Back in the day (late 60’s), I represented
Hines, Hines & Dad, the cabaret act that spawned Gregory and Maurice Hines, the two brilliant dancers.
Their uncle was a man named Vernon “Doc” Lawless. Doc was a character of the 1st order, but everybody loved him.
He hit a number up in Harlem one day, and used the cash to buy a limousine, which he drove himself. I sat in the office after my day gig, and took calls and did the books.
When Aretha discovered him, it was nearly the end of the business, because she’d come into town and book him 24/7.. no one else could get a ride.
We finally got him an SBA Ioan, and bought another car to keep the customers happy...
Doc pretty much loved everybody, but he always said ‘Retha’s my gal’ ..
How ironic...pancreatic cancer. It’s what got Gregory Hines, too. He was only 56 or so...
They seem to be finding cures for all sorts of cancer these days, but I never hear even a whisper about stopping this one..
Take care.
Nick
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Beautifully written, Bob, and I agree with everything you said. Once Aretha sang or recorded a song, she owned it, and the rest of us dared not touch it. When she sang, her joy flew from her mouth on wings straight to the heart of her listeners. She is gone forever now, and we are all feeling that great loss....and yes, I feel sad. But when I think of her and her brilliant, solid soul voice, I have to smile. And thank God we have all the videos and recordings to bring her back into our hearts whenever we wish. She has left us her great Legacy. Thank you, Queen Aretha. Sing now with the angels.
TONI TENNILLE
__________________________________________
Let’s remember too, she was one of the best songwriters of her time:
"Think", "Day Dreaming", "Spirit In the Dark", "Rock Steady", "Since You’ve Been Gone", on and on.
A brilliant writer, along with everything else..
Marshall Crenshaw
__________________________________________
I’m sorry, but as I sit here in studio A of FAME recording studios in Muscle Shoals, AL; the very first time Aretha found her home sound was here, in this very building.....
It was With Rick Hall and Jerry Wexler-who brought her here to record with Rick and the Swampers.... “Never Loved A Man” was her first hit and that led to the rest being recorded.... it started here in Muscle Shoals at Fame. Just for the record.
Many thanks for your writing, your views and an unadulterated take on the music business. I wish the industry would take a lesson and be like we still are here in Muscle Shoals-the integrity of the music comes first. You should come visit. You’d appreciate it.
Much love....
Jo Ann Rossi
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Nice job, Bob. Aretha was the recipient of the Muscle Shoals sound that put both of them on the map.
Strange. The King of Rock and the Queen of Soul leave the scene on the same day.
I can’t even imagine what is going on upstairs!
Bruce Allen
__________________________________________
Imagine Robert Johnson, Elvis and Aretha dying on
the same day?
Ted Lindsay
__________________________________________
In 1996 Aretha sang the national anthem at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. Earlier that day she rehearsed it to an empty room, save for the network camera crews and the janitors cleaning up after the previous night's festivities. MTV had a position looking out over the arena, and a few of us got to watch and listen. Aretha was under-singing it...saving it up for that night...but then the "rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air" portion came, and there was only one thing she could do. Off went the roof of the United Center.
When she finished the anthem, the 40 or so people in the empty arena all clapped and whooped. She smiled and said "thank you". That night I saw her sing it again for the packed convention (and it was glorious) but what stays with me most is when she lifted the building off the ground in rehearsal.
Michael Alex
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When I was 17 years old, I was working in the mailroom of ATLANTIC RECORDS in NYC ( my young band, THE BAY RIDGE, was also signed to ATLANTIC ). Label Vice President Jerry Wexler hired me. One day, I got a message that Jerry wanted me to go to the studio. The studio was on the same floor of where I worked in the mailroom. When i got there I was surprised to see Jerry with Aretha Franklin. He said he wanted me to meet her. She was very kind, and I asked her for an autograph, but she shrugged and showed me her right arm in a cast (from a fall from a concert stage). I should have asked her to sign with her left hand ! And...of course, no I-phones back then to take a photo. That day, I watched the recording session with Aretha playing piano with only her left hand, and singing a guide vocal for the rhythm session musicians to set the groove. Jerry Wexler producing, Tom Dowd engineering, Arif Mardin arranging, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section...and the Queen of Soul on left hand piano and vocals. Can you imagine the impression it made on a 17 year old kid? It was amazing!
R.I.P. the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin.
Joey Carbone
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I never met Aretha, but I did get to review her performance contract for a client a few years ago. I think she’d been using the contract for a few years. It specified that Ms. Franklin would not play segregated venues. She got paid a lot of money for her show, but there was one interesting clause: that $25,000 in cash would be paid before the show directly to Ms. Franklin and to no one but Ms. Franklin. She came out on stage wearing a bright red glittery dress, and placed on the grand piano a fairly large matching red glittery purse. The purse stayed on the
piano the entire show. When she left the stage after the encore she took the purse with her. Somebody must have gotten burned once upon a time, and wasn’t about to let that happen again.
