Aug 5, 2017

RhoDeo 1731 Grooves

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Today's artist is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She began her career as a child singing gospel at the church of her father, minister C. L. Franklin's church. In 1960, at the age of 18, Franklin embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records but only achieving modest success. Following her signing to Atlantic Records in 1967, she achieved commercial acclaim and success with songs such as "Respect", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and "Think". These hits and more helped her to gain the title The Queen of Soul by the end of the 1960s decade. She has won a total of 18 Grammy Awards and is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold over 75 million records worldwide. Honored throughout her career including a 1987 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in which she became the first female performer to be inducted. ........ N'joy

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Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1942. A gifted singer and pianist, Franklin toured with her father's traveling revival show and later visited New York, where she signed with Columbia Records. Franklin went on to release several popular singles, many of which are now considered classics. In 1987, she became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2008 she won her 18th Grammy Award, making her one of the most honored artists in Grammy history.

The fourth of five children, Aretha Louise Franklin was born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Baptist preacher Reverend Clarence La Vaughan "C. L." Franklin and Barbara Siggers Franklin, a gospel singer. Franklin's parents separated by the time she was six, and four years later her mother succumbed to a heart attack. Guided by C. L.'s preaching assignments, the family relocated to Detroit, Michigan. C. L. eventually landed at New Bethel Baptist Church, where he gained national renown as a preacher.

Aretha Franklin's musical gifts became apparent at an early age. Largely self-taught, she was regarded as a child prodigy. A gifted pianist with a powerful voice, Franklin got her start singing in front of her father's congregation. By the age of 14, she had recorded some of her earliest tracks at his church, which were released by a small label as the album Songs of Faith in 1956. She also performed with C. L.'s traveling revival show and, while on tour, befriended gospel greats such as Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke and Clara Ward.

But life on the road also exposed Franklin to adult behaviors, she gave birth to her first son, Clarence, shortly after she turned 14. A second child followed two years later both with unnamed fathers ! (Think of it what you will -, i know i do)  After a brief hiatus, Franklin returned to performing and followed heroes such as Cooke and Dinah Washington into pop and blues territory. In 1960, with her father's blessing, Franklin traveled to New York, where after being courted by several labels, including Motown and RCA, she signed with Columbia Records, who released the album Aretha in 1961.

Though two tracks from Aretha would make the R&B Top 10, a bigger success came that same year with the single "Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody," which crossed over to No. 37 on the pop charts. But while Franklin enjoyed moderate results with her recordings over the next few years, they failed to fully showcase her immense talent. In 1966, she and her new husband and manager, Ted White, decided a move was in order, and Franklin signed to Atlantic. Producer Jerry Wexler immediately shuttled Franklin to the studios at the Florence Alabama Musical Emporium.

Backed by the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section—which included session guitarists Eric Clapton and Duane Allman—Aretha recorded the single "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)." In the midst of the recording sessions, White quarreled with a member of the band, and White and Franklin left abruptly. But as the single became a massive Top 10 hit, Franklin re-emerged in New York and was able to complete the partially recorded track, "Do Right Woman—Do Right Man."

Hitting her stride in 1967 and 1968, Franklin churned out a string of hit singles that would become enduring classics, showcasing Franklin's powerful voice and gospel roots in a pop framework. In 1967, the album I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) was released, and the first song on the album, "Respect"—an empowered cover of an Otis Redding track—reached No. 1 on both the R&B and pop charts and won Aretha her first two Grammy Awards. She also had Top 10 hits with "Baby I Love You,'' "Think," "Chain of Fools,'' "I Say a Little Prayer," "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman."

Franklin's chart dominance soon earned her the title "Queen of Soul," while at the same time she also became a symbol of black empowerment during the civil rights movement of the time. In 1968, Franklin was enlisted to perform at the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during which she paid tribute to her father's fallen friend with a heartfelt rendition of "Precious Lord." Later that year, she was also selected to sing the national anthem to begin the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Amidst this newfound success, Franklin experienced upheaval in her personal life, and she and White divorced in 1969. But this did not slow Franklin's steady rise, and the new decade brought more hit singles, including "Don't Play That Song," "Spanish Harlem" and her cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Waters." Spurred by Mahalia Jackson's passing and a subsequent resurgence of interest in gospel music, Franklin returned to her musical origins for the 1972 album Amazing Grace, which sold more than 2 million copies and went on to become the best-selling gospel album at the time.

