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. A musical moment from Respect, with, from left, Henry Riggs, Jennifer Hudson, Hailey Kilgore, Saycon Sengbloh, Alec Barnes, John Giorgio, Marc Maron and Joe Knezevich. Aretha Franklin and the Futility of Trying to Portray Her Onscreen The screenplay, by Fosse/Verdon writer Tracey Scott Wilson (with a story credit for Thelma and Louise scribe Callie Khouri), sometimes feels like its checking off boxes, with Franklins role in the Civil Rights movement sidelined so much that her sudden support for Angela Davis feels like a scene from another movie altogether. In 2021, Washington was brought to life on screen by Mary J. Blige in the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect. On an even more basic level, Franklin was in some sense a jazz singer, even though that label captures neither the essence of her artistry nor the scope of her significance. Not even Aretha Franklin, a true disciple, could replicate Washington's carnal delight when singing about men. Perhaps her most famous song was her recording of 'What a Diff'rence a Day Makes' in 1959. Here, stage and screen veteranand a Juilliard-trained musician herselfPauletta Washington portrays Rachel Franklin. ARETHA FRANKLIN - UNFORGETTABLE - A TRIBUTE TO DINAH WASHINGTON - Music The series portrays the actual people in Franklins life, from her talented sisters and formidable father to her collaborators and romantic partners, all played by modern stars including Courtney B. Vance, David Cross, and Rebecca Naomi Jones. However, the string arrangements of Johnny Mersey adn the jazzy bass work of George Duvivier mesh perfectly with Franklin's high-flying vocal fireworks. There are worse ways to spend two-and-a-half hours than listening to Jennifer Hudson sing Aretha Franklin songs. C.L. In the end, those gaps in the plot are distracting and keep Franklin at arms length, rendering her as elusive on the screen as she was in public in real life. At the last count, she had 73 chart hits. We want to answer the question, how did the woman with the greatest voice in the world find her own voice? Scott Wilson said. The biopic Respect only attempts 20 years of Franklin (Jennifer Hudson)'s life, including her. The most riveting scenes are when we see her really play: in a recording studio turned jam session with the all-white Muscle Shoals band in Alabama, turning a sleepy I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) into a sultry, soulful confession. Dinah Washington was an American singer and pianist, who has been described as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Respect is in theaters now. Hot Chocolate, 13 August 2021, 10:00 | Updated: 9 March 2022, 16:00. 'A legend in her own right': Carolyn Franklin, Aretha's forgotten I never got to know her personally in those days, though she and my father were good friends. According to music producerQuincy Jones, when Franklin was still young, Washingtontold him that she thought Franklin was the next one.. (Hudson belting out this track on stage is perhaps the films second musical highlight, next to a mind-blowing rendition of Amazing Grace at the end.). Mainly a jazz singer, she also performed a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and pop music. Shortly before she died, Washington took appreciate notice of her acolyte as well. And because we arent quite sure if he is referring to her pregnancy, her mothers departure or something else, we applaud Arethas catharsis while wondering about the cause. Jennifer Hudson stars as Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige as Dinah Washington in "Respect." (Courtesy Quantrell D. Colbert/MGM) This article is more than 1 year old. Columbia was trying to make her into a jazz vocalist, but Jerry Wexler at Atlantic saw her as a soul singer all the way. She was in the front row. So as a girl, Aretha had not only prodigious talent but also extraordinary access. Its here that Respect starts to really sing, giving Franklin her propers as a perfectionist in the studio. Aretha Franklin Meets Dinah Washington | Genius: Aretha In the new Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, Dinah Washington is played by soul legend Mary J Blige. Franklin (Forest Whitaker), and her musical kinship with gospel great James Cleveland (Tituss Burgess). "Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington", Learn how and when to remove this template message, The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin, Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, Respect: The Very Best of Aretha Franklin, The Queen in Waiting: The Columbia Years (19601965), Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul, Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen, The Atlantic Singles Collection 19671970, The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire), (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone, Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do), It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be, A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Unforgettable:_A_Tribute_to_Dinah_Washington&oldid=1032732446, Articles lacking sources from October 2015, Short description is different from Wikidata, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning" (, "Don't Say You're Sorry Again" (Lee Pearl, Art Berman, Eugene West) - 2:45, Original recordings produced by Robert Mersey, Legacy's Rhythm & Soul Series Director: Adam Block, Remixed and digitally mastered by Vic Anesini, Sony Music Studios, New York, Interior Photos: Sony Music Photo Library, This page was last edited on 9 July 2021, at 09:23. On Genius, Washington is played by. Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington - Wikipedia All the drafts had it because obviously, her father was huge in the movement, Scott Wilson said. And what is the shame the film keeps hinting at, but, like Aretha, never wants to confront? In other words, as good as the music sounds (and it sounds soooooo very, very good), the plot holes about her past, which seemed to inform much of her characters decision-making, kept nagging at me as I watched. Sarah said, 'Yes, I did, and I'm never singing that song again.' Just the pain youve been running from your whole life. Reassuring her more, Cleveland notes, He knows it wasnt your fault.. It was no accident that her first album for the label, released in '61, was Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo Bryant being an exceptional jazz pianist from Philadelphia, and the son of an ordained minister. Respect opens in theaters on Friday, August 13. She handpicked Hudson, a move that set music as the center of the movie but risked the appearance that Hudsons depiction might be too dependent on Franklins own self-image. Aretha Franklin lived such a monumental life, you couldnt possibly fit it all into a movie. She repeated the last two lines in a tag, contracting and expanding the tempo in ways that evoked another line in the lyrics, about a love "where there's no space and time." Alas, Bryant does not appear in the first episode, but viewers immediately get . For many, Franklins name is synonymous with the no-nonsense voice that lilted across several octaves for several decades, all while asking for a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T from the controlling men around her. As Ann Powers put it in her eloquent tribute: "The beginning of Franklin's journey toward stardom, under the tutelage of John Hammond at Columbia Records, offers another set of lessons, this time in adaptability, elegance and craft.". These two towering influences instantly dislike one another, with Whitakers whiskey-drinking, pistol-packing preacher scarily shooing off Wayans smooth operator, all but guaranteeing shell run away into his arms. "You are a friend of mine," she sang, redrawing the shape of the line, and making the most formal and public of presentations feel scarily intimate, like a soul-to-soul communication. Aretha's father, the Rev. In Respect, viewers get a look at the relationship that Franklin and Washington had. 'Respect': Did Mary J. Blige's Character Dinah Washington Really Blow ), It's no slight at all to Franklin's incandescent work on Atlantic in the late '60s and early '70s one of the all-time hot streaks in recorded music history to recognize the glorious work she did earlier in her career. "And it's so strong, that sense of jazz being America's music at the time she was coming up.". Here, he plays C.L. Hudsons a better singer than she is an actress but fortunately the movie has her mostly expressing herself through song. Franklin's connection to Washington dated back to her childhood, and she even paid tribute to the blues icon with the tribute album Unforgettable in 1964. In the end, I didnt make a dent in her armor., Further reflecting on his first biography, Aretha: From These Roots, which he wrote based on interviews with Franklin, and which thus had her blessing, he said, She got the book she wanted. Aretha Franklins voice is inimitable, but Hudson manages a fine tribute, raising goosebumps with her climatic performance of Amazing Grace, which someone in the editing room thought it would be a good idea to slap informational text cards on top of. Dinah Washington rose to fame in the 1950s and 60s. Review: As Aretha Franklin, a soulful Jennifer Hudson keeps - Yahoo (She also gives herself a cute cameo as a fan fawning over Aretha in a hotel lobby.) It's that kind of work: Ms. Franklin's performance makes it timeless. The singer Dinah Washington was not only a huge influence on Franklinwho, in 1964, recorded an album of her songs as a tributebut also a family friend. Why did her mother, Barbara (Audra McDonald), leave her children behind with her domineering husband, the Rev. This song was recorded at the same time as the other tunes and is the only song not released on the original album. Read More. Franklin first met Washington at a young age,. That was another parameter that really helped to focus the storytelling as well. "I never got to know her personally in those days, though she and my father were good friends. Vance is a Tony and Emmy winning actor who we recently saw in Lovecraft Country and as Johnnie Cochran in American Crime Story. Dismissing the documentary in 1999 in her memoir, she told Ritz, When I saw what had been done in one section of the film, I was appalled. She went on, referring to the gospel singer Clara Ward, One of the cameramen kept shooting straight up underneath Claras dress. Genius: Aretha (The Art Tatum/Dinah Washington Episode) Aretha Franklin's first charting hit was with Ray Bryant and his hard-driving left hand. Franklins connection to Washington dated back to her childhood, and she even paid tribute to the blues icon with the tribute album Unforgettable in 1964. Donaldson Collection/Getty Images hide caption. In that scene, when she was walking down the stairs, we had a lot of encounters with her and different fans but which they had to cut for time.. Who were Aretha Franklin's sisters Erma and Carolyn and were they singers too? A little more political discussions in the home but [director] Leisl [Tommy], for timing, couldnt include that.. Aretha Franklin - This Bitter Earth (Columbia Records 