Paul C. Rapp, Esq
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Ellie Greenwich dreamed up and sang the "whoop-whoop" background vocals on "Chain of Fools," the unedited version of which opens with a jaw-dropping guitar solo by Joe South.
Joel Selvin
__________________________________________
Boy did you nail it in that tribute. I was there In the studio when Arif Martin put the strings on Natural Women. I also saw her in the studio every time she recorded in NY. Was in Wexler office when we opened the demo of Let It Be from Paul . Loved her much. The voice,memories,and music will live on. Jerry Greenberg
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One of the reasons Wexler made it work for Atlantic was he was a real music man who knew when to get out of the way, and so he was the guy who moved the studio pianist over to organ and had Ms. Franklin exit the vocal booth, sit at the piano, and accompany herself, all live. This changed the dynamic and was the paradigm shift that made what she did live work on record. Without that stroke of organic, seeing-the-forest-for-the-trees history might now have been made.
Steve Jones
Co-Executive Producer
PBS: Great Performances
__________________________________________
I booked Ms. Franklin to perform in Indianapolis for a fundraiser in February 2017. It was her first show in approximately 7 months. I have many great tails from this experience including receiving a Sunday afternoon telephone call from her a few weeks before the show to review a few special requests. On the day of show I was fortunate to spend a few minutes with her and it was spectacular! Her stories were awesome! She did not soundcheck nor did she rehearse prior to the show. When she hit the stage, she was spot on. Her voice was magnificent, and she sang beautifully with passion and enthusiasm. It was a surreal experience.
Steve Gerardi
Indianapolis
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Bravo Bob..That was an excellent piece. I will never ever forget the first time sitting in my fathers Dodge Coronet in Bklyn when I heard Respect for the first time. It took my family
to see Paul sing Michelle and Yesterday on Ed Sullivan for my parents to come around to the Beatles but after we heard Respect on WABC even my father said..they should play that again and we were flipping between WMCA,WABC and WINS until one of the DJs played it again. I was also fortunate years later to record a number of Albums with Luther Vandross who was not only a close friend to Aretha but also her number one fan..he was an Aretha Encyclopedia and I learned many lessons about Soul and RnB from him..The great ones you can accumulate Knowledge from…I saw Aretha at Luthers funeral and she slipped in and slipped out dressed incredibly respectful of the proceedings and not have any focus on her…We Just have to hope that the passing of these greats will one day inspire another generation to hear these artists and build on their genius..You said it right about how fortunate many of us were to be there at the beginning..It is something that I’ve kept with me my whole life and career and still learn from…Thank You Aretha…. RIP
Jason Miles
__________________________________________
In 1996 Aretha sang the national anthem at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. Earlier that day she rehearsed it to an empty room, save for the network camera crews and the janitors cleaning up after the previous night's festivities. MTV had a position looking out over the arena, and a few of us got to watch and listen. Aretha was under-singing it...saving it up for that night...but then the "rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air" portion came, and there was only one thing she could do. Off went the roof of the United Center.
When she finished the anthem, the 40 or so people in the empty arena all clapped and whooped. She smiled and said "thank you". That night I saw her sing it again for the packed convention (and it was glorious) but what stays with me most is when she lifted the building off the ground in rehearsal.
Michael Alex
__________________________________________
FYI BBC TV & radio here in the UK have pulled out all the stops to commemorate Aretha since the news broke, with as much airtime as for Bowie or George Michael. Even as I write a gospel choir are singing 'Respect' live on Jeremy Vine's prime-time Radio 2 show with similar tributes going out all around the country, big respect indeed.
David Stark
SongLink, UK
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Aretha Franklin, will always be a Matriarch of Music.
Her musicianship, dedication, live and studio performances and focus has been an inspiration to all musicians.
Our founder, Duane Allman had the honor and privilege of contributing to one of Ms. Franklin's quintessential recordings.
Our mentor, Tom Dowd helped bring her music to the world.
When we play "The Weight" and a guest joined us, they were always told, "We do the Aretha Arrangement".
The Allman Brothers Band, Families, & Crew share the sadness of the Franklin family at the loss of their Queen of Soul.
__________________________________________
From: Melissa Evans
This quote from Billy Preston summed it up for me.
"I don’t care what they say about Aretha," Billy Preston, who died in 2006, once said: "She can be hiding out in her house in Detroit for years. She can go decades without taking a plane or flying off to Europe. She can cancel half her gigs and infuriate every producer and promoter in the country. She can sing all kinds of jive-ass songs that are beneath her. She can go into her diva act and turn off the world.
"But on any given night, when that lady sits down at the piano and gets her body and soul all over some righteous song, she’ll scare the shit out of you. And you’ll know - you’ll swear -that she’s still the best fuckin’ singer this fucked-up country has ever produced."
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