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Your probably more an authority than me Soulboy but how would you compare Aretha Franklin to say Gladys Knight? maybe a slightly different genre but both fantastic artists and just to mix it up even more have you considered Shirley Bassey who is often over looked when the greatest women singers of our generation are discussed. For me they are all fantastic artists but I could lean towards Bassey.
Your probably more an authority than me Soulboy but how would you compare Aretha Franklin to say Gladys Knight? maybe a slightly different genre but both fantastic artists and just to mix it up even more have you considered Shirley Bassey who is often over looked when the greatest women singers of our generation are discussed. For me they are all fantastic artists but I could lean towards Bassey.
[Post edited 16 Aug 2018 22:22]
If you do that, she’s liable to take out a restraining order.
Your probably more an authority than me Soulboy but how would you compare Aretha Franklin to say Gladys Knight? maybe a slightly different genre but both fantastic artists and just to mix it up even more have you considered Shirley Bassey who is often over looked when the greatest women singers of our generation are discussed. For me they are all fantastic artists but I could lean towards Bassey.
[Post edited 16 Aug 2018 22:22]
Im not sure if i really would call Aretha the "Queen of Soul", but nonetheless an unbelieavble talent. Without usung this football platform to champion the cause of many fantastic Soul singers (the vast majority who have now passed on), i feel she reached iconic status almost as much because of her civil right activites as much as her voice. There are scores of brilliant Soul singers who dont get the praise heaped on them that they richly deserve. On the other side of the coin, several singers held up by the mass media as being legendary Soul acts fall way short in my humble opinion, the main one being Diana Ross. A brief listen to many lesser known Motown ladies will show how overrated she really is, and many believe it was her relationship with Berry Gordy that catapulted her to fame and fortune. For me. another Supreme the late Flo Ballard, was a thousand times the singer Ross is, and thats before you start looking at their personalities and characteristics, which have been well documented down the decades. Im sorry but im afraid im really stuck in my "old school ways" and have been since 1970 when i got into Soul, ie Soul singers are black Americans and people like S Bassey who may be talented in their own right cannot possibly be considered under the genre of Soul.
Im not sure if i really would call Aretha the "Queen of Soul", but nonetheless an unbelieavble talent. Without usung this football platform to champion the cause of many fantastic Soul singers (the vast majority who have now passed on), i feel she reached iconic status almost as much because of her civil right activites as much as her voice. There are scores of brilliant Soul singers who dont get the praise heaped on them that they richly deserve. On the other side of the coin, several singers held up by the mass media as being legendary Soul acts fall way short in my humble opinion, the main one being Diana Ross. A brief listen to many lesser known Motown ladies will show how overrated she really is, and many believe it was her relationship with Berry Gordy that catapulted her to fame and fortune. For me. another Supreme the late Flo Ballard, was a thousand times the singer Ross is, and thats before you start looking at their personalities and characteristics, which have been well documented down the decades. Im sorry but im afraid im really stuck in my "old school ways" and have been since 1970 when i got into Soul, ie Soul singers are black Americans and people like S Bassey who may be talented in their own right cannot possibly be considered under the genre of Soul.
[Post edited 17 Aug 2018 4:06]
Great post
There is an element of luck and opportunity (for instance, being around when great songs arrive) and having the right connections - which seems ironic when the 'soul of soul' is about being dispossessed - but the only thing i could say for sure is that what Franklin had in her voice and timing transcends any of that
Like watching a truly gifted footballer, it just elevates
I first got into Soul Music like lots of people via The Beatles back in the early days. When you heard songs like " Please Mr Postman " and " You Really Got A Hold On Me " you wondered what the original songs were like and wanted to know more about the artists involved.
I've been a Soul fan since those days and I suppose I've seen and heard them all by now. There have been a lot of really good women singers since those days but Aretha was the best. I've no axe to grind on this I just recognise her talent. Her version of " I Say A Little Prayer " is sublime and one of the greatest records ever made.
It's a bit like the " Who was the best footballer " debate. For me the debate should be about who was the second best because nobody came close to being as good as Pele.
I wouldn't put Shirley Bassey in this group. She was a good singer but in a different genre.
Im not sure if i really would call Aretha the "Queen of Soul", but nonetheless an unbelieavble talent. Without usung this football platform to champion the cause of many fantastic Soul singers (the vast majority who have now passed on), i feel she reached iconic status almost as much because of her civil right activites as much as her voice. There are scores of brilliant Soul singers who dont get the praise heaped on them that they richly deserve. On the other side of the coin, several singers held up by the mass media as being legendary Soul acts fall way short in my humble opinion, the main one being Diana Ross. A brief listen to many lesser known Motown ladies will show how overrated she really is, and many believe it was her relationship with Berry Gordy that catapulted her to fame and fortune. For me. another Supreme the late Flo Ballard, was a thousand times the singer Ross is, and thats before you start looking at their personalities and characteristics, which have been well documented down the decades. Im sorry but im afraid im really stuck in my "old school ways" and have been since 1970 when i got into Soul, ie Soul singers are black Americans and people like S Bassey who may be talented in their own right cannot possibly be considered under the genre of Soul.
[Post edited 17 Aug 2018 4:06]
You summed it up superbly SB,you really are a bloke who knows what he`s talking about. Gladys Knight to me was more than an equal with Aretha Franklin,but the latter got the accolades through those civil rights days of the late sixties,so good on her for that. Elvis was definitely the male icon of the formative years of popular music and I guess Aretha was the female one. How strange therefore that they both passed away on August 16th,41 years apart.
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