Music Monday: Aretha Franklin

As soon as I heard last week's news about the passing of the Queen of Soul, I knew what this week's Music Monday was going to be. This singer is one of greatest performers and song interpreters of all time, a true icon in music. It's Music Monday, and we're celebrating the music of Aretha Franklin.

I'm changing the format up a bit this week. There's no point of even trying to go album to album with Aretha, as she has 42 studio albums. This is just going to be the hits, and not all of those. After all, Franklin had 73 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, from 1960 to 1998. These are enduring classics, because she had enough of those to fill a post.

I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)

This was Franklin's first Billboard 100 hit, as well as her first number one R&B chart single. It was the title album of Franklin's 11th album, released in 1967, which was also her commercial breakout album. She was already well known and respected as a soul and gospel singer, but this was her first exposure to a real mass audience. 1967 was a busy year for Franklin, as she released four albums.

Sample lyric:

Some time ago I thought
You had run out of fools
But I was so wrong
You got one that you'll never lose

Respect

This was Franklin's first number 1 Billboard hit, and is one of her most enduring and well beloved songs. This is a gender flipped version of the song, as the original was thoroughly misogynistic. In Franklin's version, it's an early feminist anthem.

Sample lyric:

I ain't gonna do you wrong while you're gone
Ain't gon' do you wrong 'cause I don't wanna
All I'm askin' is for a little respect when you come home

Chain of Fools

Aretha's 1968 album "Lady Soul" was just packed full of bangers, and is rightly considered to be one of the greatest albums of all time. It is highlighted, among others, by this amazing song of love lost and disappointed.

Sample lyric:

For five long years
I thought you were my man
But I found out, love
I'm just a link in your chain
You got me where you want me
I ain't nothing but your fool
You treated me mean
Oh, you treated me cruel

A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)

Carol King's song, also off "Lady Soul," is another absolutely classic performance of an amazing love song.

Sample lyric:

When my soul was in the lost-and-found
You came along to claim it
I didn't know just what was wrong with me
Till your kiss helped me name it

Think

The first song in this post that Franklin co-wrote, proving her skills extend beyond being one of the great performers. This song is so great, I'm going to include two different versions that are both absolutely iconic. The first is the 1968 version

The second is one of the greatest song performances ever in a film. From Blues Brothers:

Sample lyric:

People walking around everyday
Playing games and taking scores
Trying to make other people lose their minds
Well, be careful, you're goin' to lose yours

I Say a Little Prayer

The great Dionne Warwick recorded this song a year before Aretha, and her version is very good. But then came Franklin's version in 1968 and obliterated it utterly.

Sample lyric:

I run for the bus, dear
And while riding I think of us, dear (us, dear)
I say a little (prayer for you)
And at work I just take time
And all through my coffee break time (break time)
I say a little (prayer for you)

Bridge Over Troubled Water

This is the rare example where the Aretha cover did not overtake the original as a classic, but it is so different from the Simon and Garfunkel version, and so lovely, that I wanted to highlight it.

Sample lyric:

Just like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down

Spanish Harlem

This, on the other hand, is the classic case where the Franklin cover knocked the original Ben E. King version right out of the water.

Sample lyric:

It is the special one
It never sees the sun
It only comes up
When the moon is on the run

Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves

Franklin has had a few feminist anthems in her day, but perhaps none greater than this collaboration with The Eurythmics. This song also marked a chart comeback for Franklin, who didn't have as many hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Sample lyric:

Sisters are doing it for themselves
Standing on their own two feet
And ringing on their own bells
Sisters are doing it for themselves

Jumping Jack Flash

From the film of the same name, this cover version of the Rolling Stones song may not have obliterated the original, but it certainly stands side by side with it in the pantheon.

Sample lyric:

I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag
I was schooled with a strap right across my back
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm jumping jack flash
It's a gas! gas! gas!

I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)

A case can definitely be made that Franklin's biggest hit was this 1987 collaboration with the late George Michael. The video includes, in the background, performances from Aretha's long career.

Sample lyric:

When the river was deep I didn't falter
When the mountain was high I still believed
When the valley was low it didn't stop me, ahh-ah
I knew you were waiting, ahh-ahah
I knew you were waiting for me

A Rose Is Still a Rose

Franklin's last hit was this 1998 song from the album of the same name. The song was written by Lauren Hill, who is also featured in it.

Sample lyric:

A rose is still a rose
Baby girl, you're still a flower
He can leave you and then take you
Make you and then break you
Darlin', you hold the power (what I am is what I am)

I hope you enjoyed this tribute to one of the greats.

Related posts

Music Monday: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Music Monday: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Music Monday: Blur
Music Monday: Prince
Music Monday: Tori Amos
Music Monday: David Bowie
Music Monday: R.E.M.
Music Monday: Nirvana
Music Monday: "Weird" Al Yankovic
Music Monday: The Angry Women Of Country Music
Music Monday: They Might Be Giants
Music Monday: The Smiths
Music Monday: Janelle Monáe
Music Monday: Garfunkel and Oates
Music Monday: Jonathan Coulton
Music Monday: Amanda Palmer