Franklin's success continued throughout the 1970s, as she branched out to work with producers such as Curtis Mayfield and Quincy Jones and expanded her repertoire to include rock and pop covers. Along the way, she took home eight consecutive Grammy Awards for Best R&B Female Vocal Performance, the last coming for her 1974 single "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing."

But by 1975, Franklin's sound was fading into the background with the onset of the disco craze, and an emerging set of young black singers, such as Chaka Khan and Donna Summer, began to eclipse Franklin's career. She did, however, find a brief respite from slumping sales with the 1976 soundtrack to the Warner Brothers film Sparkle—which topped the R&B charts and made the Top 20 in pop—as well as an invitation to perform at the 1977 presidential inauguration of Jimmy Carter. In 1978, she also remarried, to actor Glynn Turman.

A string of chart failures ended Franklin's relationship with Atlantic in 1979. The same year, her father was hospitalized after a burglary attempt in his home left him in a coma. As her popularity waned and her father's health declined, Franklin was also saddled with a massive bill from the IRS. However, a cameo in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers helped Franklin revive her flagging career. Performing "Think'' alongside comedians John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd exposed her to a new generation of R&B lovers, and she soon signed to Arista Records.

Her new label released 1982's Jump To It, an album that enjoyed huge success on the R&B charts and earned Franklin a Grammy nomination. Two years later, she endured a divorce from Turman as well as the death of her father.

In 1985, Franklin returned to the top of the charts with a smash-hit album: the polished pop record Who's Zoomin' Who? Featuring the single "Freeway of Love," as well as a collaboration with the popular rock band the Eurythmics, the record became Aretha's biggest-selling album yet. Her follow-up, 1986's Aretha, also charted well and eventually went gold, and her duet with British singer George Michael, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),'' hit No. 1 on the pop charts.

In 1987, Franklin became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was also awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Detroit. That same year, she released the album One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, which won the Grammy for Best Soul Gospel Performance.

Following another relatively quiet period in her career, in 1993, Franklin was invited to sing at the inauguration of Bill Clinton, and the following year she received both a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and Kennedy Center Honors. She would also be the focus of multiple documentaries and tributes as the decade progressed. Nearing its conclusion, Franklin reprised her former role in Blues Brothers 2000, released the gold-selling "A Rose Is Still a Rose" and stood in for Luciano Pavarotti, who was too ill to accept his Lifetime Achievement Award, with her rendition of "Nessun Dorma" commanding stellar reviews.
So Damn Happy

In 2003, Franklin released her final studio album on Arista, So Damn Happy, and left the label to found Aretha Records. Two years later, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and became the second woman ever to be inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. In 2008, she received her 18th Grammy Award for "Never Gonna Break My Faith"—a collaboration with Mary J. Blige—and was tapped to sing at the 2009 presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.  

With 18 Grammys under her belt, Franklin is one of the most honored artists in Grammy history, ranked among the likes of Alison Krauss, Adele and Beyoncé Knowles. In 2011, Franklin released her first album on her own label, A Woman Falling Out of Love. To support the project, she performed several concerts, including a two-night stint at the famed Radio City Music Hall in New York. With fans and critics alike impressed with her performances, she successfully proved that the Queen of Soul still reigns supreme.

In 2014, Franklin underscored that point with Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, which reached No. 13 on the pop charts and No. 3 R&B. In February 2017, the 74-year-old Queen of Soul told Detroit radio station WDIV Local 4 that she is collaborating with Stevie Wonder to release a new album to be recorded in Detroit and released in September. “I must tell you, I am retiring this year," she said in the interview, adding: "I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now. I’ll be pretty much satisfied, but I’m not going to go anywhere and just sit down and do nothing. That wouldn’t be good either.”

"American history wells up when Aretha sings", president Obama explained his emotional response to her performance of "A Natural Woman" at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. "Nobody embodies more fully the connection between the African-American spiritual, the blues, R&B, rock and roll--the way that hardship and sorrow were transformed into something full of beauty and vitality and hope".

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Since her youth Franklin had admired Dinah Washington, and it's a safe bet that the level of emotional commitment Washington brought to her work was a major influence on the blossoming style of Aretha, not to mention Washington's effortless sense of swing. Shortly before she died, Washington took appreciate notice of her acolyte as well. So Aretha's tribute to Washington is as logical as it is satisfying. Recorded when Aretha was just 21, Unforgettable is somewhat of a departure from her more R&B-oriented early work. However, the string arrangements of Johnny Mersey adn the jazzy bass work of George Duvivier mesh perfectly with Franklin's high-flying vocal fireworks. From the slow, subtle caress of "What a Difference a Day Made" to the organ-led blues of "Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning," the young Aretha is in total command of the material here, simultaneously paying homage to and progressing from the influence of Washington.



