Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin (Memphis, 25 marzo 1942) è una cantautrice e pianista statunitense, una delle icone della musica gospel, soul e R&B.
È soprannominata "La Regina del Soul" o "Lady Soul" per la sua capacità di aggiungere una vena soul a qualsiasi cosa canti, e per le sue enormi qualità vocali. Lo Stato del Michigan ha ufficialmente dichiarato la sua voce "una meraviglia della natura".
È molto nota per la sua vasta produzione di musica soul e R&B ma anche gospel, blues, jazz, rock che le ha permesso di aggiudicarsi ben ventuno premi Grammy (otto dei quali vinti consecutivamente nella stessa categoria dal 1968 al 1975; in quel periodo il premio veniva chiamato The Aretha Award, ossia "Il premio Aretha").
Il 3 gennaio 1987 è stata la prima donna a entrare a far parte della Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In una classifica stilata nel 2004 dalla rivista Rolling Stone Aretha è stata classificata al nono posto, che è anche il piazzamento più alto per una donna tra i 100 artisti più grandi nella storia della musica. Sempre la stessa rivista in una speciale classifica sui "100 Greatest Singers" del 2010 l'ha piazzata al primo posto assoluto.

Biografia

La formazione e i primi passi

Il padre, predicatore battista famoso a livello nazionale, aveva educato i figli a una cultura religiosa solida, ma non era riuscito ad evitare il naufragio del suo matrimonio con Barbara, anch'essa cantante gospel, che andò via di casa quando la figlia Aretha aveva sei anni. Dopo la separazione, il nucleo familiare andò a vivere a Detroit, dove frequentò future stelle del mondo musicale fra le quali Smokey Robinson, e dove il padre divenne ministro di una comunità religiosa che ospitava ben 4 500 fedeli e volle Aretha e le sue due sorelle Carolyn ed Erma fra i musicisti della parrocchia.
Le sorelle Franklin cantavano nel coro e Aretha suonava anche il piano durante le funzioni religiose. Malgrado due maternità precoci (il primo figlio Clarence avuto a quattordici anni e il secondo, Edward, a sedici), Aretha mostrò passione per il gospel e grande determinazione nel voler entrare nel mondo della musica come professionista: le prime registrazioni di Aretha Franklin furono realizzate attraverso l'incisione delle funzioni religiose del padre da parte della JVB/Battles.
Quattordicenne, Aretha seguì il padre che compiva un viaggio di predicazione, sfoggiando il proprio repertorio gospel. Negli anni cinquanta il produttore discografico Berry Gordy cercò senza successo di arruolare la cantante nella scuderia Motown; successivamente, con il sostegno artistico di Clara Ward, Mahalia Jackson, James Cleveland e Sam Cooke, la cantante fu vicina a firmare un contratto con la RCA ma, dietro sollecitazione di John Hammond, decise infine di legarsi alla Columbia. Il repertorio prevalentemente pop impostole dalla casa discografica non le permise però di esprimere tutto il proprio potenziale di cantante di soul e di rhythm and blues. Aretha incise cinque album di scarso successo, ispirandosi ad artiste come Mahalia Jackson, Clara Ward e l'amica di famiglia Dinah Washington.
Nei primi anni sessanta la Franklin riuscì a portare al successo alcuni 45 giri, tra i quali Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody. Nel 1961 sposò Ted White, che divenne suo manager alla Columbia Records. Nel 1965 eseguì anche – in chiave di gospel – lo standard di Pete Seeger If I Had a Hammer.

