Aretha Franklin, RIP and R-E-S-P-E-C-T

[Kathleen O'Connell]

Queen of Soul dead at 76.

Not the news I needed today, or any day.

I will always cherish this performance and that fabulous hat.

Edited August 16, 2018 by Kathleen O'Connell

[Helene]

Rest in peace, Aretha Franklin.

[ABT Fan]

How awful and sad. She's one of those people who I thought (wished) would live forever.

[Drew]

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.    

May she rest in peace... 

[Marta]

She was the greatest.  

[Kathleen O'Connell]

Most of the tribute playlists that have come out since Aretha Franklin's death have focused on her undeniably great 60s hits like Respect, Chain of Fools, Think, Natural Woman, etc. 

But I haven't seen many links to 1985's Grammy-winning Freeway of Love, one of her most unabashedly joyful songs and one of her biggest Billboard hits. If you need a celebration of love and road trips, take a listen. Bonus: Clarence Clemmons!

 

 

Edited August 17, 2018 by Kathleen O'Connell

[California]

My favorite: her Nessum Dorma, which she performed in several venues, easy to find on YouTube. She always does part of it in English, which I appreciate. Here's one:

 

[Kathleen O'Connell]

I love the story behind Franklin's Nessun Dorma performances: she was a last-minute stand-in for an ailing Pavarotti at the 1998 Grammy Awards:

Franklin had been booked on the show to perform a Blues Brothers number with Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman and Jim Belushi. Two nights before, however, she had actually performed “Nessun Dorma” in honor of Pavarotti at a MusicCares dinner. The Grammys producer had an empty hole where Pavarotti’s performance was supposed to be, crossing into the third hour of the show. Could she possibly…?

Producer Ken Ehrlich ran to her dressing room and asked if she’d do it. “She said she wanted to hear the dress rehearsal,” he says. “In those days we had a boombox with a cassette. And I brought it to her and played it for her. When she heard it, she said, ‘Yeah, I can do this.’”

The Daily Beast: When Aretha Franklin Sang ‘Nessun Dorma’ at the Grammys: The Story Behind the Greatest Award Show Performance Ever

Edited August 17, 2018 by Kathleen O'Connell

[dirac]

"Freeway of Love" was getting plenty of airplay on my local oldies and R&B station the day the news broke. Her work in the Sixties is the work for which she will be chiefly remembered, so perhaps it's understandable that it would be emphasized.  That was also the era in which she was in most control of her music - the musicians following her rendering of the song on piano (she was a gifted pianist, as I'm sure many here know), as the LA Times obit describes here:

Quote

Much later, Franklin would complain, rightly, that she should have received co-producer credit, a title she was awarded near the end of her Atlantic years. But in 1967, things were moving too fast to worry about it. Franklin was fulfilling the gospel-R&B fusion pioneered by Ray Charles and turning soul music’s tentative courtship of the mainstream into a rout.

Offhand I can't think of any female singer who took over a male performer's song as Franklin did with "Respect." Maybe Patsy Cline and "Crazy."

The Nessun Dorma from '98 never did much for me, but it's a splendid example of diva chutzpah. Her "Amazing Grace" is just that.

It's not canonical Aretha, but I love her version of "The Weight" with Duane Allman.

[miliosr]

One of my favorite Aretha Franklin tracks from the 1960s is her cover version of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David song, "I Say a Little Prayer":

 

Franklin's version was actually a B-side to the song "The House That Jack Built" but became a chart hit in its own right; peaking at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the Billboard R&B chart.

For a point of comparison, here is the original version by Dionne Warwick, recorded in Spring 1966 but not released until Fall 1967:

Warwick's version is lovely but Franklin digs that little bit deeper on her version.

Warwick's version went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on the Billboard R&B chart. (Trivia: What was the B-side to Warwick's version of "I Say a Little Prayer"? The theme song from the greatest movie ever made -- Valley of the Dolls!!!)

Edited August 20, 2018 by miliosr

[bcash]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/17/arts/music/aretha-franklin-amazing-grace.html?hpw&rref=arts&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well

 

The track of Mary, Don't You Weep embedded in this piece is quite extraordinary.