Aretha Franklin - Unforgettable - A Tribute To Dinah Washington    (flac  231mb)

01 Unforgettable 3:39
02 Cold, Cold Heart 4:34
03 What A Diff'rence A Day Made 3:30
04 Drinking Again 3:27
05 Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This Morning 5:09
06 Evil Gal Blues 2:40
07 Don't Say You're Sorry Again 2:44
08 This Bitter Earth 4:32
09 If I Should Lose You 3:35
10 Soulville 2:19

Aretha Franklin - Unforgettable - A Tribute To Dinah Washington  (ogg   89mb)

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Runnin’ Out of Fools is the seventh studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. Runnin Out Of Fools is the birth of Aretha Franklin’s soulful sound – a real change from the jazzier sound of her first two albums for Columbia, and a set that really shows some great sides of her talents! Arrangements are by Belford Hendricks, who creates an uptown-styled sort of sound – one that has fuller strings and a bit of backing vocals, but also a nice little groove at the bottom – territory that’s somewhere between the country soul of the early 60s, and some of the tighter New York soul that was on the rise. Aretha’s vocals are great – heartbreaking one minute, proud and righteous the next – and the album’s proof that she was always a wonderful singer, no matter what the setting.



Aretha Franklin - Runnin' Out Of Fools    (flac 314mb)

01 Mockingbird 2:38
02 How Glad Am I 2:32
03 Walk On By 2:47
04 Every Little Bit Hurts 2:47
05 The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss) 2:23
06 You'll Lose A Good Thing 2:36
07 I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face 2:43
08 It's Just A Matter Of Time 2:57
09 Runnin' Out Of Fools 2:30
10 My Guy 3:03
11 Two Sides Of Love 2:17
12 One Room Paradise 2:05
bonus
13 A General Market Advertisement From Columbia Records 0:41
14 A Special Ad For Christmas 0:55
15 The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) 2:55
16 Winter Wonderland 2:12

Aretha Franklin - Runnin' Out Of Fools  (ogg  88mb)

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Yeah!!! (or Aretha Franklin In Person With Her Quartet) is the eighth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, Released on May 17, 1965 by Columbia Records. Contrary to the overdubbed sounds of audience murmurs, the album was not a live album, but instead was recorded live at New York’s Columbia Studios and produced by Clyde Otis. This would be Franklin’s last collection of jazz recordings until the release of 1973’s Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky), released during her landmark tenure at Atlantic Records. An expanded version of the album that also contains the original session tracks without audience overdubs has been released and is available here.



Aretha Franklin - Yeah!!! In Person With Her Quartet     (flac 427mb)

01 This Could Be The Start Of Something 1:23
02 Once In A Lifetime 3:20
03 Misty 3:35
04 More 1:55
05 There Is No Greater Love 4:39
06 Muddy Water 2:22
07 If I Had A Hammer 2:29
08 Impossible 3:22
09 Today I Love Ev'rybody 3:24
10 Without The One You Love 3:34
11 Trouble In Mind 2:53
12 Love For Sale 2:29
Bonus
13 Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home 2:15
14 Misty 3:36
15 Love for Sale 2:30
16 Once In a Lifetime 3:20
17 Today I Love Ev'rybody 3:24
18 Impossible 3:26
19 This Could Be the Start of Something 1:25
20 More 2:09
21 There Is No Greater Love 4:40
22 If I Had a Hammer 2:31
23 Muddy Water 2:29
24 Without the One You Love 3:41
25 Trouble In Mind 3:02

. Aretha Franklin - Yeah!!! In Person With Her Quartet    (ogg  171mb)

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Just before she recorded her first album with Atlantic, Columbia released Soul Sister; a collection of recordings from the Columbia vaults. Aretha may not have yet reached the heights she would in her later career but this collection shows an artist in the making, her raw talent budding with hope, grace and fire.



Aretha Franklin - Soul Sister   (flac 176mb)

01 Until You Were Gone 3:00
02 You Made Me Love You 2:32
03 Follow Your Heart 2:24
04 Ol' Man River 4:05
05 Sweet Bitter Love 2:57
06 A Mother's Love 2:30
07 Swanee 2:24
08 (No, No) I'm Losing You 3:08
09 Take A Look 2:40
10 Can't You Just See Me 2:00
11 Cry Like A Baby 2:09

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