Gli anni del successo: la svolta del 1967

Passata all'Atlantic Records nel 1967, collaborò con i produttori Jerry Wexler e Arif Mardin che impressero alle nuove registrazioni una venatura soul e alcuni loro lavori – ad esempio I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) – influenzarono grandemente lo scenario R&B degli anni a venire, facendole meritare subito il titolo di The Queen of Soul (la Regina del Soul). In quegli anni Aretha conseguì anche notorietà internazionale e divenne motivo di orgoglio per le minoranze di colore americane, soprattutto con la sua interpretazione del brano Respect di Otis Redding, che divenne un inno dei movimenti femministi e per i diritti civili.
In questo periodo Aretha dominava le classifiche, ottenendo numerosi album d'oro e di platino e piazzando quasi tutti i suoi singoli nella top 10 della Billboard Hot 100. Ricordando quel periodo, la Franklin racconta che «When I went to Atlantic, they just sat me down at the piano and the hits started coming» ("quando giunsi all'Atlantic mi fecero sedere al pianoforte ed i successi cominciarono ad arrivare").
Dopo una relazione tempestosa che la condusse all'alcolismo, nel 1969 divorziò da Ted White, che si era dimostrato persona violenta e dai comportamenti equivoci.
Tra la fine degli anni sessanta e gli inizi degli anni settanta numerosi suoi dischi scalarono le classifiche USA finendo spesso ai primi posti. Questi dischi spaziavano dalla musica gospel al blues, dalla musica pop alla musica psichedelica ed al rock and roll. Indimenticabili sono alcune cover dei Beatles (Eleanor Rigby), The Band (The Weight), Simon & Garfunkel (Bridge over Troubled Water), Sam Cooke e dei The Drifters.
Live at Fillmore West e Amazing Grace sono due dei suoi più influenti LP. Il secondo è un doppio live di musica gospel registrato in una chiesa Battista di Los Angeles che risulta essere il lavoro di maggior successo della cantante e il disco gospel più venduto nella storia, con oltre due milioni di copie vendute. Nonostante i suoi successi, non è mai arrivata al numero uno delle classifiche britanniche, raggiungendo solo un quarto posto nel 1968 con la sua versione di I Say a Little Prayer di Burt Bacharach. Detiene tuttavia il record di numero 1 nella classifica americana R'n'B (18) e ha raggiunto due volte la prima posizione della classifica Billboard Hot 100.
Oltre alla già citata Respect, che è diventata la sua canzone simbolo, tra i singoli di successo di quegli anni si ricordano Chain of Fools, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, Think e Baby I Love You. Dopo l'istituzione della categoria R&B in seno ai Grammy Award nel 1968, divenne imbattibile meritandosi per otto anni consecutivi quello della categoria "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" e guadagnandone altri tre anche negli anni ottanta, per un totale di ventitré nomination.

Anni settanta: il declino commerciale

Nei primi anni settanta, Aretha Franklin scelse di utilizzare sonorità più dolci, senza perdere nulla della sua potenza vocale. Pur continuando il sodalizio artistico con Wexler e Mardin, cominciò ad assumere un ruolo sempre più importante nel produrre i suoi lavori. Nel 1973 Quincy Jones collaborò al suo nuovo album You ma il disco, nonostante il singolo Angel scritto dalla sorella Carolyn sia diventato un classico della musica soul, non ebbe fortuna. I personaggi legati alla emergente disco music stavano monopolizzando il mercato e la Atlantic concedeva sempre meno spazio e meno materiale alla Franklin, privilegiando artiste emergenti quali Roberta Flack.
Dopo l'esperienza di You, Aretha ritornò a farsi produrre da Wexler fino a che questi abbandonò nel 1976 l'Atlantic Records, ponendo fine alla loro prolifica e fruttuosa collaborazione. Successivamente, nonostante le collaborazioni con artisti della caratura di Curtis Mayfield, i consensi di critica e pubblico cominciarono a scemare.

Gli anni ottanta: la rinascita

Nel 1980 Aretha ritornò all'attenzione del pubblico con la partecipazione al film The Blues Brothers, che diventò un cult movie. Nella pellicola interpretava la parte della moglie di Matt "guitar" Murphy ed eseguiva il suo vecchio successo Think. Nello stesso anno, il produttore Clive Davis la mise sotto contratto con la sua Arista Records e le fece incidere i singoli United Together e Love All the Hurt Away, quest'ultimo in duetto con George Benson, che la riportarono in classifica.
Nel 1982 l'album Jump to It, prodotto da Luther Vandross, suo ammiratore da sempre, le restituì popolarità e la riportò in cima alle classifiche. Le più note incisioni di quegli anni furono Freeway of Love, canzone-dance del 1985, e i duetti Sisters Are Doing for Themselves con gli Eurythmics e I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) con George Michael, che divenne la sua seconda numero uno americana. Molti critici giudicano, comunque, la sua produzione di quegli anni qualitativamente molto inferiore alle leggendarie registrazioni degli anni sessanta.
Nel 1984 fu denunciata per rottura di contratto, quando non riuscì a partecipare al musical di Broadway Sing, Mahalia, Sing, principalmente a causa della sua paura di volare.