1964) (This happened in short order: Her 1965 album Yeah!!! In 1992, her version of 'Mad About the Boy' had a resurgence in popularity after it was used in a Levi's advert. Dinah Washington: What Difference A Day Makes. In this sense, Respect gives us the biopic I always thought I was looking for a portrait of a Black woman whose musical genius remains front and center without being sidelined or overshadowed by her personal struggle with trauma. Her older brother Cecil, who was close friends with Smokey Robinson, ran a barbershop out of the first-floor bathroom of their house. In the movie "Respect," it's Jennifer Hudson's Franklin who starts singing one of Washington's. Washington had a feeling that Franklin was destined for success. I said, 'You heard her do 'Skylark,' didn't you?' Who was Dinah Washington? She sings it straight, but then she alters the lyrics when she sings, "I say I'll go through fire, yes, and I will kill fire." Oscars buzz is swirling around Hudsons performance and many of those who knew Franklin agree the actress was the only woman for the job. Aretha Franklin was about a month shy of her 20th birthday when she appeared for a week at The Village Gate in late February of 1962. When I saw her in the dressing room getting her makeup done, I actually saw Aretha and Im sure [Aretha] would be happy.. So Aretha's tribute to Washington is as logical as it is satisfying. 4am - 6am, It Started With A Kiss Only Murders In the Building Season 3 Details, Pnelope Cruz & Javier Bardem's Relationship, 'Wheel of Fortune' Host Pat Sajak Walks Off Stage. To this day, Aretha considers her book an accurate portrait.. Her jazz influences were close at hand, as a pianist as well as a vocalist. The kill is her invention and takes you to another place. Why doesnt Aretha remember having to rush to the roof and sing loudly with her sisters as children in order to drown out her parents fighting? These violent, insecure men are obviously two sides of the same coin. Mary J. Blige stars as Dinah Washington. The series follows Franklin, played by Cynthia Erivo, from her early days in Detroit to global stardomand doesnt shy away from the obstacles she faced along the way. She was was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. 'Respect' spotlights the Black female artists who helped Aretha Jazz was central to her musicianship, however far she rambled. In 2005 Franklin received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the USs highest civil honour. Many of the songs, you may recognize, are her current hits.". Actually, there was more stuff in there that because of time we had to take off. Everyone can see that except Aretha. (This tidy arc was reinforced for years by Atlantic's own Jerry Wexler, who had a vested interest in claiming the win. There's a scene about 35 minutes into Liesl Tommy's new, must-see Aretha Franklin biopic Respect in which an angry Dinah Washington (played by Mary J Blige) dramatically turns over a table in . Aretha Franklin - Unforgettable - A Tribute To Dinah Washington Franklin received a visit from Washington in her dressing room after one of her shows at a club in Detroit. What a Diff'rence a Day Makes - Wikipedia That makes it a 'must-have' and a record that is once again 'current.' However, screenwriter Tracey Scott Wilson did make room for an incident from Etta Jamess life in her telling of the Aretha Franklin story. What the Cast of Genius: Aretha Looks Like In Real Life Finally, with some rebellious advice from Dinah and support by Ted White, Aretha fled her father's command. Recorded when Aretha was just 21, UNFORGETTABLE is somewhat of a departure from her more R&B-oriented early work. It's not known whether this incident actually happened or not. For Franklin, the preacher's daughter, desire was a beguiling but potentially soul . Scott Wilson spoke with Showbiz Cheat Sheet by phone on July 29 about Respect. This anecdote from the movie never actually happened, but it was based on an event that actually did. While she was a successful singer and songwriter on her own, Carolyn Franklin might still be best known for her collaborationsas both a writer and a backup singerwith her sister Aretha. She studied Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, Anita O'Day, June Christy, Dakota Staton anyone I had on the box. By showing a young Aretha as the victim of sexual assault and attributing her parents breakup to her fathers own impregnating of a 12-year-old girl in his congregation, potential explanations of her childhood trauma are revealed but do not dominate its depiction. Washington puts a stop to that before Franklin gets to the chorus. 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. In their own way and to varying degrees of success, each struggles with how best to showcase her as a singular artist while expanding our understanding of a woman so intent on privacy. ". Find out what it means to me: Aretha Franklins lifelong fight for R.E.S.P.E.C.T. You wouldn't call it a jazz album, but you'd also be wrong to insist otherwise. So there were a ton of stories of people who were, and especially people in political movements, who took those songs to heart. It turns out that this is the Franklin performance to remember from that evening. On December 14, 1963, Dinah Washington's sixth husband, football great Dick 'Night Train' Lane, found her in bed and not responsive. Dinah appears as a friend of Aretha's family, who meets Aretha as a child singer before witnessing her grow to become a popular artist in her own right. There was a bunch of other stuff, scenes with the sisters that we had to cut, Scott Wilson said.