Notesong readers:
On Thursday, August 16th, Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul died at the age of 76. We have lost so many from her generation on a global scale in the last few years, in politics, theater, music, medicine, literature, engineering and many other fields. Can you sense it, my global readers? An age, an era is coming to its close.
I may not pay tribute to all of the people who have impacted my life here in this, our Notesong blog space. Perhaps I will include several chapters in my new book. The following post is a short tribute to Aretha Franklin's life, her talent, and her inspiration to performers who copied a few of her soul stirring vocal and piano licks and carried on her sound to secular and religious audiences. Aretha Franklin's official website has a treasure chest of additional memories http://www.arethafranklin.net/
I am still quietly grieving . . .
THE ANNOUNCEMENT
A Twitter (USA) announcement on Monday August 13th informed the world that Gospel and Soul singer Aretha Franklin is very ill. Many are in prayer for her, the woman and performer who dedicated her life to sing music that inspired millions during her global ministry of love, hope, uplift, and renewal.
During my teen years, Aretha Franklin was a mesmerizing role model, not only because of her singing, but because she was also an excellent gospel pianist whose style deeply influenced me and so many other aspiring young church musicians.
Delores Fisher
She toured the world several times over and according to Biography.com https://www.biography.com/people/aretha-franklin-9301157
and on the airwaves (France 24)
On Euro news:
In America, Beyonce and Jay Z dedicated their concert to her. https://people.com/music/beyonce-jay-z-dedicate-concert-aretha-franklin/
Aretha Franklin became a cross-over artist, switching her focus from sacred to secular music. Like so many who started in the Black Baptist church during the 1950s -1970s, she played major US venues, including Madison Square Garden, and the Apollo in Harlem.
She sang on television variety shows, and had a guest appearance in The Blues Brothers movie; She persevered through career highs, lows, "rebrandings", and revivals. Music lovers post her songs on YOUTUBE and provide us with audio/visual remnants of her legacy.
She is well loved.
Scholars have written about Aretha Franklin for years. Eileen Southern in The Music of Black Americans:A History1, Earl L. Stewart in African American Music: An Introduction 2, Portia K. Maultsby has written essays about Aretha Franklin included in Kip Lornell's From Jubilee to Hip Hop: Readings in African American Music 3, and also in Maultsby's and Mellonee V. Burnim's text African American Music: An Introduction 4.
As a child, I only knew that her voice made the hairs on my arm tingle when she sang. That difficult to imitate moan, born in the cradle of the African American baptist church, starting from pulpit to moarner's bench, to usher board and to the choir long before 1960s freedom riders contested Jim Crow laws and defacto segregation. The moan called audiences to share in a deep cultural angst too thick for words.
Aretha Franklin was a PK(preacher's kid). She was Rev. C. L Franklin's daughter. He was well known in the African American sacred community before he joined in Civil Rights activism. https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/28/obituaries/cl-franklin-69-activist-and-father-of-aretha-franklin.html
My daddy played Rev. C. L. Franklin's soul captivating sermon's on our RCA record player. Rev. Franklin's homiletic delivery style was electrifying. His voice could groan, moan, and soar as he sang and as he preached the gospel.
She didn't preach, but she could sing. When she was 14, her recording of Thomas A. Dorsey's Precious Lord became a benchmark staple for Baptist church female and male young and seasoned Gospel Music soloists.
It was tradition. One could sit in many Black church pews of that era, and the sister or brother beside, behind, or in front would break out into a moan like that. Aretha sang from a place most of us knew. No need for translation. It was a different time in America . . . . .
Many forget her activism during America's VERY troubled times. Those times make today's issues look like shadow puppets on a wall. Yet, she raised her voice in protest AND support. Her activism for women and singing songs of inspiration went beyond race.
As a young scholar, I presented and lectured on Aretha Franklin at a conference a few decades ago. She had been ill even then, and it seemed to be due to her love of performing on stage and of interacting with live audiences. She recovered from her collapse. Many of her stage moments since then have been legendary.
One of my favorites: she sings live on stage during the 2015 Kennedy Center Awards segment celebrating Carole King's musical accomplishments. Carole King's "Natural Woman" became one of Aretha Franklin's biggest hit songs.
So much to say. Only a brief reflection: Aretha Franklin, an artistic gift from God to the world.
Bless you and thank you Ms. Franklin,
Delores Fisher
2. Earl L. Stewart, "Soul Music:1960 To 1980" African American Music:An Introduction (New York Schirmer Books, 1998), 230-231.
3. Portia Maultsby, "The Impact of Gospel Music on the Secular Music Industry" in From Jubilee to Hip Hop:Readings in African American Music Kip Lornell, ed. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2010), 182-183.
4. Portia K. Maultsby, "Soul" in African American Music: An Introduction. Mellonee V. Burnim and Portia K. Maultsb, eds.,(New York: Taylor & Francis Group, 2006), 280-283.
On Thursday, August 16th, Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul died at the age of 76. We have lost so many from her generation on a global scale in the last few years, in politics, theater, music, medicine, literature, engineering and many other fields. Can you sense it, my global readers? An age, an era is coming to its close.
