Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe National Geographics Genius: Aretha is available to stream on Hulu.About Genius: Aretha:National Geographic Channel's GENIUS focuses on the untold stories of the world's most brilliant innovators. Release group "Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington" by Aretha Did Dinah Washington really lose it when she attended one of Aretha Franklin 's shows and heard Franklin sing one of Washington's songs as depicted in the new movie " Respect "? "And it's so strong, that sense of jazz being America's music at the time she was coming up.". Throughout that album, especially on a churchified track like "Won't Be Long," you can clearly hear the spark that would later be so celebrated. In Respect, viewers get a look at the relationship that Franklin and Washington had. (If it didn't actually happen that way, it should have.) For jazz singers of the ensuing generation, like Dianne Reeves, Franklin loomed as a north star. But earlier, at the top of the program, she'd sat at the piano to perform Leon Russell's "A Song For You," backed by Herbie Hancock on keyboards, Christian McBride on bass and Brian Blade on drums. Especially when she did her European tour, they were in Spain for Aretha, Scott Wilson said. You have been subscribed to WBUR Today. Franklins imprint is all over the film Respect as well. 'A legend in her own right': Carolyn Franklin, Aretha's forgotten Thank you! Finally, with some rebellious advice from Dinah and support by Ted White, Aretha fled her father's command. 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. She said: Youre gonna win an Oscar for playing me, right?. The pianist who accompanies her is Art Tatum (the actor playing him is uncredited); Aretha passes through the party to greetings from Dinah Washington (Mary J. Blige), and she, in turn, is heard . And no hits, says Washington, her diamond earrings easily four times the size of the downtrodden artists in front of her. Franklin took offense at Respect, which she pronounced "a trashy book." Washington had a feeling that Franklin was destined for success. In 2021, Washington was brought to life on screen by Mary J. Blige in the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect. Blige says: [Jennifer] has that thing in her voice like Aretha has in her voice, the anointing. There are worse ways to spend two-and-a-half hours than listening to Jennifer Hudson sing Aretha Franklin songs. It turns out that this is the Franklin performance to remember from that evening. All the drafts had it because obviously, her father was huge in the movement, Scott Wilson said. In this case I really think its true and I really hope they come away with an understanding of her brilliance, but also of her deep, deep humanity.. Its an unforced error in a movie that, for all its flaws, still sends you out singing. At one of her father's house parties Aretha meets the Queen of Blues, Dinah Washington. Aretha's rendition as wel. Who was Jerry Wexler? Barrett, a veteran of The Boys and Timeless, plays Ted White, Franklins first husband and manager. These slavishly formulaic crowd-pleasers cram the messy, often contradictory lives of artists into a template as rigid as the verse-chorus-verse format of a pop song. To this day, Aretha considers her book an accurate portrait.. That performance was three years before her death. Scott Wilson also said the ages of 10 to 30 were significant for Arethas growth. 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. (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.). The idea of recording a tribute to her grew out of the way I've always felt about her. The sessions were recorded in New York. Mary J. Blige stars as Dinah Washington. Dinah Washington knew Aretha Franklin as a girl In Respect, viewers get a look at the relationship that Franklin and Washington had. 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. She shared some additional Aretha Franklin stories that didnt make it into the movie, and one she pulled from Etta James life. There was a bunch of other stuff, scenes with the sisters that we had to cut, Scott Wilson said. All rights reserved. "That's where she first heard Sarah Vaughan," Cecil said. ", In January 1995, John Snyder, the producer of the reissue, said: "This is a very soulful record, a record of inspired singing by one of the great voices of our time. Franklin (Forest Whitaker), only to show up, after her death, as an angelic force in Arethas life? "The idea of recording a tribute to her grew out of the way I've always felt about her. Instead, Respect, the debut film by the renowned theater director Liesl Tommy, ends up heeding the advice Washington gives Franklin about her music: Honey, find the songs that move you. The biopic is less a movie about Franklins interior life or the origins of what her character insists are the demons that haunt her, and more about how she as a prodigious vocalist and brilliant pianist and songwriter channeled her pain into songs that moved not just her, but the entire world. We show sort of excepts of a birthday party. 