Aretha died the same day of Elvis Presley and Robert Johnson.  It was 1975 and Bowie had just met John Lennon for the first time. A couple of evenings later, the two were at the music industry awards show in New York. Bowie presented the Grammy for best R&B vocal performance by a woman. For the eighth year in a row, the same singer won: the already legendary Franklin.

Source qz.com Aretha died the same day of Elvis Presley and Robert Johnson

Bowie spun a somewhat embellished tale for the graduates on the day his honorary degree was conferred:Before the show I’d been telling John that I didn’t think America really got what I did, that I was misunderstood. Remember that I was in my 20s and out of my head.

Elvis Presley Last Hours – 41 years ago- 16 August 1977

Elton John is a lifelong fan of American soul music, and he collaborated with Franklin on 1989’s “Through the Storm,” an ode to persistence that became a Hot 100 hit. “The loss of Aretha Franklin is a blow for everybody who loves real music: music from the heart, the soul and the church,” John wrote.

Like many Franklin collaborators, John praised her singing — “her voice was unique” — but he also complimented her skills as an instrumentalist. “[Franklin’s] piano playing [was] underrated,” he asserted. “She was one of my favorite pianists.”John is one of the many singers whose work Franklin covered and transformed with her remarkable vocal talents, like  a version of John’s “Border Song.

So the big moment came and I ripped open the envelope and announced, “The winner is Aretha Franklin.” Aretha steps forward, and with not so much as a glance in my direction, snatches the trophy out of my hands and says, “Thank you everybody. I’m so happy I could even kiss David Bowie.” Which she didn’t! And she promptly spun around, swanned off stage right. So I slunk off stage left.

And John bounds over and gives me a theatrical kiss and a hug and says “See, Dave. America loves ya.”

That’s not exactly how it went, as becomes apparent when seeing moments not shown in the official Recording Academy clip above. Perhaps Bowie can be forgiven. In 1975, he was deep into his coked-up Thin White Duke journey.

“Ladies and gentleman and others. I am honored to have been selected to perform this particular task,” he said. “I gave it a Grammy enthusiasm, in fact,” pausing for a dramatic sniffle that drew knowing laughs at the Uris Theatre.

A radiant Franklin did, in fact, lean in for a kiss on the cheek (at 3:41 in the extended video) when Bowie handed her the award. (So much for snatching the trophy without a glance!) After Franklin speaks, she walks off the stage, and steps down toward the audience without flourish. Bowie heads into the wings—on the same side of the set—at a relaxed pace. So no stage-right, stage-left business either.