Anni recenti

Ai Grammy del 1998, dovendo sostituire Luciano Pavarotti colpito da un malessere, improvvisò in 20 minuti un'interpretazione del Nessun dorma in tonalità originale e cantando la prima strofa in italiano. La performance è considerata una delle più grandi esibizioni di sempre ai Grammy. Freddie Mercury era un suo grande fan, come racconta Peter Freestone (assistente personale di Freddie) nel suo libro biografico sul frontman dei Queen.
Nel 2000 Aretha ha partecipato anche al sequel Blues Brothers: Il mito continua, interpretando Respect. Aretha Franklin vive a Detroit e, per la sua nota paura di prendere l'aereo, non effettua grandi spostamenti esibendosi solo nelle località a portata d'auto. Continua a pubblicare dischi in cui cerca di affiancare classiche ballate soul a pezzi più attuali e moderni, collaborando con gli artisti più talentuosi dell'R&B contemporaneo, come Fantasia Barrino, Lauryn Hill e Mary J. Blige, e con i produttori hip hop più alla moda, come Jermaine Dupri o Diddy.
La sua figura è ormai assestata come una delle più influenti nella storia della musica: numerosi artisti, tra cui Anastacia, Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Fantasia, Joss Stone, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Giuni Russo, Giorgia ed Elisa citano Aretha nelle loro principali ispirazioni e hanno eseguito cover dei suoi brani più famosi.
Il 20 gennaio 2009 ha cantato a Washington alla cerimonia di insediamento del 44º Presidente degli Stati Uniti d'America, Barack Obama, in diretta tv mondiale e davanti a più di due milioni di persone.
Il 29 dicembre 2015 si è esibita con il suo successo '(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman' durante la cerimonia per il conferimento dei Kennedy Center Honors a Carole King, autrice del brano, ottenendo la commozione del pubblico tra cui quella del presidente degli Stati Uniti d'America Barack Obama.

Profilo della voce

Lo sviluppo della voce di Aretha si può dividere in due periodi: il primo va dall'inizio della sua carriera fino ai primi anni ottanta, il secondo da questi ultimi in poi (più o meno dall'uscita dell'album Jump to It nel 1982 in poi). All'inizio degli anni ottanta, infatti, la voce di Aretha a causa del fumo subì un drastico cambiamento. All'apice della carriera la sua voce era squillante, pulita e brillante – caratteristiche che l'hanno resa una delle più riconoscibili del panorama musicale mondiale – e queste peculiarità porterebbero a classificarla come soprano, sebbene nel contesto del canto moderno. La sua è una voce potente che affonda nella tradizione evangelica e dunque nella musica gospel. Lei è principalmente una cantante emotiva che lega il suo canto, la sua innata musicalità e improvvisazione alla musica e all'esperienza nel jazz e generalmente nella musica nera, diventando così una delle fondatrici, se non probabilmente la principale, della musica soul. Non a caso infatti viene definita "the Queen of Soul". Aretha Franklin è in grado di cantare piste vocali complesse, che possono estendersi nella parte superiore della sua gamma fino al fondo, e ciò spiega anche la capacità di tenere note per lunghi periodi. La sua voce è dotata di un'estrema connessione in tutte le parti della sua estensione, dalle note più basse fino al registro di testa.
All'inizio della carriera Aretha dimostra, nonostante la brillantezza della sua voce, di possedere una grande padronanza anche delle note più basse della sua estensione, che esegue con grande appoggio e agilità. La gamma più alta delle note in registro di petto è incredibilmente elastica e potente, grazie anche all'abilità di utilizzare all'estremità dell'estensione la voce mista, arrivando a toccare addirittura il re5/D6 (in base alla numerazione italiana o americana delle ottave). Aretha è in grado di combinare l'emotività del canto con la tecnica, il che rende la sua versatilità e padronanza nella note alte quasi ineguagliata. Questa speciale parte dell'estensione è una caratteristica facilmente attribuibile ad Aretha Franklin e a tutti i cantanti successivi o seguaci di Ella, che hanno seguito il suo nuovo modo di cantare nella musica nera, scollandosi dal modello di impostazione canoro stilistico jazz ispirato dal bel canto o dalla concezione di far riflettere nel canto un sentimento esclusivamente pessimista sulla visione di una vita ingiusta e drammatica, cioè il canto come espressione di sofferenza (espressionismo). Invece Aretha è una delle artefici (se non la principale) che ha dato origine a un nuovo modo di cantare più ribelle, basato più sull'esclamazione. Caratteristica canora che si affermò in seguito nel rock e nella musica pop. Dunque in generale la straordinaria voce di Aretha è dovuta in gran parte al suo mutevole vibrato (arioso, jazzista e teatrale), ma principalmente al suo grandioso e inimitabile timbro, ricco di varie chiarezze, punti focali scuri e caratteri diversi. Agli inizi degli anni ottanta la voce di Aretha subisce un drastico cambiamento, dovuto ai danni del fumo: la sua voce perde la sua brillantezza e chiarezza e diventa più pesante e con un riconoscibile timbro affumicato. Aretha in questo periodo acquista una maggiore estensione delle note basse, che diventano estremamente scure e pesanti, arrivando a toccare picchi come il Sol1/G2, tuttavia perde agilità, versatilità ed estensione nelle note più alte, sia in registro di petto sia di testa, che avevano costituito la sua firma inconfondibile. Nelle note più alte la sua voce perde un po' di controllo e in particolare la chiarezza del timbro. Aretha smetterà di fumare all'incirca nel 1991/1992, e ciò gioverà notevolmente alla sua voce, che riacquisterà più controllo e brillantezza nelle note più alte e nel vibrato, che, sebbene non eguaglino quelle degli anni sessanta e settanta, le consentiranno di mostrare una nuova e migliore forma vocale.

Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American singer–songwriter and musician. Franklin began her career singing gospel at her father, minister C. L. Franklin's church as a child. In 1960, at the age of 18, Franklin embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records but only achieving modest success. Following her signing to Atlantic Records in 1967, Franklin achieved commercial acclaim and success with songs such as "Respect", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and "Think". These hits and more helped her to gain the title The Queen of Soul by the end of the 1960s decade.
Franklin eventually recorded a total of 112 charted singles on Billboard, including 77 Hot 100 entries, 17 top ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries and twenty number-one R&B singles, becoming the most charted female artist in the chart's history. Franklin also recorded acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Lady Soul, Young, Gifted & Black and Amazing Grace before experiencing problems with her record company by the mid-1970s. After her father was shot in 1979, Franklin left Atlantic and signed with Arista Records, finding success with her part in the film The Blues Brothers and with the albums Jump to It and Who's Zoomin' Who?. In 1998, Franklin won international acclaim for singing the opera aria "Nessun dorma", at the Grammys of that year replacing Luciano Pavarotti. Later that same year, she scored her final Top 40 recording with "A Rose Is Still a Rose". Franklin's other popular and well known hits include "Rock Steady", "Something He Can Feel" (from the soundtrack to the 1976 film Sparkle), "Jump to It", "Freeway of Love", "Who's Zoomin' Who", "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves", "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with George Michael), "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (with Whitney Houston) and a remake of The Rolling Stones song "Jumpin' Jack Flash".
Franklin has won a total of 18 Grammy Awards and is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold over 75 million records worldwide. Franklin has been honored throughout her career including a 1987 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in which she became the first female performer to be inducted. She was inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. In August 2012, Franklin was inducted into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Franklin is listed in at least two all-time lists on Rolling Stone magazine, including the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, in which she placed number 9, and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time in which she placed number 1.

Early life

Aretha Louise Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of Barbara (née Siggers) and Clarence LaVaughn Franklin. Her father, who went by the nickname, "C. L.", was an itinerant preacher originally from Shelby, Mississippi, while her mother was an accomplished piano player and vocalist. Alongside Franklin, her parents had three other children while both C. L. and Barbara had children from outside their marriage. The family relocated to Buffalo, New York when Franklin was two. Before her fifth birthday, C. L. Franklin permanently relocated the family to Detroit, Michigan where he took over the pastorship of New Bethel Baptist Church (Detroit, Michigan). Franklin's parents had a troubled marriage due to stories of C. L. Franklin's philandering and in 1948, they separated, with Barbara relocating back to Buffalo with her son, Vaughn, from a previous relationship.
Contrary to popular notion, Franklin's mother did not abandon her children; not only would Franklin recall seeing her mother in Buffalo during the summer, Barbara also frequently visited her children in Detroit. Franklin's mother died on March 7, 1952, before Franklin's tenth birthday. Several women, including Franklin's grandmother Rachel, and Mahalia Jackson took turns helping with the children at the Franklin home. During this time, Franklin learned how to play piano by ear. Franklin's father's emotionally driven sermons resulted in him being known as the man with the "million-dollar voice" and earning thousands of dollars for sermons in various churches across the country. Franklin's celebrity led to his home being visited by various celebrities including gospel musicians Clara Ward, James Cleveland and early Caravans members Albertina Walker and Inez Andrews as well as Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke.

