The Queen of Soul's immortal line from the
Blues Brothers....... and quite possibly one of my favorites. I figured I'd take a few minutes to pay my R-E-S-P-E-C-T's to Aretha Franklin. Apparently Lady Soul hasn't been feeling well lately. She was in and out of the hospital all summer and had a brief hospital stay in October for undisclosed reasons. She has canceled all of her concert appearances until May 2011, quite possibly due to the unidentified but successful surgery she had just last thursday.
What can I say about Aretha that hasn't already been said?....Probably not too much, her music speaks for itself. The woman wears a lot of hats. Jazz, Soul , Gospel, R&B ,Blues, Funk and at times just straight ahead rock-n-roll. She has one of the most recognizable voices in all of music, and has been ranked number 1 by
Rolling Stone on its list of Greatest Singers of All-Time. She was the first female inducted into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame. 18 Grammys, 2 honorary Grammys, 45 top-40 hits, 14 Platinum records, and 10 #1 R&B albums... more than any other female artist. Thats an incredible list of accomplishments for any artist, but life was not always been so grand for the Queen of Soul.
Born in Memphis in 1942 , she was the daughter of a preacher-man. Having a transient beginning due to her fathers ministry, her family had settled in Detroit by the time she was 6. Aretha was mostly raised by her grandmother after her mothers death in 1952. By the time she was a pre-teen Aretha was singing solos in her fathers choir and had taught herself to play piano by ear. By the age of 13 she had birthed her first child , and at 14 had released her first album on the Checker JVB gospel label. Arethas early singing career was short-lived, taking a backseat to motherhood when she gave birth to a second son at the age of 16. After turning 18 she decided to pursue a career in secular music leaving her grandmother to raise her 2 children. Aretha was quickly offered deals from Motown and RCA, but after turning both of those down she settled on Columbia Records.
Arethas involvement with Columbia lasted til 1966. her efforts were successful in giving herself exposure but unfruitful as far as hits were concerned. This was probably attributed to the fact that Columbia was having Aretha record jazz-influenced pop hoping to repeat the success they'd had with Billie Holiday. Columbia founder John Hammond later admitted in an interview that they hadn't taken Arethas gospel background into account and had failed to accent that in her recordings . After a few mostly unsuccessful endeavors and the struggle of recording with Columbia , Aretha signed onto Atlantic records in 1966.
Arethas move to Atlantic would prove to be a wise , with 1966 through 1972 being her most successful and prolific years as an artist. Originally sent to the renowned Muscle Shoals FAME studios in 1967, Lady Soul recorded her first single
I Never Loved a Man ( The Way I love You) . This single peaked at #9 on the pop charts and at #1 on the R&B chart. This taste of success paved the way for Arethas second , and most successful single of all-time .
RESPECT , a cover of a song originally written and recorded by the late Otis Redding. This song set the precedent for the first of many times Aretha would use a call and response vocal arrangement with The Sweet Inspirations, her sibling back-up singers Erma and Carolyn Franklin. 1967 was an incredible year with 3 more top 10 hits for Aretha.
Baby, I Love You ,
Chain of Fools ( both included here as free downloads ) and
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman . Franklins success with Atlantic carried on through the late sixties into the early seventies, turning her not only into a superstar vocalist, but also as a figure head of womens' empowerment and the civil rights movement.
Unfortunately by 1973 ,the music scene had begun to shift as did Arethas success. She was still charting hits on the R&B charts but she was falling from grace with pop music audiences as the disco fad was starting to outshine the soulful sounds of Aretha and others like her.
Aretha has had some varied success throught the 80's and 90's . She still tours and performs , but hasn't recently had any chart toppers of which to speak . Most notably she was personally asked by Barrack Obama to be the only vocalist at his Inauguration, gaining her recognition not only as an incredible vocalist, but also for the ostentatious hat she had chosen for that bitter cold day in DC.
