R.e.s.p.e.c.t.
 

What we need right now, as ever, is respect— to look back

For sharing your abundant gift, Aretha, thank you.

"I Say A Little Prayer" is effing genius. With swag.

RIP, Aretha.

Here's my favorite Aretha. From the start, but the way it builds takes it way beyond.

Those are among the Queen's greatest performances, for sure. But can I put in a word for the astonishing lip-synched rendition of "Think" that is included in the Blues Brothers movie. Oh, my God.

This morning I heard on NPR two other amazing performances with which I was previously unfamiliar: Aretha at 14 singing gospel and Aretha in middle age subbing on short notice for a poorly Pavarotti and kicking the ass of the "Nessun Dorma."

Will provide links later if I find them...


Here's the Blues Brothers scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY66elCQkYk The greatest pleasure of this movie, in my opinion, is the musical numbers, like this one, in which giants of blues and soul are treated with the reverence they should command. That said, the narrative here depends on Matt "Guitar" Murphy defying Aretha and joining back up with the BBs--which always seems completely implausible to me after that towering song...

And here's a link about the "Nessun Dorma" incident: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...816-story.html Read the story before playing the audio.

And this one is audio of Aretha singing at 14, presumably when she was in 8th or 9th grade: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgTnA9FseWw

It's hard to talk about favorite Aretha moments, but one thing she did better than perhaps anyone else has ever done, at least in rock and roll, is take other people's songs - Otis Redding's "Respect" - and make them her own. A couple of others include Ben E. King's "Spanish Harlem" and her gospel take on Paul Simon's "Bridge Over Troubled Water," but a personal favorite is the great Sam Cooke's "You Send Me", sung her way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQNJTmyPdnw

Cheers, and respect,
John

PS Roger, thanks for sharing. That is quite beautiful.

Marginalia
 

An aside to Simon's post: Think is an impressive song indeed. And now the persnickety in me wants to qualify that, as a musician sensitive to tempo myself, I could not help finding the pace of the posted version manic or deliriously hopped up. Perhaps the film had sped it up to punctuate or fit the comedic context. The power of pipes, however great, alone can even be mis-used, like overblown, if the mastered track pushes chipmunk speeds through six more modulations than it needs. (As if genuine musical sensibility behind effects had suffered to be doctored by a record exec who thought more everything whatever better ad infinitum for a remix by Christmas.)

It all boils down in the end to only this: That I prefer the 1968 original cut as seeming less doctored I Think (link). That is, as a song of itself for listening. I am an insufferable purist at heart when it comes to Great music. I realise that, in saying this, I might sound to some off my rocker or some percentage thereof, and yes, I am on a persnickety limb just now. Had to include the link to the original. I hasten to add that The Blues Brothers was a stroke of comedic genius in its own right. Like you did not know that already.

Equivocation of no consequence aside, Aretha is awesome.
Respect is right!


P.S. This most intriguing conversation is greatly nourished by the links. Not to mention it being ad rem. If I let slip some hyperbole in my contradistinction, think chipmunks, know that I do still think the version with those suited brothers some show for the books.

Simon, Roger -- amazing links! Thank you!

Here's really early one I have always loved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYufJlLcwLU

Nemo

Here she is at the Kennedy Center honors for Carole King singing Natural Woman. She was 73. The fur comes off at 3:38.
X

Right up there with the great jazz vocalists--That Swanee is amazing.

Oh yes, she was a part of my life. “Natural Woman” was in my mind when I was in Egypt long ago, and expressed something of the intense joy and being untethered from everything but love that I felt then. Earlier in hard times she brought “soul serenade” to cool my heart. She was there with “Chain of Fools” which was a warning. The way these songs weave through one’s life, as if she was a close friend in the form of a voice.

Fab links, Nemo --- imagine actually being in the room that night at the Fillmore!! What a perfomance! And Ray!! The whole experience is genius.

Move with the spirit, indeed....

Actually, Cally, I got the link from a friend of mine's post on Facebook. He was seventeen years old, and had traveled a few hours to San Francisco with some biddies, and was actually there. He said it was life-changing. And this was the old pre-high-security days. It was intimate, he was pressed right up against the stage!

Nemo

Wow. Just wowsie. I could feel the whole room, the experience, watching it -- felt I was there, and began imagining being there. The whole space and everything in the space, including the microphones and the walls, were so obviously animated, ecstatic, in the real sense of that word. I completely understand this experience would be life-changing. So grateful you shared this one, Nemo. I've bookmarked it. Thank gourd there is this video of it.

From this New Yorker tribute:

Etta James once recalled listening to Franklin’s version of Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael’s standard “Skylark.” In the second verse, Franklin jumps an octave. “I had to scratch my head and ask myself, How the fuck did that bitch do that? I remember running into Sarah Vaughan, who always intimidated me. Sarah said, ‘Have you heard of this Aretha Franklin girl?’ I said, ‘You heard her do ‘Skylark,’ didn’t you?’ Sarah said, ‘Yes, I did, and I’m never singing that song again.’ ”

Skylark

--David R.

She was a brilliant cover artist. Here is one of my favorite recordings of her, and one of my favorite covers by anyone: Elton John's "Border Song."

-- David R.

David, that's a great Sarah Vaughan quote! Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed Holy Moses as well. What a light she was.

Cheers,
John

David R! Great to see you. The gospel arrangement of "Border Song" is fabulous, gave me chills.

I've always loved this two-fer diva pop song with the late great George Michael. It's great seeing them together like this -- and you can't tell me that some gay man wasn't heavily involved in the production / direction.

Yes, George Michael, who started by doing pop in Wham! and ended up dueting with Aretha. And holding up his end. It's a great duet, thanks for posting.
I love her getting ready. And when they touch.

Cheers,
John