Aretha Franklin’s Final Words to Her Band Resurface — “Keep the Faith, and Keep the Funk Alive”

Even in her final days, Aretha Franklin — the undisputed Queen of Soul — was not thinking about legacy in terms of trophies or headlines. She was thinking about rhythm, spirit, and the musicians who walked beside her onstage for decades.

Now, her longtime bandmates are speaking publicly for the first time about the last message she ever gave them — a message that has since become their guiding light.

“She Smiled. We Cried.”

During a quiet rehearsal in Detroit in 2017, months before her passing, Aretha gathered her band one last time. Her drummer of more than 20 years, Skeeto Valdez, recalls the moment with emotion still fresh in his voice.

“Keep the faith, and keep the funk alive,” she told them.

Valdez says the band was in tears, sensing this might be their final rehearsal together. Aretha, however, remained calm, even joyful.

“She knew what was coming,” he said. “But she didn’t want sadness. She wanted groove.”

A Lost Recording — and a Final Sermon in Song

According to insiders, the rehearsal — including an improvised gospel medley and a raw version of “Chain of Fools” — was quietly recorded that day. Now, there is talk that the audio, along with Aretha’s spoken farewell, may be released in a future documentary and tribute album.

Valdez describes it not as a goodbye, but as “Aretha’s last sermon — delivered through soul and laughter.”

More Than a Farewell — A Calling

Aretha’s words reflect everything she stood for: faith, resilience, grit, and the unmistakable heartbeat of Black American music — funk, gospel, and soul intertwined.

“She looked at us and said, ‘The world still needs it — keep the faith, baby,’” Valdez remembers. “And then she laughed. That big Aretha laugh that just filled the room.”

Her Groove Lives On

For her band, those words have become more than memory — they’re a mission.

“Every time I hit the drums,” Valdez says, “I hear her— not just the singer, but the mentor. And I remember: the funk never dies.”

A Final Blessing from the Queen

If the rumored recording is released, it won’t just be an archival moment — it will be Aretha’s last gift, a reminder of what she stood for until the very end: faith, groove, community, and soul that refuses to fade.

As Valdez puts it:

“She didn’t leave us with silence. She left us with rhythm — and faith. And that’s something nobody can ever fade out.”

Aretha’s legacy isn’t just in the records she left — it lives in the beat that keeps going.