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. Aretha Franklin on her 1964 album, Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington, Eydie Gorm on the 1964 album Eydie Gorm canta en Espaol con Los Panchos, Freddy Fender recorded a version for his 1976 LP If You're Ever in Texas, Bobby Lewis (released on the single "Ace of Hearts 7622" in 1977), Cher performs the song in The Cher Show, And what is the shame the film keeps hinting at, but, like Aretha, never wants to confront? She can sing anything. We were unable to subscribe you to WBUR Today. "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. "She's held onto the whole idea that nothing is outside her grasp, especially within the American tradition," he said. The upside of Respect is that it truly focuses on the intricacies of her music-making. Aretha Franklin recording at Columbia Studios in 1962. Aretha Franklin and the Futility of Trying to Portray Her Onscreen According to music producerQuincy Jones, when Franklin was still young, Washingtontold him that she thought Franklin was the next one.. Hudson with Forest Whitaker as Franklins father in Respect., Cynthia Erivo as the singer in Genius: Aretha.. Franklin (top), and Marlon Wayans as her husband Ted White (bottom centre). A few tunes were cut with strings in order to bring out the essential ballad character of the songs (with the help of Bob Mersey's arranging); most of the tracks, though, were made with the assistance of a small and sympathetic accompanying group for which Mersey supplied minimal written guidance. Laughing on the Outside, released in 1963, opens with a spectacular reading of the Hoagy Carmichael standard "Skylark," set at a swaying tempo, with an inspired, jolting octave leap in the final pass of the verse. C.F. A little more political discussions in the home but [director] Leisl [Tommy], for timing, couldnt include that.. Once you've watched this on-screen portrayal of the life of the musical legend, see what the cast of the series looks like in modern times. "But she didn't stop with Sarah. Aretha Franklin and the Futility of Trying to Portray Her Onscreen, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/movies/aretha-franklin-respect-genius-amazing-grace.html, Jennifer Hudson and the director Liesl Tommy consulting on the set of Respect.. But it wasn't just singers, and it wasn't just that generation. Aretha Franklin - Unforgettable - YouTube The sessions were recorded in New York. on Broadway. Here, hes portrayed by Richardson, who fans will recognize from True Blood, The Newsroom, and Dear White People. Aretha Franklin recording at Columbia Studios in 1962. 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. With that in mind, I decided to open with her big hit, Unforgettable, James recalled. She thought Ted would be different and thus began a relationship with him. So as a girl, Aretha had not only prodigious talent but also extraordinary access. It's that kind of work: Ms. Franklin's performance makes it timeless. In Respect, however, Washington loses her cool at a live show of Franklins after she started singing her signature song, Unforgettable. She flips a table and tells her not to sing any of her songs, then goes backstage to apologize. "This Bitter Earth" is a 1960 song made famous by rhythm and blues singer Dinah Washington and written and produced by Clyde Otis. She shared a bill there with pianist and composer Thelonious Monk, who like her was an indescribable talent a genius, in the fullest sense of the word recently signed to the roster of Columbia Records. 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. Viewers get to see how Franklins hit Respect came to be, beginning with a shonky studio and a motley, albeit talented, group of musicians in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and how her stage performances were inspired by her abusive relationship with her husband. What the hell were you thinking? Just a little bit. Reissue by Legacy's Rhythm & Soul Series in 1995 included "Lee Cross". "They were tremendous. Early Breakfast with Gary King Without it we'd be remembering a different artist now, and celebrating a different body of work. 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. Jazz singing, idiomatically speaking, would be a flickering constant on the albums that followed: While it may be true to suggest that Franklin hadn't yet found her lane, she was already very much driving her own car. The film is timestamped with historical happenings such as the assassination of King in 1968 and the wrongful arrest of Angela Davis in 1970. However, screenwriter Tracey Scott Wilson did make room for an incident from Etta Jamess life in her telling of the Aretha Franklin story. 