A great song, a great singer

I don't know why, but every time I read or hear a mention of Little Richard, it immediately sparks a connection in my mind to Aretha Franklin. This is illogical and completely illogical. I believe that geniuses are united by bonds that the rest of humanity cannot understand. This extraordinary woman was and remains one of the most important soul and gospel legends in the world. Also known as the Queen of Soul or Lady of Soul, as one of her 1968 albums was called, she was an accomplished pianist, composer and actress with a beautiful and unique voice that had a divine touch. It's only been two years since she left us, but her music and image will live on forever.

When you talk about a song like "Think," you're talking about one of this woman's great legacies for all of us who are grieving: bringing a ray of light into our lives every time we sing it. It's one of those songs that is larger than life and familiar to everyone, even if you don't know who she is or what artist sings it. The original version was included on singer Aretha's 1968 album Now. Of course, it also appeared as a single from that album. Both the album and the single charted very well on the prestigious Billboard chart in the United States. It is the work of Aretha herself and her husband, composer and producer Ted White. In just a few minutes, she blends the various Soul/Funk/R&B/Blues/Gospel nuances of her powerful yet smooth voice while delivering an equally powerful and catchy melody that leads into one of the catchiest choruses ever. the times. In the history of music.

Aretha has re-recorded this classic several times over the years. In 1980, he recorded a new version for The Blues Brothers and in 1989 for inclusion on that year's Through the Storm album. This latter version was also used in a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) campaign about the dangers of drunk driving. The lyrics also make sense, and it is not in vain that Aretha Franklin is considered one of the standard bearers in the fight for civil rights. For the 1980 version of The Blues Brothers, things are different.

It should be remembered that “The Blues Brothers” was created by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as a musical number for the American television program Saturday Night Live. What started as something of an experiment eventually became a true two-ball blues rock band. The film that was released a few years later, in 1980, is a relic for fans of the great American music of that time. The film's cast and crew included James Brown, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, Cabe Calloway and Aretha Franklin herself, as well as musicians from The Blues Brothers. Almost nothing. Of course, the Yankees know what spectacle and entertainment are.

Among the thousands of anecdotes hidden in this album, we can see that it took a long time to film this scene, which includes the soundtrack of "Think." This is because our favorite soulful princess was not used to singing while she played, so she had to repeat it more often than necessary. Normally, with the privilege of her voice, she should waste time doing stupid things like singing silently and letting the beautiful flow of her voice flow as she loves. Aretha?