Wink's Movie Blog

Aretha Franklin teamed up with Condoleezza Rice for a benefit concert in Philadelphia this month. You read that right: Condi Rice, the former Secretary of State, is an accomplished pianist who accompanied the Queen of Soul as she sang "Handel, Mozart and the hits," at Philly's Mann Center for Performing Arts on July 27. Proceeds benefited programs supporting inner city children and the Mann Center's own education initiatives. Rice accompanied Franklin on her hits "Say a Little Prayer" and "Natural Woman," in addition to performing a 20-minute set with the Philadelphia Orchestra. It was the first of a series of concerts with Rice and Franklin, who calls Rice "a consummate classical pianist and since I sing the arias, I thought that we could do something, a bipartisan effort for our favorite charities."