Music career

Beginnings

Just after her mother's death, Franklin began singing solos at New Bethel, debuting with the hymn, "Jesus, Be a Fence Around Me". Four years later, when Franklin was 14, her father began managing her, bringing her on the road with him during his so-called "gospel caravan" tours for her to perform in various churches. He helped his daughter get signed to her first recording deal with J.V.B. Records, where her first album, Songs of Faith, was issued in 1956. Two singles were released to gospel radio stations including "Never Grow Old" and "Precious Lord, Take My Hand". Franklin sometimes traveled with The Caravans and The Soul Stirrers during this time and developed a crush on Sam Cooke, who was then singing with the Soul Stirrers before his secular career.
After turning 18, Franklin confided to her father that she aspired to follow Sam Cooke to record pop music. Serving as her manager, C. L. agreed to the move and helped to produce a two-song demo that soon was brought to the attention of Columbia Records, who agreed to sign her in 1960. Franklin was signed as a "five-percent artist". During this period, Franklin would be coached by choreographer Cholly Atkins to prepare for her pop performances. Before signing with Columbia, Sam Cooke tried to persuade Franklin's father to have his label, RCA sign Franklin. He had also been courted by local record label owner Berry Gordy to sign Franklin and her elder sister Erma to his Tamla label. Franklin's father felt the label was not established enough yet. Franklin's first Columbia single, "Today I Sing the Blues", was issued in September 1960 and later reached the top ten of the Hot Rhythm & Blues Sellers chart.

Initial success

In January 1961, Columbia issued Franklin's first secular album, Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo. The album featured her first single to chart the Billboard Hot 100, "Won't Be Long", which also peaked at number 7 on the R&B chart. Mostly produced by Clyde Otis, Franklin's Columbia recordings saw her recording in diverse genres such as standards, vocal jazz, blues, doo-wop and rhythm and blues. Before the year was out, Franklin scored her first top 40 single with her rendition of the standard, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody", which also included the R&B hit, "Operation Heartbreak", on its b-side. "Rock-a-Bye" became her first international hit, reaching the top 40 in Australia and Canada. By the end of 1961, Franklin was named as a "new-star female vocalist" in Down Beat magazine. In 1962, Columbia issued two more albums, The Electrifying Aretha Franklin and The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin, the latter of which charted number 69 on the Billboard Pop LPs chart.
By 1964, Franklin began recording more pop music, reaching the top ten on the R&B chart with the ballad, "Runnin' Out of Fools" in early 1965. She had two R&B charted singles in 1965 and 1966 with the songs "One Step Ahead" and "Cry Like a Baby" while also reaching the Easy Listening charts with the ballads "You Made Me Love You" and "(No, No) I'm Losing You". By the mid-1960s, Franklin was netting $100,000 from countless performances in nightclubs and theaters. Also during that period, Franklin appeared on rock and roll shows such as Hollywood A Go-Go and Shindig!. However, it was argued that Franklin's potential was neglected at the label. Columbia executive John H. Hammond later said he felt Columbia did not understand Franklin's early gospel background and failed to bring that aspect out further during her Columbia period.

Commercial success

In January 1967, choosing not to renew her Columbia contract after six years with the company, Franklin signed to Atlantic Records. That month, she traveled to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record at FAME Studios to record the song, "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" in front of the musicians of the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. The song was later issued that February and shot up to number-one on the R&B chart, while also peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Franklin her first top ten pop single. The song's b-side, "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", reached the R&B top 40, peaking at number 37. In April, Atlantic issued her frenetic version of Otis Redding's "Respect", which shot to number-one on both the R&B and pop charts and later became her signature song and was later hailed as a civil rights and feminist anthem.
Franklin's debut Atlantic album, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, also became commercially successful, later going gold. Franklin scored two more top ten singles in 1967 including "Baby I Love You" and "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman". Franklin's rapport with producer Jerry Wexler helped in the creation of the majority of Franklin's peak recordings with Atlantic. In 1968, she issued the top-selling albums, Lady Soul and Aretha Now, which included some of Franklin's most popular hit singles including "Chain of Fools", "Ain't No Way", "Think" and "I Say a Little Prayer". In February 1968, Franklin earned the first two of her Grammys including the debut category for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. On February 16, 1968, Franklin was honored with a day in her honor and was greeted by longtime friend Martin Luther King, Jr. who gave her the SCLC Drum Beat Award for Musicians just two months before his death. In June 1968, she appeared on the cover of Time magazine.
Franklin's success expanded during the early 1970s in which she recorded top ten singles such as "Spanish Harlem", "Rock Steady" and "Day Dreaming" as well as the acclaimed albums, Spirit in the Dark, Young, Gifted & Black and her gospel album, Amazing Grace, which sold over two million copies. In 1971, Franklin became the first R&B performer to headline Fillmore West, later recording the live album, Aretha Live at Fillmore West. Franklin's career began experiencing issues while recording the album, Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky), which featured production from Quincy Jones. Despite the success of the single, "Angel", the album bombed upon its release in 1973. Franklin continued having R&B success with songs such as "Until You Come Back to Me" and "I'm in Love" but by 1975, her albums and songs were failing to become a success. After Jerry Wexler left Atlantic for Warner Bros. Records in 1976, Franklin worked on the soundtrack to the film, "Sparkle", with Curtis Mayfield. The album yielded Franklin's final top 40 hit of the decade, "Something He Can Feel", which also peaked at number-one on the R&B chart. Franklin's follow-up albums for Atlantic including Sweet Passion, Almighty Fire and La Diva bombed on the charts and in 1979, Franklin opted to leave the company.

