daughter of Rev. C.L. Franklin ("Man with the Million-Dollar Voice"),
whose "brimstone with a beat" preaching style caused Chess Records
to record 70 of his sermons
sermon: Two Fishes and Five Loaves
note how the minister's voice becomes like R&B/Soul singing toward the end!!
sermon: Pressing On
Aretha's singing style:
total vocal control
intricate melodic & rhythmic nuance
precise control of pitch & timbre
voice was clear & strong
remarkable vocal range, expressing a wide range of emotion
arrangements were often quite complex & sophisticated
personality tended toward the shy introvert ... but actively engaged in the arranging & production of her recordings
discovered by John Hammond (Columbia), believing she could follow Sam Cooke's lead from gospel to Pop
important in the recording careers of Bessie Smith & Billie Holiday
(also Bob Dylan a few years later)
during six years in the early 1960s, she recorded 4 jazz-flavored albums that were did not reach the desired level of commercial success
Walk On By
Try a Little Tenderness
Soulville
Jerry Wexler (Atlantic) was waiting in the
wings for her contract with Columbia to expire
signed her in 1967 and took her to Muscle
Shoals (AL)
First Atlantic Album was I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (#2!!);
from gospel to soul
I
Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
(#9, 1967)
"Dr. Feelgood" (includes several attempts at defining "soul")
"Respect" (tune by Otis Redding from the same Aretha Franklin album)
... hit #1
Respect (#1, 1967)
Chain of Fools (1967)
- note the similarity in sound to "Pains of Life," released the same year
Pains of Life by Elijah Fair & the Sensationall Gladys Davis Trio (also released in 1967)
Franklin proved successful with both black & white audiences
became Atlantic's top recording artist, as Atlantic became the soul record label
popularity continued with hits through the 70s
1980 - left Atlantic (signed with Arista)s
appeared in The Blues Brothers, beginning a strong comeback
1982 released Jump to It (#24 [#1 R&B])
produced by Luther Vandross, who composed the title cut
early 80s filled with personal tragedy
father was attacked and shot by burglars in his Detroit home (1979),
lapsed into a coma and died in 1984
went through a divorce in 1984
1985 - real comeback (Who's Zoomin' Who)
title track (#7) & "Freeway of Love" (#3)
she's still around though albums have not been selling anywhere near as
well since the mid-80s
1994's "A Deeper Love" from the Sister Act 2 soundtrack
pointing out the gospel roots of soul ...
"What a Friend"
--4 excerpts (from the album Amazing Grace, 1972)
basically, based on a simple tune
note overall AA'BA' form (play tune at
piano; p. 165)
durational augmentation (stretching each
measure into two)
in her performance, Aretha repeats the first two sections and last two sections of the musical form(AA'AA'BA'BA')
results in a 64-bar form!!
excerpt 2: hangs out on the next-to-last measure
(stretching still further - 4 1/2 minutes to get through the entire tune)
... continues on with humming
excerpt 3: opening phrase again
added notes, rhythmic modifications (see p. 167 in text)
"blue" notes
excerpt 4: "blue" notes on repeat of A
section
see p. 167 in text
notice soulful interpolations (like Sam Cooke) - "oh-oh," "oh,
yeah," "let's do that one more time,"etc.
(includes several attempts at defining "soul")
