Tickets Now on Sale for UNCF's An Evening of Stars(R) Tribute to Aretha Franklin

The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) honors Aretha Franklin, the undisputed "Queen of Soul," with the UNCF's prestigious Award of Excellence on its annual television special, An Evening of Stars(R). The three-hour concert tribute will be taped at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, Calif. on Sept. 8 and 9, 2006, and will air nationwide in late January 2007. Tickets for public sale beginning August 13 are available at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at (213) 480-3232, and at all Ticketmaster outlets including Tower Records, Wherehouse Music, select Robinson's-May locations and Ritmo Latino.

Ms. Franklin will be the first female artist to receive the award. Previous honorees have been Lou Rawls (2004), Quincy Jones (2005) and Stevie Wonder (2006). Franklin will receive the honor for her longstanding and generous support of the UNCF's mission to provide deserving students with access to higher education, as well as for her well-known activism and philanthropy on behalf of numerous other causes.

The Sept. 8 and 9 taping of An Evening of Stars(R) Tribute to Aretha Franklin UNCF will be the first time in 28 years that the annual TV special will be produced without legendary performer Lou Rawls, who died in January at the age of 72. Rawls, who is credited with originating the idea for the TV event in 1979 and helping the UNCF to raise over $200 million for minority higher education, will be remembered on the 28th anniversary of the program with a special award bearing his name. The Lou Rawls-UNCF Award will be given to an artist whose career exemplifies Rawls' passion for ensuring that minority youth receive a quality college education. The first recipient of the accolade will be announced Friday, Sept. 8 during the taping at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Returning as executive producer and director of An Evening of Stars(R) is four-time Emmy Award winner Louis J. Horvitz whose credits include numerous years directing The Academy Awards, The Prime Time Emmy Awards, The Kennedy Center Honors, and The People's Choice Awards. He has also directed The MTV Movie Awards as well as The American Film Institute (AFI) tributes to Robert DeNiro (2003), Meryl Streep (2004), George Lucas (2005) and Sean Connery (2006). Returning as producers of An Evening of Stars(R) are Emmy Award- winner Cort Casady and Bill Urban.

About An Evening of Stars(R)

An Evening of Stars(R) (AEOS), formerly the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars, first aired in 1979, and since that time has become one of the longest running and most successful televised events in U.S. history. AEOS 2007 will be the first without its founder Lou Rawls, who died in January 2006. Rawls, a spokesperson for UNCF and champion for AEOS for more than 25 years, is credited with helping raise more than $200 million for the UNCF to supplement the cost of higher education for scholarship recipients and member institutions. This year's show, now in its 28th season, is sponsored by American Airlines, McDonald's, Prudential, Target, Toyota and Wachovia. AEOS has featured a who's who of recognizable talent, including Frank Sinatra, Bill Cosby, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dick Clark, Reba McIntyre, Richard Pryor, Beyonce Knowles, Jill Scott, Luther Vandross, Whoopi Goldberg, Patti LaBelle, Ed McMahon, Michael Bolton, Hall and Oates, Ziggy Marley and scores of others.

About UNCF

As the nation's oldest and most successful minority higher education assistance organization, the United Negro College Fund's mission is to provide financial support to its 39 member institutions and increase minority degree attainment by reducing financial barriers to college. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 25 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers nearly 450 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship programs, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 65,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities across the country.