When I heard about Aretha Franklin's passing this morning, I was saddened by her death but hearing about it also made me think about my own mother's passing more than twenty years ago. My mother was an Aretha fan and we grew up listening to her Amazing Grace album (on vinyl). I remember that album cover with Aretha dressed in African garb and particularly loved her rendition of "Mary, Don't You Weep." When I'd heard earlier this week that Aretha was in hospice care, I knew her time on earth was limited. When the hospice folks are called in, you know what's coming next. The same happened with my own mother. But Aretha's music will live on even after her passing. Many years ago, I went to see Steely Dan perform at Pine Knob outside of Detroit and when they did "Hey Nineteen" the lyrics changed from "Hey nineteen, that's Aretha Franklin. She don't remember the Queen of Soul" to "Hey nineteen, that's Otis Redding. she don't remember the King of Soul." I figured Donald Fagen had to change the lyric because, even back then, nineteen-year-olds knew who Aretha Franklin was. (Otis Redding, maybe not so much.) One of my favorite Aretha songs is "Spanish Harlem" and it's been on my mind since I read about her death.
RIP, Aretha. Queen of Soul, proud Detroiter, legend.
No comments:
Post a Comment