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 . When I saw her in the dressing room getting her makeup done, I actually saw Aretha and Im sure [Aretha] would be happy.. Only the one that focuses solely on her music comes close. The movie is strongest in this midsection, allowing Hudson to perform several numbers from Franklins remarkable run of late 60s hits nearly in their entirety. She takes her time. This season will explore Aretha Franklin's musical genius, her incomparable career, and the immeasurable impact she has had on music and culture. Thats something thats now also talked about, how big she was overseas. Respect has two hours and 25 minutes to show viewers sides of Aretha Franklin they never knew. This Aretha Franklin Moment with Dinah Washington in 'Respect' Actually 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. Aretha's rendition as wel. Carolyn's funeral took place at the New Bethel, like . (modern), Jennifer Hudson stars as Aretha Franklin in Respect. Respect shows one grateful fan encountering Aretha in a hotel lobby. For Amazing Grace had the privilege of giving us Franklin on her own musical terms without having to contend with the singers self-portrait. 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? Sorry, I lost it for a minute,' James recalled Washington saying, but look, girl, you learned a valuable lesson. Initially there was more stuff showing King being mentored by C.L. The result is a movie that skews too closely to Franklins own self-image, a narrative that she tightly controlled during her lifetime as a matter of privacy and as a way to assert her own power in an industry, and country, dominated by sexist and racist stereotypes about Black womens sexuality and intelligence. As Cecil told Ritz, she also hunkered down alone with the hi-fi, for hours at a stretch. Dinah Washington. Donaldson Collection/Getty Images Franklin first met Washington at a young age, when she would sing for family and friends at home and at church. Shortly before she died, Washington took appreciate notice of her acolyte as well. The duo met in New York in 2007, shortly after Hudson had won an Oscar for her role as Effie White in Dreamgirls. I dont remember the singer who did it to her but that incident happened to Etta James.. What a Diff'rence a Day Makes - Wikipedia Before her death in 2018, Aretha Franklin personally selected Jennifer Hudson to play her in Respect, the new biopic released in the UK this weekend. 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. The storytelling really stumbles when we get to the 1970s, bottoming out into an unfocused haze of alcoholism and depression before the inevitable salvation via Amazing Grace. (Everyones better off without Ted, but the back half of the movie misses Wayans dangerous presence. In 2021, the Academy Award winner played legendary singer Dinah Washington in the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect. The mini-series Genius: Aretha, written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, however, is more forthcoming. (She also gives herself a cute cameo as a fan fawning over Aretha in a hotel lobby.) After shed had nine gospel albums and no big hits, Hammond was at a loss as to what to offer her. 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.. Respect is in theaters now. (This happened in short order: Her 1965 album Yeah!!! She's ostensibly there to promote her latest album, Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington, but she doesn't do any of that material. (I saw Franklin perform this tune a decade ago at Radio City Music Hall, along with "My Funny Valentine" and Irving Berlin's "Easter Parade."). 4am - 6am, It Started With A Kiss Her older brother Cecil, who was close friends with Smokey Robinson, ran a barbershop out of the first-floor bathroom of their house. Mainly a jazz singer, she also performed a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and pop music. "I first heard Dinah when I was just a kid," said Franklin, "back around the time she made 'Fat Daddy.' Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington is the fifth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe National Geographic's Gen. Who was Dinah Washington? Iconic singer played by Mary J Blige in On December 14, 1963, Dinah Washington's sixth husband, football great Dick 'Night Train' Lane, found her in bed and not responsive. That makes it a 'must-have' and a record that is once again 'current.' Adam Rathe is Town & Country's Deputy Features Director, covering arts and culture and a range of other subjects. Recorded at New York's Columbia Studios and produced by Robert Mersey. Jennifer Hudson Shines As Aretha Franklin In Otherwise Formulaic - WBUR Its a powerful portrait of The Queen of Soul coming into her own. 