"I first heard Dinah when I was just a kid," said Franklin, "back around the time she made 'Fat Daddy.' Aretha Franklin on her 1964 album, Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington, Eydie Gorm on the 1964 album Eydie Gorm canta en Espaol con Los Panchos, Freddy Fender recorded a version for his 1976 LP If You're Ever in Texas, Bobby Lewis (released on the single "Ace of Hearts 7622" in 1977), Cher performs the song in The Cher Show, Thats something thats now also talked about, how big she was overseas. 'A legend in her own right': Carolyn Franklin, Aretha's forgotten The musical numbers alone make Respect worth watching, with Jennifer Hudson up to the formidable task of playing Aretha Franklin, belting her heart out in an otherwise boilerplate Hollywood product. While she was a successful singer and songwriter on her own, Carolyn Franklin might still be best known for her collaborationsas both a writer and a backup singerwith her sister Aretha. Shortly before she died, Washington took appreciate notice of her acolyte as well. This season will explore Aretha Franklin's musical genius, her incomparable career, and the immeasurable impact she has had on music and culture. Read More. Who was Jerry Wexler? She repeated the last two lines in a tag, contracting and expanding the tempo in ways that evoked another line in the lyrics, about a love "where there's no space and time." She shared some additional Aretha Franklin stories that didnt make it into the movie, and one she pulled from Etta James life. For the previous couple of years she'd been working comparable rooms in New York with a swinging piano trio. The other day a friend of . Starring Academy-Award Nominee Cynthia Erivo as Aretha Franklin.About National Geographic:National Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, exploration, and adventure. "Respect" Gives Us an Aretha Franklin Without an Inner Life On an even more basic level, Franklin was in some sense a jazz singer, even though that label captures neither the essence of her artistry nor the scope of her significance. The other day a friend of mine called musical biopics superhero movies for boomers and theres no way I can top that. The best resource we have outside the music itself is Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin, the 2014 biography by David Ritz, who'd previously collaborated with Franklin on her book Aretha: From These Roots. Raised by her father, CL Franklin (played by a towering Forest Whitaker) a Baptist minister and civil rights activist who was friends with Martin Luther King she scored her first record deal under John Hammond (Tate Donovan) at Columbia Records in New York. You wouldn't call it a jazz album, but you'd also be wrong to insist otherwise. Franklin first met Washington at a young age, when she . I never got to know her personally in those days, though she and my father were good friends. She doesn't sing. It was first released several years later on Take It Like You Give It and became one of Franklin's biggest hits on Columbia. That makes it a 'must-have' and a record that is once again 'current.' Jennifer Hudson stars as Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige as Dinah Washington in "Respect." (Courtesy Quantrell D. Colbert/MGM) This article is more than 1 year old. How True Is 'Respect'? Fact-Checking the Aretha Franklin Biopic Though the movie does show Aretha battling depression or her husband, Ted White, such agony never overtakes the story or our sense of her musicality the way it does in other biopics about iconic Black women performers, like Billie Holiday or Tina Turner. The most riveting scenes are when we see her really play: in a recording studio turned jam session with the all-white Muscle Shoals band in Alabama, turning a sleepy I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) into a sultry, soulful confession. Since her youth Franklin had admired Dinah Washington, and it's a safe bet that the level of emotional commitment Washington brought to her work was a major influence on the blossoming style of Aretha, not to mention Washington's effortless sense of swing. Genius: Aretha (The Art Tatum/Dinah Washington Episode) - J.B. Spins Aretha Franklin lived such a monumental life, you couldnt possibly fit it all into a movie. Did Dinah Washington really lose it when she attended one of Aretha Franklin 's shows and heard Franklin sing one of Washington's songs as depicted in the new movie " Respect "? Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington - AllMusic The result is a movie that skews too closely to Franklins own self-image, a narrative that she tightly controlled during her lifetime as a matter of privacy and as a way to assert her own power in an industry, and country, dominated by sexist and racist stereotypes about Black womens sexuality and intelligence. Some other stories with C.L., with Ted [White] just showing more of their relationship and showing more textures to the relationship that we had to cut for time. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. ", Earlier this week I spoke with Aaron Cohen, a fellow jazz critic who also wrote a perceptive book about Amazing Grace. "The idea of recording a tribute to her grew out of the way I've always felt about her. Released on February 18, 1964, by Columbia Records, the album is a tribute dedicated to the recently deceased singer Dinah Washington. At its best Respect works almost like a jukebox musical, with characters saying the themes and subtext out loud in short, punchy scenes designed to send us into the next song. When I saw her in the dressing room getting her makeup done, I actually saw Aretha and Im sure [Aretha] would be happy.. The new film Respect is one of three recent attempts to understand the artist. A scene from the documentary Amazing Grace, which the singer didnt want released. So as a girl, Aretha had not only prodigious talent but also extraordinary access. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe National Geographics Genius: Aretha is available to stream on Hulu.About Genius: Aretha:National Geographic Channel's GENIUS focuses on the untold stories of the world's most brilliant innovators. The sessions were recorded in New York. "Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington", Learn how and when to remove this template message, The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin, Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, Respect: The Very Best of Aretha Franklin, The Queen in Waiting: The Columbia Years (19601965), Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul, Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen, The Atlantic Singles Collection 19671970, The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire), (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone, Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do), It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be, A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Unforgettable:_A_Tribute_to_Dinah_Washington&oldid=1032732446, Articles lacking sources from October 2015, Short description is different from Wikidata, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning" (, "Don't Say You're Sorry Again" (Lee Pearl, Art Berman, Eugene West) - 2:45, Original recordings produced by Robert Mersey, Legacy's Rhythm & Soul Series Director: Adam Block, Remixed and digitally mastered by Vic Anesini, Sony Music Studios, New York, Interior Photos: Sony Music Photo Library, This page was last edited on 9 July 2021, at 09:23. "Aretha deeply resented the remarks and thought Dinah was acting like a diva," Ritz wrote. Shortly before she died, Washington took appreciate notice of her acolyte as well. Dinah Washington knew Aretha Franklin as a girl In Respect, viewers get a look at the relationship that Franklin and Washington had. The film highlights her complicated relationship with her father, C.L. In that regard, Respect is probably about as good as a conventional musical biopic can be while still being a conventional musical biopic. There's some incredible footage of Franklin performing "Skylark" and other songbook fare, like "Lover Come Back to Me," on The Steve Allen Show in 1964. Jazz was central to her musicianship, however far she rambled. The upside of Respect is that it truly focuses on the intricacies of her music-making. Hudsons a better singer than she is an actress but fortunately the movie has her mostly expressing herself through song. C.L. Ever.'. She was in the front row. I didn't try to do the songs the same way she did them, necessarily - just the way they felt best, whether they happened to be similar or different. It actually wasnt Dinah Washington, it was Etta James, Scott Wilson said. Family is an essential part of Franklins story and that includes her grandmother Rachel, who was among the relatives who helped raise Aretha and her sisters. Scott Wilson said earlier drafts of the film included more of Franklins Civil Rights work, but they had to be cut for time. What does she need music to save her from? Its here that Respect starts to really sing, giving Franklin her propers as a perfectionist in the studio. Actually, there was more stuff in there that because of time we had to take off. Arethas sisters, Carolyn (Hailey Kilgore), Brenda (Brenda Nicole Moorer) and Erma (Saycon Sengbloh) are in Respect. He took pride in the music he played in the shop: all the hip modern jazz of the day, from Mingus to Miles to Monk. In the biography of Franklin, Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin, author David Ritz wrote that soul singer Etta James told him she was playing a small club in Providence, Rhode Island, when she heard Washington would be coming to her midnight show. Viewers get to see how Franklins hit Respect came to be, beginning with a shonky studio and a motley, albeit talented, group of musicians in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and how her stage performances were inspired by her abusive relationship with her husband. She said: What, you shy or something? I was like, Well I am sitting at the table with Ms Aretha Franklin. The singer Dinah Washington was not only a huge influence on Franklinwho, in 1964, recorded an album of her songs as a tributebut also a family friend. For Amazing Grace had the privilege of giving us Franklin on her own musical terms without having to contend with the singers self-portrait. You can try, 'I Just Feel Like Myself': A Nonbinary Child And Their Family Explore Identity, We Asked, You Answered: The Best Places For Pie In Massachusetts, A Reading List On Race For Allies Who Want To Do Better, Elevational And Ecstatic, Documentary 'Amazing Grace' Showcases An Aretha Franklin Performance Of A Lifetime. A wise dramatic device. The pair had a creatively fruitful union, co-writing songs like Think, but rocky personal relationship and divorced in 1969. The Iconic Song The Notorious B.I.G. We show sort of excepts of a birthday party. The new series Genius: Aretha, premiering March 21 on National Geographic (and with episodes airing the next day on .css-gegin5{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#9a0500;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-gegin5:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Hulu), dives deep into the life and career of Aretha Franklin, one of the most celebrated singers in the world. Franklins connection to Washington dated back to her childhood, and she even paid tribute to the blues icon with the tribute album Unforgettable in 1964. "And when my life is over / Remember when we were together / We were alone / And I was singing this song to you.". The biographer David Ritz wrote of this distance in Respect, his second book on Franklin, saying, In spite of my determination to be a compassionate listener, someone whose gentle persistence would allow her to reveal all her sacred secrets, my technique ultimately did not work. As Cecil told Ritz, she also hunkered down alone with the hi-fi, for hours at a stretch. The singer Dinah Washington was not only a huge influence on Franklinwho, in 1964, recorded an album of her songs as a tributebut also a family friend. The thing that kept coming to me was the idea of telling the story of a woman who has the greatest voice in the world but who still doesnt know what her voice is, Tommy says. Here, get to know the characters and the actors who portray them. The film follows Franklin from her childhood in Detroit to the triumphant live recording of her seminal Amazing Grace album in 1972, covering 20 years too tumultuous to comfortably fit within the running time of a feature film. When Washington attends a Franklin performance in a club, Franklin begins performing one of Washingtons songs. You got Joe Zawinul playing organ behind her, Kenny Burrell giving her that soft gentle touch on guitar, and [saxophonist David] Fathead [Newman] whispering in her ear. This is perhaps why both Respect and Genius: Aretha felt compelled to include Pollacks shoot in their narratives. Etta James was the singer in Washingtons position. The often sweaty and disturbing Reverend spins his little girl around like a show pony in the office of Columbia Records executive John Hammond (Tate Donovan), but his elaborate orchestral arrangements of jazz standards are a bad match for Franklins gifts. That actually happened to another jazz singer, but the incident seemed very true to their relationship, Scott Wilson said. Perhaps her most famous song was her recording of 'What a Diff'rence a Day Makes' in 1959. Respect: Mary J. Blige Said Jennifer Hudson Playing Aretha Franklin Was A No-Brainer, I just think the word genius is thrown around a lot, not necessarily when its true, Scott Wilson said. Respect is in theaters now. Aretha Franklin was about a month shy of her 20th birthday when she appeared for a week at The Village Gate in late February of 1962. Franklin sold out concerts well into her 70s and is one of the most celebrated artists of our time. Her Columbia output leaned into jazz as a signal of adult-pop sophistication, but also as an unforced affinity, less formative than the black church but just as inextricable, and maybe almost as deep. Mary J. Blige makes a memorable appearance in Respect as vocalist Dinah Washington, whose string of 1950s jazz hits made her one of the most popular black recording artists of the era.. She leaves her tumultuous relationship and writes the song Think. The screenplay, by Fosse/Verdon writer Tracey Scott Wilson (with a story credit for Thelma and Louise scribe Callie Khouri), sometimes feels like its checking off boxes, with Franklins role in the Civil Rights movement sidelined so much that her sudden support for Angela Davis feels like a scene from another movie altogether. Instead, Respect treats trauma as a string of unresolved secrets, the source of which neither the film nor Franklin herself ever felt compelled to share with her audience. On December 14, 1963, Dinah Washington's sixth husband, football great Dick 'Night Train' Lane, found her in bed and not responsive. "I first heard Dinah when I was just a kid," said Aretha at the time, "back around the time she made 'Fat Daddy.'. In 1992, her version of 'Mad About the Boy' had a resurgence in popularity after it was used in a Levi's advert. Backed by jazz musicians, she sang "Purple Rain" by which I mean she skipped right to the chorus, and made it feel like a sanctified refrain. Right after Amazing Grace, the epochal double album often hailed as her consummate masterpiece, she enlisted producer Quincy Jones for Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky), a fascinating mixed bag of an album that includes an uptempo romp through "Moody's Mood for Love," the Eddie Jefferson vocalese of a James Moody ballad. (Youre having this transcendent musical moment and its interrupted by Grammy statistics and facts about the Kennedy Center Honors.) The series follows Franklin, played by Cynthia Erivo, from her early days in Detroit to global stardomand doesnt shy away from the obstacles she faced along the way. What the Cast of Genius: Aretha Looks Like In Real Life, National Geographic, Richard DuCree; Getty, one of the most celebrated singers in the world. Born in Detroit in 1942, Franklin lost her beloved mother at age 10 and fell pregnant at 12, and then again at 14. Maybe this is why I still find myself obsessed with the one movie that she never wanted to be seen onscreen: the documentary Amazing Grace. Filmed by Pollack over two nights in a Los Angeles Baptist church in the predominantly Black neighborhood of Watts, Amazing Grace is all gospel, a cinematic capturing of spiritual ecstasy and religious exaltation, and a Franklin who surrenders