~ Personalitatea zilei – Today’s Personality* ~

 

„Sufletul este o constantă. Este cultural. Va fi mereu acolo, în diferite arome și grade”

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin; 25 martie 1942, Memphis, Tennessee – 16 august 2018, Detroit, Michigan

 

Aretha Franklin a fost o cântăreață și cantautoare americană. A început să cânte muzică gospel de la o vârstă fragedă, tatăl său oferindu-i un loc în corul bisericii baptiste în care acesta era pastor.

Aretha Franklin – I say a little prayer

La vârsta de optsprezece ani, Aretha a abandonat biserica pentru o carieră în muzica pop, înregistrând cântece sub egida Columbia Records, cu care însă a avut doar succes moderat.

După ce în 1967 a semnat cu o altă casă de discuri faimoasă, Atlantic Records, Franklin s-a bucurat de succes comercial și a primit aprecieri critice pentru interpretarea unor hituri precum Respect, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, Spanish Harlem sau Think.

Aretha Franklin – Spanish Harlem

Succesul său fulminant i-a adus până la finele anilor 1960 titlul de Regină a muzicii soul.

De-a lungul unei cariere ce a durat mai bine de cinci decenii, Aretha a avut 112 cântece incluse în clasamentele Billboard, inclusiv 77 în prestigiosul Hot 100, 17 melodii pop de top 10 și 20 de single-uri R&B ce au ajuns pe primul loc, fiind cea mai de succes cântăreață din istoria ierarhiei. Printre cele mai cunoscute hituri ale sale se numără Rock Steady, Jump to It, Freeway of Love, Who’s Zoomin’ Who, Chain of Fools, Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do), Something He Can Feel, I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (duet cu George Michael), dar și o preluare a hitului The Rolling Stones, Jumpin’ Jack Flash.

I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) • Aretha Franklin & George Michael

Aretha Franklin a câștigat 18 premii Grammy și este considerată una dintre cele mai de succes cântărețe din istorie, cu peste 75 de milioane de înregistrări vândute în întreaga lume. Pe parcursul carierei sale a primit o multitudine de onoruri, în 1987 fiind prima femeie inclusă în Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ulterior a fost inclusă și în UK Music Hall of Fame în 2005, dar și în Gospel Music Hall of Fame în august 2012. Celebra revistă Rolling Stone a clasat-o pe primul loc în topul „Cei mai mari cântăreți ai tuturor timpurilor”, iar în clasamentul „Cei mai mari artiști din istorie” pe locul nouă.

Conform publicației Time, a fost una dintre cele mai influente femei ale secolului al XX-lea.

Mai mult: Aretha Franklin [Wikipedia]

 

Aretha Franklin Greatest Hits – Best Songs Of Aretha Franklin

 

***** [In English] *****

”Soul is a constant. It’s cultural. It’s always going to be there, in different flavors and degrees”

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin; March 25, 1942, Memphis, Tennessee – August 16, 2018, Detroit, Michigan

 

Aretha Franklin was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and pianist. In a recording career that has spanned over half a century, Franklin’s repertoire has included gospel, jazz, blues, R&B, pop, rock and funk.

Franklin’s family moved from Memphis to Detroit when she was two. Her father, C.L. Franklin, was a well-known revivalist preacher; his church and home were visited by musical luminaries such as Clara Ward, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, and Dinah Washington. Franklin made her first recording at age 12. At first she performed only gospel music, but at age 18 she switched from sacred to secular music. After struggling for a number of years to achieve crossover success, in 1967 her powerful and fervent voice took the country by storm as she began to release a string of songs including I Never Loved a Man, Respect, Chain of Fools, Think and Natural Woman. Her rousing mixture of gospel and rhythm and blues defined the golden age of soul music of the 1960s. In 1987 she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Aretha Franklin – (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (1967)

When asked by Patricia Smith of the Boston Globe how she felt about being called the „Queen of Soul„, Aretha Franklin’s reply was characterized by grace but no false modesty. ”It’s an acknowledgment of my art. It means I am excelling at my art and my first love. And I am most appreciative”. Since she burst onto the public consciousness in the late 1960s with a batch of milestone recordings, Franklin has served as a standard against which all subsequent soul divas have been measured.

I Dreamed A Dream

The combination of Franklin’s gospel roots and some devastating life experiences has invested her voice with a rare – and often wrenching – authenticity. Though Franklin’s work in later decades has rarely matched the fire – or the sales figures – of her most celebrated singles, she has remained an enduring presence in contemporary music. The release of several CD retrospectives and the announcement in 1995 that she would publish an autobiography and start her own record label seemed to guarantee that her influence would continue unabated. Aretha Franklin has won a total of 18 Grammy Awards and is one of the best-selling female artists of all time, having sold over 75 million records worldwide.

Aretha Franklin – Ain’t No Way

She has been honored throughout her career including an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987), the UK Music Hall of Fame (2005), the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Franklin is listed in at least two all-time lists on Rolling Stone magazine, including the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, in which she placed number 9, and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time in which she placed number 1.

More on: Aretha Franklin [Wikipedia]

*****

 

Nessun Dorma (1998 Grammy Awards) • Following Luciano Pavarotti’s last-minute cancellation due to illness, with barely 20 minutes’ notice, Aretha Franklin stuns Grammy audience with soulful interpretation of Puccini’s aria from Turandot

 

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