Aretha Franklin: That's why she was the "Queen of Soul"
"One knows when something is sent from heaven, one knows when God has his hand in it, and Aretha is a gift from God." Words, as carved in stone? One usually tends to exuberance when talking about great singers and then the divine comes into play. But what also the great singer Mary J. Blige (47) wrote in the music Bible "Rolling Stone" about her late colleague Aretha Franklin (1942-2018), is more than a perceived truth. Blige spells out what many millions of people now mourning for Aretha Franklin feel for this magnificent artist.
They have been called "First Lady of Soul", more often: "Queen of Soul". And indeed, she had something royal in her performances. Her concise voice, graceful gestures, and songs that spoke to millions of women from the soul conveyed the unmistakable feeling that there is only one - the unattainable # 1.
A role model for role models
"When it comes to engaging in a song with every fiber, no one can give you the water," continues Mary J. Blige. "She's the reason why women want to sing, Aretha has everything - the power, the technique, she's honest in everything she says, everything she thinks or does is in her music, from Chain of Fools 'to' Respect 'and her live performances, and she does not doubt for a second. "
Aretha Franklin has inspired and influenced other famous world stars of music such as Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, Aaron Neville, Annie Lennox and Mary F. Blige. The songs "You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman," "Respect," "I Never Loved A Man", "Think" and "Chain Of Fools" are already music history.
She was awarded the Grammy, the most important American music prize, 18 times. This makes her one of the best-selling performers (over 75 million) worldwide. In 1987, she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. In 2005, the then US President George W. Bush (72) was awarded the Freedom Medal. Five years later, she named the music magazine "Rolling Stone" the best singer of all time.
She could sing everything. Jazz, R & B, Pop and of course Soul, their parade discipline. But there was so much more: She sang wonderful Christmas carols or in 2009 at the inauguration of President Barack Obama (57) in front of nearly two million people. And in 1998 she joined the legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007) and sang the famous aria "Nessun dorma" from Puccini's opera "Turandot".
With respect to the star
Their true home, however, was American church music. She was already a gospel size before she had the first worldly hit. Protected by Pastor Father Clarence LaVaughn Franklin, who was appointed to work as a Baptist minister in Detroit / Michigan after Aretha's birth in Memphis, Tennessee, and her musical foster parent Reverend James Cleveland, she sang as a child at New Bethel Baptist Church, sometimes with well-known musicians such as Mahalia Jackson, Sam Coode, Clara Ward and the Ward Sisters. At age 14 she released her first gospel album, at the age of 18 she recorded her first pop record - after which she became a club singer.
Who knows what her life - and the American music culture - would be like, without the song written by the "King of Soul" Otis Redding (1941-1967): In 1967 she recorded his work "Respect". The song is about a woman who gets social assistance and leaves it to her husband when he gets home. Everything she expects is a little respect.
The song is not just about the world. It becomes the hymn for tolerance and equality - and the singer "the icon of the black civil rights activists" ("Bild") and the American women's movement. "A manifesto of the black liberation struggle" judges the "time". "Respect" finally makes Aretha Franklin a world star.
Rumors are coming up
The magical gospel elf had changed a lot in the aftermath, but only physically. The once so delicate woman had gained a lot of weight. However, this outward modesty was in sharp contrast to Aretha's wide-awake mind and the unique liveliness of her voice. In 2015, they were still seen on stage at the Kennedy Center Honors, and a short while later, at a concert in Philadelphia, the audience realized another Aretha Franklin: the weight almost halved, the short hair turned into a long mane.
Again and again rumors of a colorectal cancer emerged, to which Aretha never expressed itself correctly, but now it became clear: She had been suffering from cancer since 2010. Her friend Luciano Pavarotti died in 2007 of the same illness.For eight years, the mother of four children (two marriages) has fought against it. Relatives and friends woke up last at their bedside. The family asked the fans for prayers. For the great singer.
It has not come to a planned album with Stevie Wonder (68). Last year, when her death was reported by mistake, "A Brand New Me" was her last recording, after which the terminally ill woman announced her retirement in remarkable words: "I feel very, very happy with what I have in my career and where I am now. "
Mary F. Bliges recalls working with Aretha Franklin over 20 years ago: "When we recorded 'Do not Waste Your Time' for my album 'Mary', she just walked in and plastered the record like Pac-Man I could sing a gospel phrase, and it was a bit space-jazzy that I had never heard before: where did it come from, where did it find the sound? It's wonderful to experience it because it's people helps those who do not really believe in their talents, like I. I look at them and think: I also need a piece of it, whatever it is. "
Maybe she saw Arethas immortality.