Later years

In 1980, after leaving Atlantic Records, Franklin signed with Clive Davis' Arista Records and that same year gave a command performance at the Royal Albert Hall in front of Queen Elizabeth. Franklin also made an acclaimed guest role as a waitress in the comedy musical, The Blues Brothers. Franklin's first Arista album, Aretha, featured the #3 R&B hit, "United Together" and her Grammy-nominated cover of Otis Redding's "I Can't Turn You Loose". The follow-up, 1981's Love All the Hurt Away, included her famed duet of the title track with George Benson while the album also included her Grammy-winning cover of Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'". Franklin returned to the Gold standard– for the first time in seven years– with the album, Jump to It. Its title track was her first top 40 single on the pop charts in six years.
In 1985, inspired by her desire to have a "younger sound" in her music, her fifth Arista album, Who's Zoomin' Who?, became her first album to be certified platinum, after selling well over a million copies, thanks to the hits, "Freeway of Love", the title track and "Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves". The following year's Aretha album nearly matched this success with the hit singles "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Jimmy Lee" and "I Knew You Were Waiting for Me", her international number-one duet with George Michael. During that period, Franklin provided vocals to the theme songs of the shows, A Different World and Together. In 1987, she issued her third gospel album, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, which was recorded at her late father's New Bethel church, followed by Through the Storm in 1989. Franklin's 1991 album, What You See is What You Sweat, flopped on the charts. Franklin returned to the charts in 1993 with the dance song "A Deeper Love" and returned to the top 40 with the song "Willing to Forgive" in 1994.
In 1998, Franklin returned to the top 40 with the Lauryn Hill-produced song, "A Rose Is Still a Rose", later issuing the album of the same name, which went gold. That same year, Franklin earned international acclaim for her performance of "Nessun Dorma" at the Grammy Awards. Her final Arista album, So Damn Happy, was released in 2003 and featured the Grammy-winning song, "Wonderful". In 2004, Franklin announced that she was leaving Arista after over 20 years with the label. To complete her Arista obligations, Franklin issued the duets compilation album, Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen, in 2007. The following year, she issued the holiday album, This Christmas, Aretha, on DMI Records.
Franklin performed The Star Spangled Banner with Aaron Neville and Dr. John for Super Bowl XL, held in her hometown of Detroit in February 2006. She later made international headlines for performing "My Country 'Tis of Thee" at President Barack Obama's inaugural ceremony with her church hat becoming a popular topic online. In 2010, Franklin accepted an honorary degree from Yale University. In 2011, under her own label, Aretha's Records, she issued the album, Aretha: A Woman Falling Out Of Love. As of 2014, Franklin is now signed under RCA Records, controller of the Arista catalog and a sister label to Columbia via Sony Music Entertainment, and is currently working again with Clive Davis. A new album is in the works with producers Babyface and Danger Mouse planning to work with Franklin.
On September 29, 2014, Franklin performed to a standing ovation, with Cissy Houston as backup, a compilation of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" on the Late Show with David Letterman. Franklin's cover of "Rolling in the Deep" would be featured among nine other songs in her first RCA release, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, released on October 21, 2014.
In October 2014 Franklin became the first woman to have 100 songs on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with the success of her cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep", which debuted at number 47 on the chart.
In December 2015 Franklin gave an acclaimed performance of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors during the section for honoree Carole King, who co-wrote the song. During the bridge of the song, Ms. Franklin dropped her fur coat to the stage, for which the audience rewarded her with a mid-performance standing ovation.

Music style and image

Franklin has often been described as a great singer and musician due to "vocal flexibility, interpretive intelligence, skillful piano-playing, her ear, her experience." Franklin's voice has been described as being a "powerful mezzo-soprano voice" and has been praised for her arrangements and interpretations of other artists' hit songs. Of describing Franklin's voice as a youngster on her first album, Songs of Faith, released when she was just fourteen, Jerry Wexler explained that Franklin's voice "was not that of a child but rather of an ecstatic hierophant." Franklin's image went through rapid changes throughout her career. During the 1960s, Franklin was known for wearing bouffant hairdos and extravagant dresses that were sometimes embellished with either mink fur or feathers. In the 1970s, embracing her roots, Franklin briefly wore an Afro and the Afrocentric styled clothing admired by her peers. In the mid-1970s, after dropping weight, Franklin began wearing more fitted attire. By the 1980s, she had settled on wearing evening gowns and extravagant dresses.