'Respect' Summary, Ending & Incredible Journey of Aretha Franklin Aretha Franklin lived such a monumental life, you couldnt possibly fit it all into a movie. But even if the queen of soul hadn't left . Who was Dinah Washington? For Franklin, the preacher's daughter, desire was a beguiling but potentially soul . But through his interviews with members of her family, Ritz unearths invaluable insight about her musical moorings. Franklin received a visit from Washington in her dressing room after one of her shows at a club in Detroit. 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. Anyone can read what you share. There were some other conversations that had to be cut for that.. She was tragically pronounced dead at the scene, aged just 39. Through their world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that matter and past the edge of what's possible.Get More National Geographic:Official Site: http://bit.ly/NatGeoOfficialSiteFacebook: http://bit.ly/FBNatGeoTwitter: http://bit.ly/NatGeoTwitterInstagram: http://bit.ly/NatGeoInstaTikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@natgeoTenor: http://on.natgeo.com/31b3KocAretha Franklin Meets Dinah Washington | Genius: Arethahttps://youtu.be/VDFjjD7shjcNational Geographichttps://www.youtube.com/natgeo Many of the songs, you may recognize, are her current hits.". 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. In the movie "Respect," it's Jennifer Hudson's Franklin who starts singing one of Washington's. Franklin sold out concerts well into her 70s and is one of the most celebrated artists of our time. ". Relationship Types; Instrument List; . Aretha would absorb it all. A wise dramatic device. 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. 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. The other day a friend of mine called musical biopics superhero movies for boomers and theres no way I can top that. Just a few months after, in February 1964, Aretha Franklin released her fifth studio album Unforgettable - A Tribute to Dinah Washington. Arrested Development star Cross plays Wexler, a music producer whos said to have coined the phrase rhythm and blues and who worked extensively with Franklin in the 1960s, producing hits like Respect for her. Respect is releasing in all cinemas currently not in lockdown from 19 August and will release in Sydney as soon as cinemas reopen. Photograph: Quantrell D Colbert/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. With the help of her husband Ted White (played by Marlon Wayans) Franklin spent the 1960s building her career, signing with Jerry Wexler (Marc Maron) at Atlantic Records. "Aretha deeply resented the remarks and thought Dinah was acting like a diva," Ritz wrote. James Cleveland says to Aretha, There are no demons. Respect is good enough that you wish it were better. Scott Wilson wished she could have included them more. Director Liesl Tommy is television veteran making her feature debut, and she has some fun with film stocks especially during an amusingly stilted black-and-white television interview. (She'd received 30 votes to Abbey Lincoln's 25.) 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. Some other stories with C.L., with Ted [White] just showing more of their relationship and showing more textures to the relationship that we had to cut for time. On screen, shes played by Rebecca Naomi Jones, the Grammy-nominated actress who recently appeared in Oklahoma! Stay until the end of the film and watch the credits roll. Just the pain youve been running from your whole life. Reassuring her more, Cleveland notes, He knows it wasnt your fault.. Brook Benton, over his 40-year-long career, wrote, co-wrote, and recorded over 100 singles, many of them hits we still frequently hear today. She was was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Right after Amazing Grace, the epochal double album often hailed as her consummate masterpiece, she enlisted producer Quincy Jones for Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky), a fascinating mixed bag of an album that includes an uptempo romp through "Moody's Mood for Love," the Eddie Jefferson vocalese of a James Moody ballad. 'Respect': Did Mary J. Blige's Character Dinah Washington Really Blow You want to take me on? says Washington as she pours herself a whisky before asking Franklin how many albums shes had. Her cause of death was ruled as a lethal combination of secobarbital and amobarbital, prescriptions for her insomnia and diet. Here, stage and screen veteranand a Juilliard-trained musician herselfPauletta Washington portrays Rachel Franklin.