Music

First, the similarities. Black women who sing professionally always seem to start in the church. Their voices float over the choir; somebody notices. A contract follows, usually on bad terms. Then the hits come, and an image is fixed, the road ahead is clear. Complications arise: a man, a manager, a record label with small ideas. And then there’s rebellion, which can take many forms. Suddenly the black star is in the valley, and the most important word in her vocabulary is “comeback.”

 

Along that well-traveled path, Aretha has had her share of problems, but nothing like her goddaughter’s. Why is that? Because Aretha had some advantages Whitney didn't. Whitney was a singer, a transmitter of the creations of others. Beyond her compelling gift as a singer, Aretha is a creator: a world-class pianist and a songwriter of some distinction. (You’ve never wondered who wrote her hits, but she’s responsible for “Rock Steady” and “Think” and a few others.) There's also a vast difference in their private lives. Whatever Aretha’s troubles, they’re far less complicated than what Hilton Als and Robyn Crawford describe.

 

 

I could blather and make the case, but it’s so much simpler to present Aretha Franklin performing the songs in “Lady Soul.”