Personal life

After being raised in Detroit, Franklin relocated to New York City in the 1960s, where she lived until moving to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. She eventually settled in Encino, Los Angeles where she lived until 1982. She then returned to the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan to be close to her ailing father and siblings. Franklin maintains a residence there to this day. Following an incident in 1984, she has cited a fear of flying that has prevented her from traveling overseas; she has performed only in North America since then. The mother of four sons, Franklin gave birth to her first son, Clarence, shortly after she turned 14. Her first two sons' fathers have never been identified. While Franklin was pursuing her career and "hanging out with [friends]", Franklin's grandmother Rachel and sister Erma took turns raising the children. Franklin's third child, Ted White, Jr., was born in 1964 and is known professionally as Teddy Richards. He has provided guitar backing for his mother's band during live concerts.
Franklin has married twice. She married Ted White in 1961, despite objections from her father. After a contentious marriage that involved domestic violence, she divorced White in 1969. She then married her second husband, actor Glynn Turman, on April 11, 1978 at her father's church. By marrying Turman, Franklin became stepmother of Turman's three children from a previous marriage. Franklin and Turman separated in 1982 after Franklin returned to Michigan from California, and they divorced in 1984. At one point, Franklin had plans to walk down the aisle with longtime companion Willie Wilkerson. Franklin and Wilkerson had had two previous engagements stretching back to 1988. Franklin eventually called the 2012 engagement off.
Franklin's sisters Erma and Carolyn were professional musicians as well and spent years performing background vocals on Franklin's recordings. Following Franklin's divorce from Ted White, her brother Cecil became her manager, and maintained that position until his death from lung cancer on December 26, 1989. Sister Carolyn died the previous year in April 1988 from breast cancer, while eldest sister Erma passed from throat cancer in September 2002. Franklin's half-brother Vaughn died two months after Erma in late 2002. Half-sister Carl Kelley (née Jennings; born 1940) is still alive at 74. Kelley is C. L. Franklin's daughter by Mildred Jennings, a then 12-year-old congregant of New Salem Baptist Church in Memphis, where C. L. was pastor. Franklin was performing at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, on June 10, 1979, when her father C. L. was shot twice at point blank range in his Detroit home. After six months at Henry Ford Hospital, still in a state of coma, C.L. was moved back to his home with 24-hour nursing care. Aretha moved back to Detroit in late 1982 to assist with the care of her father, who died at Detroit's New Light Nursing Home on July 27, 1984.
Some of her music business friends have included Dionne Warwick, Mavis Staples, and Cissy Houston, who began singing with Franklin as members of the Sweet Inspirations. Cissy sang background on Franklin's classic hit "Ain't No Way". Franklin first met Cissy's daughter, Whitney, in the early 1970s. She was made Whitney's honorary aunt, and Whitney often referred to her as "Auntie Ree". Whitney died on February 11, 2012. Franklin stated she was surprised by her death. She had initially planned to perform at Houston's memorial service on February 18, but her representative claimed that Franklin suffered a leg spasm and was unable to attend. In response to criticism of her non-attendance, she stated, "God knows I wanted to be there, but I couldn't."
Franklin is a registered Democrat. In 2014, she was granted the honorary degree of Doctor of Arts from Harvard University for her contributions to music.

Weight issues and health problems

Franklin dealt with weight issues for years. In 1974, she dropped 40 pounds (18 kg) during a crash diet and maintained her new weight until the end of the decade. Franklin again lost the weight in the early 1990s before gaining some back. A former chain smoker who struggled with alcoholism, she quit smoking in 1992. Franklin admitted in 1994 that her smoking was "messing with my voice", but after quitting smoking she said later, in 2003, that her weight "ballooned".
In 2010, Franklin canceled a number of concerts after she decided to have surgery for an undisclosed tumor. Discussing the surgery in 2011, she quoted her doctor as saying it would "add 15 to 20 years" to her life. She denied that the ailment had anything to do with pancreatic cancer, as it was rumored. On May 19, 2011 Aretha Franklin had her comeback show in the Chicago theatre. In May 2013, Franklin canceled two performances to deal with an undisclosed medical treatment. Later in the same month, Franklin canceled three more concerts in June and planned to return to perform in July. However, a July 27 show in Clarkston, Michigan was canceled due to continued medical treatment. In addition, Franklin canceled an appearance at an MLB luncheon in Chicago honoring her commitment to civil rights on an August 24 date. She also canceled a September 21 performance in Atlanta due to her health recovery. During a phone interview with The Associated Press in late August, 2013 Franklin stated that she had a "miraculous" recovery from her undisclosed illness but had to cancel shows and appearances until she was at 100% health, stating she was "85% healed". Franklin has since returned to live performing, including a 2013 Christmas concert at Detroit's Motor City Casino. She launched a multi-city tour beginning the summer of 2014, starting with a June 14 performance in New York at the Radio City Music Hall.

