How to Keep Aretha's Music Playing

Townhall.com ^ | August 21, 2018 | Cal Thomas

[Songcraft]

I found this Aretha CD ("Songs Of Faith") interesting.   Here's a song from that import CD:

"[Teenage] Aretha Franklin Sings Gospel!!" (Song - "Take My Hand Precious Lord")

[Buckeye McFrog]

A number of Motown hits were written by R. Dean Taylor, a white Canadian.

It doesn't get much whiter than White Canadian.

[katana]

Country Music: Watched the first episode of a British (Scottish, actually) Netflix crime drama called Retribution last evening. An early scene has a father driving, then telling his teenage son in the backseat to remove the headphones and turn the volume down as the music the kid was listening to was so loud that it could be heard in the front seat. Then he pulled out a CD and waved it at the kid and said "This is real music", inserted it in the disk player, and Hank Williams "Lost Highway" came on. The kid rolled his eyes and reinserted the ear buds.

Some music is so good, Aretha's included, that it will span decades and borders. And when today's youth mature some of them will rediscover what their parents already know.

[mjp]

Never cared for Aretha
Still don’t

ditto
her type of singing sounds like screaming to me

[SamAdams76]

I listen to just about every type of music and it seems to be that the "critics darlings" are often the artists I like the least.

For example, Bonnie Raitt. The critics have been showering her with universal praise for 30 years now but her music just leaves me flat. I don't get what is so special about her music.

Dave Matthews Band, Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton are other examples that come to mind. "Layla" was a great song but you can have the rest of Clapton's output.

[redfreedom]

I grew up listening to Hank and wound up loving just about every one of his hits. It took my a while to adjust to Hank Jr, but compared to today’s excuse for Country, he’s great.

Speaking of “Hank”, Hank Snow and Hank Thompson are among my favorites. My parents had them playing when I was a kid, probably on 78’s. The only one I can’t stand of the era is Kitty Wells with that quivering voice, it just drives me nuts.

[Boogieman]

Aretha Franklin suffered similar inequities. Take her most famous song, “Respect.” It was written by the late Otis Redding, but as The New York Times reported, “...every time the song is played on the radio, Mr. Redding’s estate ... has been paid. Ms. Franklin never was.”

---

How exactly is Aretha Franklin not getting royalties on a song she covered from Otis Redding an inequity?!?

When Otis covered “Day Tripper” and “Satisfaction”, he didn’t get any royalties, because he didn’t write those. That’s just the way it works.

[Boogieman]

Before anyone writes off Aretha Franklin, they should be forced to listen to the live recording of her at the Fillmore West backed by King Curtis’ band with Billy Preston and the Memphis Horns.

... and if they still don’t dig it, then they just don’t have any soul!

[CaliforniaCraftBeer]