I may not pay tribute to all of the people who have impacted my life here in this, our Notesong blog space. Perhaps I will include several chapters in my new book. The following post is a short tribute to Aretha Franklin's life, her talent, and her inspiration to performers who copied a few of her soul stirring vocal and piano licks and carried on her sound to secular and religious audiences. Aretha Franklin's official website has a treasure chest of additional memories http://www.arethafranklin.net/
I am still quietly grieving . . .
THE ANNOUNCEMENT
A Twitter (USA) announcement on Monday August 13th informed the world that Gospel and Soul singer Aretha Franklin is very ill. Many are in prayer for her, the woman and performer who dedicated her life to sing music that inspired millions during her global ministry of love, hope, uplift, and renewal.
During my teen years, Aretha Franklin was a mesmerizing role model, not only because of her singing, but because she was also an excellent gospel pianist whose style deeply influenced me and so many other aspiring young church musicians.
She toured the world several times over and according to Biography.com https://www.biography.com/people/aretha-franklin-9301157
( .. . . Scroll down the link page)
Franklin went on to release several popular singles, many of which are now considered classics. In 1987 she became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2008 she won her 18th Grammy Award, making her one of the most honored artists in Grammy historyFrom France yesterday, news of her illness was in print https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/usa/la-chanteuse-aretha-franklin-est-gravement-malade-selon-un-de-ses-proches_2894557.html
and on the airwaves (France 24)
On Euro news:
In America, Beyonce and Jay Z dedicated their concert to her. https://people.com/music/beyonce-jay-z-dedicate-concert-aretha-franklin/
Aretha Franklin became a cross-over artist, switching her focus from sacred to secular music. Like so many who started in the Black Baptist church during the 1950s -1970s, she played major US venues, including Madison Square Garden, and the Apollo in Harlem.
She sang on television variety shows, and had a guest appearance in The Blues Brothers movie; She persevered through career highs, lows, "rebrandings", and revivals. Music lovers post her songs on YOUTUBE and provide us with audio/visual remnants of her legacy.
She is well loved.
Scholars have written about Aretha Franklin for years. Eileen Southern in The Music of Black Americans:A History1, Earl L. Stewart in African American Music: An Introduction 2, Portia K. Maultsby has written essays about Aretha Franklin included in Kip Lornell's From Jubilee to Hip Hop: Readings in African American Music 3, and also in Maultsby's and Mellonee V. Burnim's text African American Music: An Introduction 4.
As a child, I only knew that her voice made the hairs on my arm tingle when she sang. That difficult to imitate moan, born in the cradle of the African American baptist church, starting from pulpit to moarner's bench, to usher board and to the choir long before 1960s freedom riders contested Jim Crow laws and defacto segregation. The moan called audiences to share in a deep cultural angst too thick for words.
Aretha Franklin was a PK(preacher's kid). She was Rev. C. L Franklin's daughter. He was well known in the African American sacred community before he joined in Civil Rights activism. https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/28/obituaries/cl-franklin-69-activist-and-father-of-aretha-franklin.html
My daddy played Rev. C. L. Franklin's soul captivating sermon's on our RCA record player. Rev. Franklin's homiletic delivery style was electrifying. His voice could groan, moan, and soar as he sang and as he preached the gospel.
She didn't preach, but she could sing. When she was 14, her recording of Thomas A. Dorsey's Precious Lord became a benchmark staple for Baptist church female and male young and seasoned Gospel Music soloists.
It was tradition. One could sit in many Black church pews of that era, and the sister or brother beside, behind, or in front would break out into a moan like that. Aretha sang from a place most of us knew. No need for translation. It was a different time in America . . . . .
Many forget her activism during America's VERY troubled times. Those times make today's issues look like shadow puppets on a wall. Yet, she raised her voice in protest AND support. Her activism for women and singing songs of inspiration went beyond race.
As a young scholar, I presented and lectured on Aretha Franklin at a conference a few decades ago. She had been ill even then, and it seemed to be due to her love of performing on stage and of interacting with live audiences. She recovered from her collapse. Many of her stage moments since then have been legendary.
One of my favorites: she sings live on stage during the 2015 Kennedy Center Awards segment celebrating Carole King's musical accomplishments. Carole King's "Natural Woman" became one of Aretha Franklin's biggest hit songs.
So much to say. Only a brief reflection: Aretha Franklin, an artistic gift from God to the world.
Bless you and thank you Ms. Franklin,
Delores Fisher
Endnotes
1. Eileen Southern, "Soul Music" The Music of Black Americans: A History 3rd ed. (W. W. Norton & Company Inc., 1997), 517-518.2. Earl L. Stewart, "Soul Music:1960 To 1980" African American Music:An Introduction (New York Schirmer Books, 1998), 230-231.
3. Portia Maultsby, "The Impact of Gospel Music on the Secular Music Industry" in From Jubilee to Hip Hop:Readings in African American Music Kip Lornell, ed. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2010), 182-183.
4. Portia K. Maultsby, "Soul" in African American Music: An Introduction. Mellonee V. Burnim and Portia K. Maultsb, eds.,(New York: Taylor & Francis Group, 2006), 280-283.
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