Legacy

Franklin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1979, had her voice declared a Michigan "natural resource" in 1985, and became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. NARAS awarded her a Grammy Legend Award in 1991, then the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. Franklin was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1994, recipient of the National Medal of Arts in 1999, and was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
Franklin become the second woman inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. She was the 2008 MusiCares Person of the Year, performing at the Grammys days later. Following news of Franklin's surgery and recovery in February 2011, the Grammys ceremony paid tribute to the singer with a medley of her classics performed by Christina Aguilera, Florence Welch, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, and Yolanda Adams. That same year she was ranked among the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time top artists, and ranked first on the Rolling Stone list of Greatest Singers of All Time.
Inducted to the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012, Franklin has been described as "the voice of the civil rights movement, the voice of black America" and a "symbol of black equality". Asteroid 249516 Aretha was named in her honor in 2014.
"American history wells up when Aretha sings", president Obama explained his emotional response to her performance of "A Natural Woman" at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. "Nobody embodies more fully the connection between the African-American spiritual, the blues, R&B, rock and roll--the way that hardship and sorrow were transformed into something full of beauty and vitality and hope".

Honorary degrees

Franklin received an honorary degree from Harvard University in 2014, as well as honorary doctorates in music from Princeton University, 2012; Yale University, 2010; Berklee College of Music, 2006; New England Conservatory of Music, 1995; and University of Michigan, 1987. Franklin was granted an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Wayne State University in 1990 and an honorary Doctor of Law by Bethune-Cookman College in 1975.

Aretha Franklin - Respect [1967] (Original Version) - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FOUqQt3Kg0

What you want
(oo) Baby, I got
(oo) What you need
(oo) Do you know I got it?
(oo) All I'm askin'
(oo) Is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit)
Hey baby (just a little bit) when you get home
(just a little bit) mister (just a little bit)

I ain't gonna do you wrong while you're gone
Ain't gonna do you wrong (oo) 'cause I don't wanna (oo)
All I'm askin' (oo)
Is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit)
Baby (just a little bit) when you get home (just a little bit)
Yeah (just a little bit)

I'm about to give you all of my money
And all I'm askin' in return, honey
Is to give me my propers
When you get home (just a, just a, just a, just a)
Yeah baby (just a, just a, just a, just a)
When you get home (just a little bit)
Yeah (just a little bit)

Ooo, your kisses (oo)
Sweeter than honey (oo)
And guess what? (oo)
So is my money (oo)
All I want you to do (oo) for me
Is give it to me when you get home (re, re, re ,re)
Yeah baby (re, re, re ,re)
Whip it to me (respect, just a little bit)
When you get home, now (just a little bit)

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Take care, TCB

Oh (sock it to me, sock it to me,
sock it to me, sock it to me)
A little respect (sock it to me, sock it to me,
sock it to me, sock it to me)
Whoa, babe (just a little bit)
A little respect (just a little bit)
I get tired (just a little bit)
Keep on tryin' (just a little bit)
You're runnin' out of foolin' (just a little bit)
And I ain't lyin' (just a little bit)
(re, re, re, re) 'spect
When you come home (re, re, re ,re)
Or you might walk in (respect, just a little bit)
And find out I'm gone (just a little bit)
I got to have (just a little bit)
A little respect (just a little bit)

Aretha Franklin - I say a little prayer ( Official song ) HQ version ...

Video relativi a aretha franklin i say a little prayer

▶ 3:34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtBbyglq37E

30 ott 2010 - Caricato da IoannkaPapa

Lyrics: The moment I wake up Before I put on my makeup I say a little pray for you While combing my hair now ...

The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup
I say a little pray for you
While combing my hair now
And wondering what dress to wear now
I say a little prayer for you

Forever and ever, you'll stay in my heart
And I will love you
Forever and ever, we never will part
Oh, how I love you
Together, forever, that's how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me

I run for the bus, dear
While riding I think of us, dear
I say a little prayer for you
At work I just take time
And all through my coffee break time
I say a little prayer for you

Forever and ever, you'll stay in my heart
And I will love you
Forever and ever we never will part
Oh, how I'll love you
Together, forever, that's how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me

I say a little prayer for you
I say a little prayer for you

My darling, believe me
(Believe me)
For me there is no one but you
Please love me too
(Answer his pray)
And I'm in love with you
(Answer his pray)
Answer my prayer now, babe
(Answer his pray)