stay in the studio."

Last night’s concert also saw tributes to Prince from actress Helen Mirren - who wore a purple dress and a temporary tattoo in the shape of the singer’s iconic Love Symbol.