Aretha Franklin
March 25, 1942-August 16, 2018
Earth. Air. Fire. Water. Aretha Franklin.
Today, dear readers and listeners, we have lost a GIANT. Unquestionably. Undeniably. Undoubtedly. My feelings extend far beyond her life and skills as a world class musician, songwriter and singer. For when I think of Aretha Franklin, and the monumental presence she possessed in the world, I do think of her existing as akin to one of the philosophical four natural elements that serves as the foundation of our state of being in the universe.
Perhaps I have this feeling because for as long as I have been in this world, I have never known a world without Aretha Franklin or the peerless sound of her dynamic, sensational, extraordinary, superlative voice of which she was second to absolutely no one else upon this planet. In doing so, Aretha Franklin became and existed as her own force of nature and how blessed we have all been to have had this opportunity to bask in her supreme gifts of which she so graciously shared with the world over and over again to our amazement, our astonishment and most honestly, our very ascension for she carried the power to truly uplift, to allow us to experience emotions otherwise untapped, and to inspire us all beyond our collective comprehension.
By possessing that very specific, idiosyncratic and iconic power, it is always difficult for me to remember that a figure such as Aretha Franklin was indeed only human. But as she has passed away at the age of 76 after complications from her fight with pancreatic cancer, I am gravely reminded that she indeed was human, a being made susceptible to the very same forces that are able to end the lives of myself and for all of you.
Yet even so, and forever still, I shall be enthralled with the glory she contained, harnessed, cultivated, harvested and released, thus enlivening the world in the process. Aretha Franklin created ,and now has left for all of us, a body of work and performances that are staggering in their collective ability to completely transcend while also speaking directly to the heart of matters interpersonal, social, political and racial. To transcend generations, races, and gender while also speaking directly to the matters of what it means to be a woman, and what it means to be Black in America. Through her music, she spoke to the times while also becoming timeless, weaving a spell that enchants across time and space itself. It truly is rare to find someone to claim that type of reach. but, with Aretha Franklin, we were shown that she was that rare individual every single time she opened her mouth to sing.
Today, dear readers and listeners, we have lost a GIANT. Unquestionably. Undeniably. Undoubtedly. My feelings extend far beyond her life and skills as a world class musician, songwriter and singer. For when I think of Aretha Franklin, and the monumental presence she possessed in the world, I do think of her existing as akin to one of the philosophical four natural elements that serves as the foundation of our state of being in the universe.
Perhaps I have this feeling because for as long as I have been in this world, I have never known a world without Aretha Franklin or the peerless sound of her dynamic, sensational, extraordinary, superlative voice of which she was second to absolutely no one else upon this planet. In doing so, Aretha Franklin became and existed as her own force of nature and how blessed we have all been to have had this opportunity to bask in her supreme gifts of which she so graciously shared with the world over and over again to our amazement, our astonishment and most honestly, our very ascension for she carried the power to truly uplift, to allow us to experience emotions otherwise untapped, and to inspire us all beyond our collective comprehension.
By possessing that very specific, idiosyncratic and iconic power, it is always difficult for me to remember that a figure such as Aretha Franklin was indeed only human. But as she has passed away at the age of 76 after complications from her fight with pancreatic cancer, I am gravely reminded that she indeed was human, a being made susceptible to the very same forces that are able to end the lives of myself and for all of you.
Yet even so, and forever still, I shall be enthralled with the glory she contained, harnessed, cultivated, harvested and released, thus enlivening the world in the process. Aretha Franklin created ,and now has left for all of us, a body of work and performances that are staggering in their collective ability to completely transcend while also speaking directly to the heart of matters interpersonal, social, political and racial. To transcend generations, races, and gender while also speaking directly to the matters of what it means to be a woman, and what it means to be Black in America. Through her music, she spoke to the times while also becoming timeless, weaving a spell that enchants across time and space itself. It truly is rare to find someone to claim that type of reach. but, with Aretha Franklin, we were shown that she was that rare individual every single time she opened her mouth to sing.
I have to say that in seeing the tributes that rightfully have been pouring out in appreciation, there is just one descriptive that has been troubling to me, and that is the title of "Diva." While I will not begin to debate you over whether Aretha Franklin was, and/or should have ever been considered as being a diva, for a discussion like that woud prove itself futile, I wish to proclaim my personal distaste for that term when in regards to Franklin because it just feels to be somewhat dismissive. Or at least, a term that diminishes who she was and the breadth of her scope and abilities.
Yes, we could speak about her massive litany of hit singles--"Chain Of Fools," "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "Call Me," "Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)," "Baby I Love You," to name 5 of her 20 Number One singles--which we all know and are able to sing by heart and still, we are flabbergasted at the sheer amount of music, memories and milestones she created.
