1/29/2024 0 Comments Musicality singersShe blended gospel with jazz, blues and R&B. Since Franklin first learned to sing in church, that influence could always be heard in her songs, although she was never constrained by it. There is American music “before Aretha Franklin and after,” said Jack Hamilton, Slate Magazine’s pop critic and a University of Virginia assistant professor. Queen of Soulįranklin changed popular music forever. The gold standard, unparalleled, the soundtrack of the nation - these are the ways music critics and those who knew Franklin describe her extraordinary voice and style. Farah Jasmine Griffin, professor of English and African-American studies at Columbia University We look at music as ‘before’ and ‘after’ Franklin “If there’s a heaven, this is what it sounds like.” Hannah Giorgis, staff writer for the Atlantic’s Culture team It kind of wrestled with not just questions of love and of what other people can do for us, but sort of a foundational identity.” … I think the idea of what it means to be a woman is a complicated question …. But I think the one that I love hearing first thing is ‘Chain of Fools.’ There’s something about the repetition of it that is particularly hypnotic. “I wrote about ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ because it’s the one that I feel like has guided me the most or felt like I come back to it a lot. “Chain of Fools” (1968) and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” (1967) Jack Hamilton, Slate pop critic and University of Virginia professor It’s a testament to what she was so great at: taking a song and completely making it her own.” It’s an understated performance, but her command of dynamics - it’s the full spectrum of musicality. The live version is just a singer in complete control of music. “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” live at Fillmore West (1971) That record is remarkable because she takes material that means one thing on the surface, like a blues song or a song about romance, and turns it into a song about resilience and survival in the face of the unspeakable.” “That record reflects Aretha’s state of mind and spirit in the years after the assassination of Dr. Daphne Brooks, author and professor of African American studies and Theater Studies at Yale University “She refined a classic standard, gave it a spiritual subtext and made the song her own.” Dream Hampton, filmmaker, writer and organizer ![]() It’s about imagining a time when you can be in repose with your lover, when you can be free and just enjoy one another. “It’s a love song and about longing, but also imagination and pleasure. Larry Griffin, Ohio Wesleyan professor and trumpeter “In today’s society, I would say ‘Respect.’ We need to respect ourselves, respect one another and … that is very important to me today.” Here’s how Aretha Franklin’s music touched the world, according to those who knew her and pored over her work. READ MORE: Aretha Franklin, queen of soul, dies at 76 in her father’s “gospel caravan,” she too became a constant, shaping the sound of generations of musicians and their fans. ![]() So, I just broadened my musical horizons,” she added.Įver since a teenaged Aretha toured the U.S. ![]() “I didn’t cross the line,” Franklin once told the PBS NewsHour. 1 in 1967, and has been inextricably linked to the civil rights movement and female empowerment since. ![]() Gospel oozes out of her famous reinterpretation of Otis Redding’s “Respect,” which immediately shot to No. She tended to downplay the idea that she ever left her Baptist gospel choir roots for pop or R&B. The Soul Queen “took you to church even if she was singing about a no-good man,” fellow singer Candi Staton recalled in an interview with RNS.įranklin died Thursday at the age of 76. But through it all, there was a life-long constant: gospel. Aretha Franklin’s remarkable voice - bright and lush, tinged with heartbreak - transcended strict musical labels, soaring no matter the song, powerful with protest, pride, lustiness and sorrow.
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