3 of todays selections ( Satisfaction, Baby I Love You, and Chain of Fools > Respect) come from the long out- of-print Atlantic release
Aretha in Paris . Recorded live on May 7, 1968 at the Olympia Theater in Paris ,France , Aretha is at the top of her game. The intensity and candor of her voice captivated the audience with warmth and soulfulness. Gentle on my Mind was the B side of the 1969 Atlantic single for I Cant See Myself Leaving You . and lastly, Rock Steady is an alternative mix of the song that was on the 1971 Atlantic release
Young, Gifted and Black....... and now -
THE MUSIC-
(I Can't get No) Satisfaction - A French introduction kicks into some Jagger/Richards penned American rock and roll only this time with a soulful funky flair. The drummer kicks a beat that is quickly joined by the bass and guitar player and Aretha wails. The band is tighter than a school girl, and the back-up singers are on point. The interplay between Aretha and her back-up singing sisters is incredible. If you aren't tapping your foot and nodding your head by the end of this song, you must be either dead or deaf. This ones cooks like a pot of hamhocks and greens.
Baby, I Love You - Originally released on the 1967 album
Aretha Arrives , this is a live version from Aretha in Paris . Once again the band is glued together,. and the horn section gets some exercise on this one as well, but ya gotta listen closely because they aren't real prominent in the mix except for a few brass punches. Aretha and the back-up singers completely knock this one out of the park. This song experienced a rebirth of sorts when it was used on the
Goodfellas soundtrack.
Chain of Fools>Respect - OMG.... The drummer and bass player are laying it down thick and heavy like cold syrup on a hot waffle. Arethas proclamations are complimented by the big brass horns and the "Sweet Inspirations"provide the responses to Arethas calls...... Chain of Fools segues right into RESPECT. The horns , drummer, and bass are by now boiling over and the raw soul power of Aretha is blatantly obvious. Aretha and The Sweet Inspirations speed this one up just a tad bit for extra excitement. The background vocals were originally arranged by Aretha herself and unbeknown to most, the line about "r-e-s-p-e-c-t, find out what it means to me/take care of TCB" with the back-up singers repeating "sock it to me" was originally ad-libbed and wasn't supposed to be part of the original arrangement when the song was first recorded. This song was the closer for that nights performance , and it apparently brought the house down.
Gentle On My Mind - Most people know this as being sung by the Rhinestone Cowboy himself, Glen Campbell. Arethas version is a bit different from Glens , once again with the sweet back-up singing of the Sweet Inspirations playing an integral part in the sound and feel of her version. It keeps the same emotion of Campbells version , but is much more soulful with an almost samba/ latin feel to the rhythm section. Give it a listen and compare it to the Rhinestone Cowboys version. See for yourself what you think.
- This is definitely one of Arethas funkier joints. Released in '71 this number has a line-up of musicians that is cherry picked from the tippi-top. Lets start with the rhythm section...... Chuck Rainey on Bass,. this man has played with just about everybody. From Fathead Newman and Steely Dan to Lowell George and Dusty Springfield . Hes got a discography a mile long and the chops to prove it . Next up....on drums, Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. This man was the drummer on numerous James Brown albums.... that outta be " 'nuff said " right there but I'll continue just to prove a point. King Curtis, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Mann, Miles Davis Cat Stevens, Jimmy McGriff, BB King.......... do ya recognize any of those has-been one hit wonders? Not to mention the fact that the man is an incredible bandleader in his own right, and the originator of "The Purdie Shuffle" drum beat and all of its variations. .... Beside Bernard on percusssion duties is the one and only Dr. John New Orleans funkateer extraordinaire. The late great Donny Hathaway on keys , Cornell Dupree on guitar,the Memphis Horns blowing the brass, a few other various musicians..... all tied together with the production talents of one Jerry Wexler. If you don't recognize the name I'm sure you'll recognize the names of some of the people hes discovered in his illustrious career.....Ray Charles, Allman Bros., Led Zeppelin anyone?..... Wison Pickett. or how about that beatnik poet with an acoustic guitar and that lyrically distinctive voice, Bob Dylan?
Its an incredible lineup of players that form a cohesive canvas for Aretha to paint her picture. Its straight up funky.
So there ya have it, this weeks journey down the Funk Road. Let me know how ya like having the songs be playable direct from the page as well as downloadable. .. and in the words of the great Don Cornelius...... " I wish you Peace, Love , and SOUL!!!!!!!!!!!!
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