Dear Friends, Today’s Sunday Coming down begins a new season of featuring and celebrating musicians who in my view belong in the Hall of Fame. These are stars worthy of special tribute for the contribution they have made to the world of R&B and/or Smooth Jazz over many years and will include collaborations that they have done with other artists. Most will be well known names but a few will be my personal favourites that might be less well known but still worthy of recognition. So, as Sunday comes down for you, I hope that you will sit back and wind down or up to the sounds of Aretha Franklin as you prepare for what I hope will be a fabulous week ahead!🎈🎈✨✨💥💥💫 💫🎈🎈
I end with my favourite “pick me up” song : Wonderful!
Thanks for spreading the love Henrietta.😀
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Aretha is indeed worthy of a tribute, with a distinctive voice that has held us spellbound throughout her long and impressive career. I love the variety of your selections showing Aretha at different ages and stages, through many reinventions in her look and style, paired with artists of all stripes. Somewhere is a terrific showcase of the versatility of her voice… smooth and smoky, soft and powerful, sweeping across the octaves, flexing between chords, perfectly timed or full of syncopation and embellishment. Willing to Forgive has a pop sound. Her face is so expressive! The vocal switchbacks leading into the sustained high notes are like a lasso that loops around you and pulls you in. I Dreamed a Dream had a gospel quality. The sexy yellow dress and fur cape spoke of intrigue and the chimes and starry lighting added to the enchanted atmosphere. I saw the Clintons there. I love hearing vocalists accompany themselves; in Natural Woman, Aretha really pounds that piano, a rumbling bass line that is a perfect foil for her smoky voice. The Obamas were in the balcony! Love All the Hurt Away was more uptempo electro-pop, with bits of chime and sax to tickle your ears. The harmony she creates with Benson is captivating, their entwined voices like pairs figure skaters in a tight spin. Ever Changing Times was more of a he said, she said, their voices taking turns in the spotlight. McDonald has a high voice for a man, and Aretha has a low voice for a woman… the contrast caught me off-guard. In If Ever a Love There Was, her voice and Levi’s were evenly matched in terms of volume and pitch, beautifully interwoven and blended, like a pantoum. I enjoyed the little bursts of oboe, and later, the solo. Aretha was softer on the keys in Ooh, Baby Baby. Though she and Smokey throw in a lot of syncopation and improvisation, their voices harmonize quite naturally. I Knew You Were Waiting (with George Michael) was not available. Wonderful was a great way to wrap things up. She looks so young and beautiful here, back in her Jazz Club Diva days. She really bends and throws her voice in this one, turns the siren on. Shoo-be-doo, indeed! Thanks for another relaxing Sunday Coming Down, Chevvy. Love the new format. 🙂
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Oh you are just great! You have such a keen ear for sounds and intonations I don’t always hear, it just helps explain why I like the songs. I guess her voice and piano are the main instruments here. Thanks as always Joan for your comprehensive appreciation of the music.😀
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Thanks, Chev. It is my pleasure to listen to whatever selections you’ve chosen. You seem to know just what I like! I have sent you mail. 🙂
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Thanks so much Joan. Got your note and will catch up over the weekend.😀
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I often say of female singers, “there’s Aretha Franklin, and then there’s everyone else.” What she has meant to singing in general, and R&B/soul in particular will be hard to top by many artists. She simply was the best of her era. I have so many favorites of hers to choose from, but I’ll only leave a couple here:
This is an alternate version of a song she released on Hey Now Hey (The Other Side Of The Sky), an album produced by Quincy Jones. The original version she did was good, but I like this one better. The original version of the song was done by Bobby Womack.
Everyone knows this is Dionne Warwick’s song…but I think Aretha stole it from her.
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You know when I started this series, Aretha just popped into my head, “the natural woman” and what staying power! Not too many artists have that. Besides, I love her spunkiness. Not sure when I last listened to “Say a little prayer but it brought goosebumps with its sense of nostalgia.
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