The incredible story of Vickie Jones, the Aretha Franklin imposter

Vickie Jones didn’t really understand the magnitude of what was happening. Of course, she knew two things: that she had to take care of four children and that her tone of voice and body were similar to those of Aretha Franklinone of the most important singers in the history of music.

The confusion on the street led her to take the joke seriously, and truly become the Queen of Soul. Still, his intentions were honest and genuine; He didn’t want to scam Franklin, he just wanted a few dollars in his pocket.

Their performances took place in unsightly bars. In one of them, he came across Lavell Hardya promoter who He realized that the person on stage was not Aretha.. But he was even more surprised when he realized that no one had seen the same thing as him. Then that’s when he proposed a dream job: opening for Aretha Franklin herself in Florida.

An unexpected rise to fame

Jones agreed without hesitation and without knowing how he would travel to Florida. However, once again I had certainties: that He was going to be able to earn enough money and fame to support his family..

But an incredible change of plans occurred: he was not going to support Aretha, but It was going to be Aretha. The 27-year-old turned down the offer, but what she didn’t know was that Hardy He would threaten to kill her if she didn’t show up.. Faced with the risk of losing one of her children, she had no choice but to accept.

He gave the show, and fortunately no one knew it was Vickie Jones. In her memoirs she acknowledges that she had never received so much applause, and it had not even been for her. On January 16, 1969, Aretha Franklin’s lawyers denounced that a woman, who acted quite convincingly, was not the artist, but an imposter..

Through the peephole in her door, Jones saw several police officers coming to arrest her. Incredulous, she explained what happened and that the mastermind behind the fraud was Hardy. The promoter ended up facing charges of false advertising, while the singer was released.

The scandal earned Jones a lot of popularity, which helped him start your own musical career. However, every time she sang they asked her for Aretha songs, so a year after the experience He completely abandoned music and dedicated himself to his children..