her voice to God, and is at her most sublime. Curtis was a Grammy-winning saxophone player who recorded and played live shows with Franklin and also collaborated with artists including Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Holly. With that in mind, I decided to open with her big hit, Unforgettable, James recalled. I dont remember the singer who did it to her but that incident happened to Etta James.. "I never got to know her personally in those days, though she and my father were good friends. What she does is riveting, bordering on sublime. He reminded me that Franklin's relationship with jazz couldn't be separated from the other strands of her musical DNA. In 2021, Washington was brought to life on screen by Mary J. Blige in the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect. Dinah Washington. Another anecdote from Respect: McRae recalls listening to Soul '69 at Vaughan's house, and fixating on "Crazy He Calls Me," a standout track: It starts out slow, just Franklin and a trio. Genius: Aretha (The Art Tatum/Dinah Washington Episode) Aretha Franklin's first charting hit was with Ray Bryant and his hard-driving left hand. The fearsome pianist Cecil Taylor, another irreplaceable original who died this year, once told Robert Palmer of The New York Times that he'd learned a great deal from Franklin's music "in terms of thrust, of how to make my piano playing more pointedly rhythmic and lighter. But earlier, at the top of the program, she'd sat at the piano to perform Leon Russell's "A Song For You," backed by Herbie Hancock on keyboards, Christian McBride on bass and Brian Blade on drums. What the hell were you thinking? Hammond, who had famously worked with Holiday, saw this potential when he signed Franklin to Columbia. Thank you! Her cause of death was ruled as a lethal combination of secobarbital and amobarbital, prescriptions for her insomnia and diet. It's that kind of work: Ms. Franklin's performance makes it timeless. The movie is strongest in this midsection, allowing Hudson to perform several numbers from Franklins remarkable run of late 60s hits nearly in their entirety. This song was recorded at the same time as the other tunes and is the only song not released on the original album. There was a lot more stuff that we showed in her childhood initially, but we just had to cut. C.F. The biopic Respect only attempts 20 years of Franklin (Jennifer Hudson)s life, including her friendship with Dinah Washington (Mary J. Blige), but still leaves out some fascinating moments. Photograph: Quantrell D Colbert/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. With the help of her husband Ted White (played by Marlon Wayans) Franklin spent the 1960s building her career, signing with Jerry Wexler (Marc Maron) at Atlantic Records. 4am - 6am, It Started With A Kiss Columbia was trying to make her into a jazz vocalist, but Jerry Wexler at Atlantic saw her as a soul singer all the way. Ive never seen the actor do anything remotely like this before, playing a more pathetic Ike Turner without the genius.). Barrett, a veteran of The Boys and Timeless, plays Ted White, Franklins first husband and manager. Why doesnt Aretha remember having to rush to the roof and sing loudly with her sisters as children in order to drown out her parents fighting? She thought Ted would be different and thus began a relationship with him. Franklin is pockmarked by pain to the point of a descent into alcoholism, and viewers begin to see how events in her personal life and her negotiations with the men around her informed her music. Franklin (Forest Whitaker), and her musical kinship with gospel great James Cleveland (Tituss Burgess). We want to answer the question, how did the woman with the greatest voice in the world find her own voice? Scott Wilson said. It's not known whether this incident actually happened or not. Sarah said, 'Yes, I did, and I'm never singing that song again.' Respect opens in theaters on Friday, August 13. "They were tremendous. Part of what I remember is her tribute to Prince, who had died about a week earlier. She shared a bill there with pianist and composer Thelonious Monk, who like her was an indescribable talent a genius, in the fullest sense of the word recently signed to the roster of Columbia Records. "As a jazz pianist myself, I recognized her jazz chops," Allen told Ritz. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. She takes her time. Who was Dinah Washington? Find out what it means to me: Aretha Franklins lifelong fight for R.E.S.P.E.C.T. It's Boston local news in one concise, fun and informative email. Obama told the New Yorker in 2016: When [Aretha] sits down at a piano and sings A Natural Woman, she can move me to tears the same way that Ray Charless version of America the Beautiful will always be in my view the most patriotic piece of music ever performed because it captures the fullness of the American experience, the view from the bottom as well as the top, the good and the bad, and the possibility of synthesis, reconciliation, transcendence.. What a Diff'rence a Day Makes - Wikipedia Before her death in 2018, Aretha Franklin personally selected Jennifer Hudson to play her in Respect, the new biopic released in the UK this weekend. This idea of how she became the queen of soul.. Still, it's hard to capture the extent of this contact in passing. "), Nor did Franklin leave jazz behind during her celebrated run on Atlantic. Gift Article. She studied Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, Anita O'Day, June Christy, Dakota Staton anyone I had on the box. As