Aretha Franklin Sings Her Way Out of a Parking Ticket

Legendary 'Respect' singer Aretha Franklin reportedly sang her way out of a parking ticket.

ABC News reports that the Queen of Soul, who sang at President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009, was dining with a group of friends at Neely's Barbecue Parlor on Manhattan's Upper East Side on Monday night (Aug.8), when she spotted a parking enforcement officer ticketing her car.

Luckily, the meter maid recognized Aretha when she approached, and after a quick serenade, handed the singer an envelope to autograph, instead of the ticket. Getting in on the autograph action, Neely's celebrity owners Pat and Gina Neely offered Aretha a signed copy of one of their cookbooks, but the New York Post reports that she returned the gift, as she already had one.

Franklin fell sick last year, but denied a relative's claims that she was battling cancer, and has since recovered and returned to the stage.