Finding Your Voice, Vol. 1 - The Queen of Soul, part 2 In January 1967, Aretha decided not to renew her contract with Columbia and signed with Atlantic. This is the defining moment. Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler had a relationship with Rick Hall, owner of Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Wexler immediately sent Aretha down to Alabama to get started recording - they all needed a hit record. Fast. Within days, Aretha recorded I Never Loved A Man (the Way That I Love You) with Rick Hall and the Muscle Shoals Swampers - the all-white R&B rhythm section (keys, guitar, drums, bass) behind Percy Sledges When A Man Loves A Woman and Wilson Picketts Mustang Sally to give you a flavor. The record was released in February 1967 with Do Right Woman, Do Right Man on the B-side. And the rest, as they say, is history. I Never Loved A Man shot to #1 on the R&B charts, the album sold over a million copies and Aretha earned a grammy for Album of the Year. And we now know Aretha Franklin as the Queen of Soul. Listen to the difference in the energy of the instrumentation on I Never Loved A Man. Its like hearing synchronicity between the vocalist and the instrumentalists. The instruments serve both as a soundscape to hold and support the vocals AND they do their own singing, especially the theme established by the keys in the intro and the horns blasting in the breakdown at the end. Thank you, Rick Hall and the Muscle Shoals Swampers. Thank you Jerry Wexler. And thank you, Aretha Franklin, for your voice and your art. And for finding it. youtu.be/pxb-9p5hdRY
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 15:40:05 +0000
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