You can’t mention Aretha Franklin without hearing the term “Queen of Soul”. It’s a term bestowed upon her by fans and peers alike and it has stuck to the point that she believes her own press. Much as I love Aretha, though (and I really do), I don’t know that she is far and away the undisputed Queen. I’m certainly not gonna throw anyone obscure into the conversation. Diana Ross is more of a pop vocalist than a soul vocalist, […]
Posts tagged "Aretha Franklin"
New Release Report 5/3/11: Beastietude
The week’s biggest news is certainly the release of Hot Sauce Committee, Part II , the Beastie Boys’ first non-instrumental album in six years. The longest-running hit making rap act in history, this album has gotten universally solid reviews, proving that Mike D., Ad-Rock and MCA have not lost their mojo even in their mid-forties. However, it’s far from the only thing going on in a crowded new release week. The Beasties will likely be vying for the #1 spot on the album charts with […]
Award Show Sundays: Turning the Queen Loose
You can never go wrong with some Aretha (well, at least not most of the time), so let’s celebrate her birthday (which was earlier this week) with a clip from the 1980 Grammy Awards. A fine looking QOS turns the crowd out with a version of “I Can’t Turn You Loose”. This was right around the time that Aretha was re-establishing herself into the public conscious following three or four years of albums that weren’t especially successful. I often wonder […]
Award Show Sundays: Aretha’s Headgear
The Queen of Soul’s outrageous headgear choices did not begin with that monstrosity she wore at President Obama’s inauguration, as this clip from the 1983 American Music Awards makes abundantly clear. When accepting the award for Favorite Soul Album, she is seen wearing a…a…a…well, I’ll just let you look for yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41GVXDIc2-U The other nominees in the category were Rick James’ “Throwin’ Down” (Rick had actually won in the same category the previous year) and Stevie Wonder’s “Original Musicquarium 1”. […]
Another Crazy VH-1 List: The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time
My first thought upon hearing that VH-1 was compiling a list of the 100 Greatest Artists of all time was: how does one even begin to compile such a list? It’s not easy to quantify exactly what makes a great artist. Is it raw talent? Is it an eye for reinvention? Is it work that revolutionizes the artist’s milieu? The thought of taking the time to compile one of these lists myself makes my head explode. Nevertheless, on 9/6, the […]
Smoothed Out Sundays: A Double Shot of Simply Red
First off, I admire Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall because he can sing his ass off. For a quarter century, he’s been one of the most soulful voices to come out of the U.K.-an area that has no shortage of great soul singers (George Michael, Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, Annie Lennox, Alison Moyet). Second, I admire Mick because he manages to score hot chicks despite the fact that he is NOT aging very well (and he wasn’t that much of a […]
People All Over the World…
Last Saturday, VH-1 premiered “Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America”, a documentary paying tribute to a show that’s an integral part of black history, music history, and black music history. In the days before BET and MTV (and even during the years when MTV existed but played next to nothing by black artists), “Soul Train” was just about the only place to go to see R&B, funk and hip-hop artists performing their hits on television. In addition, Don Cornelius’s […]