Yes, we could speak of her landmark albums, which includes "I Never Loved A Man The Way That I Love You" (released March 10, 1967) and her stellar live gospel album "Amazing Grace" (released June 1, 1972), both of which I remember seeing within my parents' record collection as a child and I can only imagine and again be flabbergasted by how many record collections around the world and across generations contain her works.
Yes, we could speak of her ability to take absolutely any song and completely infuse it with her inexplicable sensibilities and ultimately, make the song her own--so much so that it feels as if songs written by others in actuality, arrive fully formed from her own spirit. For instance, her versions of "Eleanor Rigby" and especially "Let It Be" are so titanic that they would have made The Beatles themselves shudder at their transformative power.
But mostly, just regard her signature song "Respect," which was indeed originally written by Otis Redding but honestly, when you think of the song, whose version instantly pops into your brains? Whom do you feel is the song's true originator, especially as she (again) transcended the popular music genre and created an anthem for the feminist movement, and for that matter the Civil Rights movement, that has not only endured but has risen in its authority in the 50 years plus since its original release.
You see, for me, Aretha Franklin was no mere diva, for these days, essentially any woman with a loud voice and a multi-octave range is awarded the moniker. Aretha Franklin deserved mountainously more than being served a title that anyone could receive. To me, Aretha Franklin was an ARTIST of the highest order, for her talent and her ultimate reach was of a quality that so very few have attained.
Just as with Michael Jackson, as with David Bowie, as with my beloved Prince, the amount of individuals Aretha Franklin has inspired just through the unmatchable sound of her voice is immeasurable. Singers, certainly. Songwriters, definitely. Yet also people within and outside of the music industry, within and outside of the churches where she originally displayed her gifts, within and outside the world of social causes and political structures, and of course, to the generations upon generations of everyday people around the world, most especially her native Detroit, Michigan.
Aretha Franklin possessed a voice that was indeed its own natural element. It flowed like the greatest rushes of water. It burned like the hottest flames. It possessed a gravity like the the most steadfast earth. And it soared like air itself. It could not ever be re-created by another other than herself and for that, this is why we all called her The Queen. And for a power as ephemeral as hers, no wonder why her specialized royalty lorded over The Soul itself. For when she sang, EVERY time she sang, the Soul was moved...profoundly so.
Dear readers and listeners, the world just feels different today knowing that Aretha Franklin has departed. Just as different as when other luminous musical figures have departed. Yet unlike the deaths of Prince, Michael Jackson, David Bowie and Tom Petty, which all contained their respective levels of devastating shock and surprise, for Aretha Franklin, we had time to prepare, to find our words, to find our voices to be able to utter any choice words we would have to say in her honor for all she gave to us...and will continue to do so for all time after her passing.
For me, I really do not have any deep personal stories to share about my relationship with Aretha Franklin's music. Yet, I can say this. Her's was a voice that I have known throughout the entirety of my life, for she existed in my parents' record collection and allover the radio stations we listened to as I was growing up. I would see her perform on "Soul Train" and television variety shows. She was one of the finest show stopping moments in John Landis' "The Blues Brothers" (1980), itself a film of nothing but show stopping moments.
Over and again, throughout the years, her's was a voice and presence that truly felt timeless to the point of being eternal...something that always just was and therefore, forever shall be. It had no beginning or end, it just was!
And right now, I am able to think of two times in particular when I felt my spirit fully shaken when she sang. President Barack Obama's inauguration, of course, as her voice and performance fully encapsulated the monumental progressive shift in our nation's history as we elected the first African American President.
But you know, the one that altered my vision, the one where I could feel the Earth itself shifting from its natural axis was her performance at the 1998 Grammy Awards, when she filled in for an ailing Luciano Pavarotti with only 20 minutes notice. Never in my life would I have expected Aretha Franklin to tackle opera. But even moreso, I would have never expected her to perform to the level of awe inspiring perfection that she did for her delivery of "Nessun Dorma" split the clouds and scorched the sky, proving again--and really, it had been decades since Aretha Franklin ever had to prove anything to anybody--that she was an ARTIST who could absolutely anything she set her spirit towards. And in doing so, she carried our spirits directly in tandem with hers, for we felt her journey as we experienced our own.
No mere "diva" can ever achieve those feats. Yet for our Queen of Soul, this was her gift to the world, for all space and for all time. The world changed because Aretha Franklin was here with us and with her artistic legacy intact, and if we as a people continue to cultivate it, never allowing it to be forgotten to the sands of time, then forever she will continue to change the world.
Thank you and Bless you, my Queen. Rest In Power!
No comments:
Post a Comment