RIP Aretha

The other day I sat staring at my blog post editor page for a while trying to find something interesting for me to say about Aretha, or, rather, trying to find something a white kid (guy, and getting close to old guy) from the 'burbs could or should say about Aretha.

When I was a kid, I remember my mom's record, and later CD, of Carole King's classic album "Tapestry." I also remember a song on it that sounded beautiful, if not quite exactly correct to my ears, the classic "(You make me feel like a ) Natural Woman." Already the sound of Aretha Franklin's rendition of the song had made its way into my head and somehow it had already become the "official" version.

Likewise, most likely through cultural osmosis, I can't remember the first time I heard her version of Otis Redding's "Respect." But as classic an American song will be difficult to pinpoint.

I remember watching "The Blues Brothers" as a kid and in one of my favorite scenes, the diner, when the lady sings a song trying to convince her husband not to go off and join the band, leaving her and their diner behind, my dad came through the room saying, "So, that's Aretha Franklin," like I'd been mistaken before or something. I love it when the Jake and Elwood join the ensemble near the end of the dance routine.

In the course of trying to find something original to say about Aretha, I came by a list of 12 of her most "owning-it" performances, and spent nearly an hour transfixed. One of the most powerful was the last, and I'd implore anyone who hasn't seen it to check it out: the Kennedy Center honoring Carole King and Aretha surprises everyone when she decides to not only sing, but play on the piano, "Natural Woman." It brings even Obama to tears. Check it out here at the end of the list (but the others are pretty cool too).

Included in that list is siomething I only heard about during an eulogy on NPR, about the time she SUBSTITUTED FOR AN ILL PAVAROTTI and sang some opera.

What couldn't she do? Queen of soul indeed.

So, even if I couldn't say anything original about Aretha Franklin, I wanted to say something.