“R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Take care, TCB
(sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me)”^
Don’t even try and deny that you haven’t loudly sang those above lyrics along with the Queen of Soul and her background singers. And fellas, you know you are just as guilty too. Stop your frontin’. This classic Otis Redding song opens this amazing album, and that’s just for starters. Some of the best songs ever written follow Respect; ranked number 5 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, that’s top 5 out of 500! Hello. Let’s take a break right their. I love lists. So let’s get all of the lists out of the way right now. We already have Respect accounted for, but let’s give a nod to these other gems that make that RS list: Dan Penn and Chips Moman’s Do Right Woman at 476, Ronnie Shannon’s I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You) at 189 and Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come at number 12. Just over a third of the tunes found on this non-compilation record are among the all-time best. In my opinion, another Sam Cooke number found here, Good Times, should also be considered one of the greatest songs ever. Plus the rest of the tracks are all worthy in their own right: Soul Serenade, Save Me, Baby, Baby,Baby, Drown in My Own Tears, Dr. Feelgood (Love Is a Serious Business) and Don’t Let Me Lose This Dream.
Oh right, lists. This 12th studio release from Ms. Franklin ranks 83 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. All of this is beyond impressive. But this is nothing compared to the accolades of the woman whose name appears on the record cover. Aretha Franklin: has won 18 Grammys, was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame(1987), is a member of the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame, has received a medal from the Kennedy Center Honors, won the NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, earned the National Medal of Arts. and has been presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, just to name a few.^^ And just yesterday Essence Magazine reported that “Franklin is the first female artist to have 100 titles on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. She scored her first hit on the chart with the song Today I Sing the Blues, which peaked at No. 4 in 1960. And if that weren’t enough, we travel back to Rolling Stone Magazine and their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Okay, let me veer off the path again, if I may. All of the lists are subjective. I rarely agree with all of the rankings on the Rolling Stone’s lists. For example, in their top 20 off greatest singers, only 2 are female. What? Come Again? And with no dis-respect to Ms. Tina Turner, but she is one of the two. There are lots of great guys on the list, but putting Bob Dylan anywhere near the rankings, let alone number 7 (that’s ten higher then Tina), is just plain ridiculous. I am very aware that they, more often than not, just get it wrong. There is clearly no suspense as to who the other woman is that makes the top 20; obviously it’s Aretha. But here’s the catch, she sits alone at the top–she’s number one. With that ranking, they got it completely correct! There is NO ONE better than this Queen. One of my all time favorite quotes is from English singer Marianne Faithful. She says: “The voice of God, if you must know, is Aretha Franklin’s.”^^ Amen sister! And let me let all of you in on a little secret, Marianne is right.
No one delivers soul, R&B, jazz and gospel as good as Aretha Franklin. This album is an excellent example of that musical combo. So, the greatest singer ever, was in her prime when she recorded one of the greatest albums ever, that featured four of the greatest songs ever….I think you get my drift.
^http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respect_(song)
^^http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aretha_Franklin#Awards
^^^http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/504342-the-voice-of-god-if-you-must-know-is-aretha
365, Album of the Day 2014 