Aretha Franklin RIP

[The Fish]

WE've been here before, but this time looks like the end of the road. She has detractors on BCB I know but they are all so very wrong. She was (is) the greatest singer of my lifetime. End of.

[Matt Wilson]

How can anyone disagree with that? She has one of the greatest soul voices in history.

Agreed. But I'm sure the usual suspects will piss and moan and say she's shite, or that someone like Dusty fuckin' Springfield is better.

[algroth]

Damn. Absolutely agreed on her being one of the greats, and it would be a heavy loss.

[Rayge]

I'm sure we can all have a reasonable debate about this another time, but this is hardly the place or time to squabble, score points or throw out challenges.
I'm sorry to hear about this on a purely human level. Pancreatic cancer is an absolute bastard, and if she had the operation, her life would have been very difficult, as it involves being without a fair chunk of the digestive system.
God speed.

[never/ever]

She has had battles for ages. Weight, alcohol, heavy smoking....and still she is well in her 70s.
Hope she won't suffer if the end is nigh. And she is one of the all time greats in my book.

[clive gash]

Magnificent.

At Her peak she was as on as anyone has ever been.

Day Dreaming/Rock Steady lies at the heart of my taste.

[Count Machuki]

I don't really know her Columbia material, but think I'll investigate this. I'd like to hear her sing some of thise jazz standards.

I love her version of 'Skylark'



I've been dreading her demise, inevitable as it is. Hope she's well soon.

[Sneelock]

She has had battles for ages. Weight, alcohol, heavy smoking....and still she is well in her 70s.
Hope she won't suffer if the end is nigh. And she is one of the all time greats in my book.

mine too. well put. thank God for songs and for singers. I think her talent is absolutely staggering.

[never/ever]

Playing the Columbia-years compilation right now.... goosebump stuff.
Once In A While just slays.

[Ranking Ted]

I’ve only recently delved into the catalogue beyond the hits comps - Spirit In The Dark, Young Gifted & Black...magnificent, transcendent.

[`]

So sorry to hear this. Was just playing an Essential AF CD in the car the other day.

Pancreatic cancer is indeed a bitch, the two people I know who've been diagnosed with
the disease were both gone within weeks.

Amazed AF has hung on this long, but more power to her

[Matt Wilson]

Pancreatic cancer is indeed a bitch, the two people I know who've been diagnosed with
the disease were both gone within weeks.

My dad died from it exactly two months to the day after he was diagnosed.

[Six String]

My paternal grandfather died of the same disease. They opened him up and closed him back up and that was pretty much it.


I've been a bit sad about this so I've been playing through my collection of her 60s lps. Such an amazing body of work. No one can take away the title of the queen of soul. Nobody.

[KeithPratt]

And sadly now RIP.

Absolute uncontested legend.

[harvey k-tel]

Very sad. RIP.

[Diamond Dog]

76 is no real age these days, is it?

RIP Aretha.

[Davey the Fat Boy]

I don't really know her Columbia material, but think I'll investigate this. I'd like to hear her sing some of thise jazz standards.

I really wish that we hadn’t somehow lost a good portion of the BCB130 project from a few years back. I had the honor of writing up Aretha, and I went down a pretty big Aretha Franklin rabbit hole in order to finish it.

Of all the artists I wrote up for that, I had the most sense of revelation from listening deeply into her oeuvre - and it was the Columbia stuff that really made me see her whole musical journey. Ultimately I realized that she was as much an auteur as a singer.

She should be viewed as one of the greatest artists of our time...even if her voice had only been average. But she was also one of the greatest singers ever. So...respect.

Any chance anyone can unearth that BCB130 thread? I’d sure love to re-read it today.

[naughty boy]

Ah, fuck. That's terribly sad news. She was amazing.

I only know her most famous songs (and I Never Loved A Man...), but there's a whole load more that's worth investigating and I look forward to doing just that.

RIP

[Belle Lettre]

Such a voice. RIP.

[Rayge]

RIP