Ann Powers put it in her eloquent tribute: "The beginning of Franklin's journey toward stardom, under the tutelage of John Hammond at Columbia Records, offers another set of lessons, this time in adaptability, elegance and craft.". In particular, Carolyn and her relationship with her sisters was just central to her life. But even if the queen of soul hadn't left . You have been subscribed to WBUR Today. I assume part of the reason theyre so popular is because you always know pretty much exactly what youre going to get, and seeing some favorite tunes performed on a big screen with a rump-shaking surround sound system is one of the few things that can still draw people out to the movies. According to music producerQuincy Jones, when Franklin was still young, Washingtontold him that she thought Franklin was the next one.. Oscars buzz is swirling around Hudsons performance and many of those who knew Franklin agree the actress was the only woman for the job. In 2021, the Academy Award winner played legendary singer Dinah Washington in the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect. Their relationship isnt always easy, but some of the series best scenes come from watching Vance and Erivo play out the Franklin family dynamics. Franklin's connection to Washington dated back to her childhood, and she even paid tribute to the blues icon with the tribute album Unforgettable in 1964. From the slow, subtle caress of "What a Difference a Day Made" to the organ-led blues of "Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning," the young Aretha is in total command of the material here, simultaneously paying homage to and progressing from the influence of Washington. You want to take me on? says Washington as she pours herself a whisky before asking Franklin how many albums shes had. 'Respect' Summary, Ending & Incredible Journey of Aretha Franklin Aretha deeply resented the remarks and thought Dinah was acting like a diva, Ritz wrote. The biopic Respect only attempts 20 years of Franklin (Jennifer Hudson)'s life, including her. Aretha Franklins voice is inimitable, but Hudson manages a fine tribute, raising goosebumps with her climatic performance of Amazing Grace, which someone in the editing room thought it would be a good idea to slap informational text cards on top of. And no hits, says Washington, her diamond earrings easily four times the size of the downtrodden artists in front of her. Without it we'd be remembering a different artist now, and celebrating a different body of work. Anyone can read what you share. Suddenly what starts off as one of the films main mysteries and perhaps Franklins biggest childhood trauma ends up as a throwaway line, never to be revisited again. There were some other conversations that had to be cut for that.. Especially when she did her European tour, they were in Spain for Aretha, Scott Wilson said. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. That was another parameter that really helped to focus the storytelling as well. Scott Wilson wished she could have included them more. There are a couple of clever time transitions and stray hints of a darker, stranger movie around the margins especially with flashbacks concerning Franklins childhood sexual abuse that are never really followed up on, presumably to keep the PG-13 rating and upbeat, empowering vibe. For Franklin, the preacher's daughter, desire was a beguiling but potentially soul . She flies. Who was Dinah Washington? Iconic singer played by Mary J Blige in A few tunes were cut with strings in order to bring out the essential ballad character of the songs (with the help of Bob Mersey's arranging); most of the tracks, though, were made with the assistance of a small and sympathetic accompanying group for which Mersey supplied minimal written guidance. Four, whispers Franklin in reply, the dim vanity lights in the background puncturing the curtain of shame and sadness around her. She was a singer known for several genres including blues, jazz, and R&B. In 1961 she was anointed "New-Star Female Vocalist" in the DownBeat critics poll, a measure of consensus for the jazz press. Why did her mother, Barbara (Audra McDonald), leave her children behind with her domineering husband, the Rev. The film is timestamped with historical happenings such as the assassination of King in 1968 and the wrongful arrest of Angela Davis in 1970. In this sense, Respect gives us the biopic I always thought I was looking for a portrait of a Black woman whose musical genius remains front and center without being sidelined or overshadowed by her personal struggle with trauma. Aretha Franklin and the Futility of Trying to Portray Her Onscreen The duo met in New York in 2007, shortly after Hudson had won an Oscar for her role as Effie White in Dreamgirls. A little more political discussions in the home but [director] Leisl [Tommy], for timing, couldnt include that.. In the end, I didnt make a dent in her armor., Further reflecting on his first biography, Aretha: From These Roots, which he wrote based on interviews with Franklin, and which thus had her blessing, he said, She got the book she wanted. Dinah Washington - Topic 2.3K views 4 years ago Aretha Franklin - it only happens :1976 (original sound) R472 Funk Channel TV. Just a few months after, in February 1964, Aretha Franklin released her fifth studio album Unforgettable - A Tribute to Dinah Washington. In their own way and to varying degrees of success, each struggles with how best to showcase her as a singular artist while expanding our understanding of a woman so intent on privacy.