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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Seems to lack of apperciation of work for Aretha Franklin



This month is Women's History Month and I should done this on my first post but I did not. Forgive me for that. I am now going to dedicate some great female artists of the whole world to the history month.

If there is one artist that is so legenedary but has not exactly got her dues is no other than Aretha Franklin. Many people seem to think that Aretha Franklin is overrated because her song RESPECT gets played way too much. Well I make my view on the Queen of Soul.

Actually Aretha Franklin is somewhat underrated artist. Here is why. If you see, many people consider other female artists as pioneers but refuse to make Aretha Franklin as a pioneer. If you ask most people, if they knew a old artist who they do they know? The answers are often Diana Ross, Patti Labelle, Janis Joplin, and the likes of them but it is extremely rare for people to mention Aretha Franklin as a pioneer of music of females (That is unless you refer to the black community who dig soul music a lot). Why do you ask? Well it is not that complicated. Not many people get why Aretha is so legendary. Many people seem to believe that she is a major one hit wonder probably because of the overuse of her great song RESPECT. But Respect is not just another song. It has a message which was that a woman like her deserve repsect for being a woman. At that time during the late 1960s, women were being discriminated and were not allowed to do anything. Thank Jesus that has changed. As one person said, "It is a man's world, It is a man's world. But it would be nothing without a woman". Let me put in French and Lingala, "Ezali la monde du l'homme, Ezali la monde du l'homme. Mais Il ne serait rien sans l'femme." That is true whether brainless man get it or not.

Respect was a Aretha song that pretty much played a factor in getting women being able to work and do stuff for a living not just a man. Aretha Franklin made many great songs especially the song Chain of Fools which I already talked about here (Aretha Franklin Classic Song). The song showed Aretha Franklin's great ability ro sing well and do other ways to make her singing as perffect as possible. This is no wonder Aretha had a great voice then. But Aretha sadly suffered from the same issues. I mean labels who are evil. She fell out with Atlantic Records in 1973 which led to her major decline during the 1970s. Changes also occured. Female facts like LaBelle, Diana Ross, and others were having more success than Aretha Frnaklin. 1980s was Aretha's great decade as she made great songs as well as great albums leading her to promise of continued success. But in 1990s, once again Aretha fell because of age we can presume. This time it was artists like Gloria Estefan, Mariah Carey, Shania Twain, Whitney Houston, and soon Celine Dion grew to ruin Aretha's star and she was another artist in the block. But despite Aretha not being Aretha she used to be, she still has a great voice and conintues to perform.

Do not get me wrong, Janis Joplin, Diana Ross, and Patti LaBelle are great artists in their own right and they made an imapct and open doors for female artists but none of them as great as a singer and none are unique as Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin. Aretha brought her own sound in the music and it has touched many lives. She really connected with the Civil Rights Movement better than other female artists. Plus this woman's song Respect will never be forgotten for a long time.

My point is that Aretha Franklin needs more respect for her hard work and her years of making songs that were not only relatable but had a great message behind it. Aretha Franklin did everything she could to make great music. People need to get to know Aretha Franklin, you will see how unique she is.

1 comment:

  1. What a beautiful picture of Aretha Franklin. I agree.. she is the Queen of Soul.

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