Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul

 

Today I feel deep sadness and profound gratitude around the departure of Aretha Franklin. I don’t often talk about my background, however I will share that in my early 20’s (1990-94) I toured as saxophonist with Jane L. Powell, an African American singer deeply influenced and inspired by Aretha. Every night we played Respect, Chain of Fools, Ain’t No Way, Think and more. As you can imagine, it was big fun. And quite an education.

 

I recall when En Vogue (remember them?) blew up. They covered one of Aretha’s lesser known songs – Giving Him Something He Can Feel, which I loved. I wasn’t familiar with Aretha’s version (this was just before the wave of CD reissues in the early 90’s). Jane pointed me to the original version (listen to Aretha's version HERE). I was blown away once again by Aretha – her power, authenticity, grit and sweetness effortlessly outweighed that of all four En Vogue singers. The Queen of Soul indeed.