Aretha Franklin (61 page)

Through her most recent 2011 concert and television performances, Aretha proved time and time again that although she was again gaining weight and having some physical problems, her voice was still amazingly strong, agile, and expressively dramatic. Her millions of fans were thankful and happy to see and hear that she was not only alive and well, but that the instrument that is her amazing voice was still as good and as strong as it ever was.

Now it was time for the living legend to go back to her home base and to show Detroit that the Motor City's reigning diva still had the magic, the talent, and the vocal power that had originally made her a star. And, that is exactly what she did.

I
t is August 25, 2011, and it is a warm and somewhat overcast evening in the Detroit, Michigan area. I am seated on a picnic blanket on a hillside in the suburban town of Clarkston, at the outdoor amphitheater that is universally known as Pine Knob, although it now is officially entitled DTE Energy Music Theater. In spite of the venue's commercial new title, to many people—including Aretha—it will always be known as “Pine Knob,” since that is the name of the winter ski resort where it is located. This has been an arena that has presented a glittering roster of musical stars since 1972 when it was originally built. It has played host to everyone in the music business from rock and soul stars like Joni Mitchell, War, Alice Cooper, The Four Tops, Bob Dylan, and Stevie Wonder; to jazz, folk and pop stars like The Carpenters, Andy Williams, and Ella Fitzgerald. Tonight however, the entire tree-lined venue belongs to the phenomenal and legendary Queen of Soul: Aretha Franklin.

Tonight's program isn't just a concert or a mere musical show, it is a triumphant “return,” a revival, and a testimony to one woman's talent, and her perseverance. It seemed for many months that the reigning diva who calls herself “Lady Soul” was on death's doorstep. Her extreme weight problems, her mysterious health dilemmas, and the early deaths of all of her four siblings, made her fans fear that she might not make it to her 70th birthday. This evening, nearly 10,000 Detroit-area fans of soul music, gospel music, and rock & roll have gathered to see the often-controversial
and universally-beloved singer. It was her first Detroit concert since 2009, and the anticipation was high. Some people came to see what her physical health was like, or to hear how she would sound, or simply to see what kind of show she would give. No one quite knew what to expect.

The crowd that gathered at DTE to see Aretha on this evening was as diverse as her music. An older crowd came to hear the classic songs of their youth. Middle-aged people came to hear her latter day hits like “Freeway of Love.” Teenagers came to see the woman they knew from the Snickers candy bar commercials. And, members of her church-going audience came to hear some gospel. Everyone who was gathered here had expectations and hopes that they would hear the Queen of Soul sing their favorite tunes.

With the exception of a revue of six scantly clad Brazilian dancers in feathered Carnival costumes who danced and shimmied through the aisles prior to the show, there is no opening act this evening. Although it was entertaining in a fashion, this dance troupe had nothing to do with Aretha's music or legend. The crowd began to get restless for the main event, and began to wonder how late Aretha would be for her curtain, originally called for at 7:30 p.m. Finally, twenty minutes later, “The Aretha Franklin Orchestra” conducted by Fred Nelson III, took the stage. It was a twenty piece orchestra with five strong-voiced background singers. In an effort to redirect the atmosphere into a more “Aretha-centric” mode, they launched into an instrumental overture of the Franklin hits “Jump to It,” “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman,” “Think,” and “Respect.”

Finally, a commanding voice came over the loudspeakers to announce: “The greatest voice of all times … Your queen, my queen, the queen of all time … ,” and at a slow-but-steady pace there she was: Aretha was being carefully led out of the wings of “stage right” by a pair of handlers. As she arrived at center stage, she loudly and confidently announced to her adoring hometown crowd, “Hello Detroit, you're looking wonderful!”

She was dressed in a floor-length apple green gown, which was decorated with pink cloth carnations. Over the top of it she wore a short but voluminous pink jacket that covered her upper arms. The top of the dress featured her trademark low-cut front, and a sparkling double string of beads hung around her neck and fell onto her décolletage.

Launching into her lively version of Jackie Wilson's “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher,” Aretha sang with such enthusiasm and confidence that all fears that she no longer had her trademark vocal power melted away.

It was instantly evident that Aretha is not at all successful at keeping off the weight that she lost from December 2010 and February 2011. As she shimmied and sashayed at center stage, she made it clear that— regardless of what her weight was—she has all of her legendary singing strength.

As she launched into Curtis Mayfield's classic from the film
Sparkle
, “Something He Can Feel,” she began to hit her stride. Bobbing her head to the music and showing off her a cute and sporty short haircut, she commandingly entreated the audience: “If you feel like partying, just get up in your seat!” Whether they were seated on the lawn, or in the assigned theater seats closer to the stage, the crowd began to do exactly that.

In the next hour and a half, Aretha was about to hit every phase of her incomparably long and exciting career. Turning to her Arista Records songbook she dedicated her third song to: “My friend Luther Vandross … let's get it right!” As she sang the energetic “Get It Right,” she took the enthusiastic crowd back to 1983 when she and Luther rocked the charts as a dynamic producing and singing team. She then turned back the clock to sing the Stevie Wonder song that she had made famous in 1973, “Until You Come Back to Me.”

As the sun continued to set in the Michigan sky, the evening's temperature began to cool, which is very much to Aretha disliking, causing her to insist on concert halls and television studios being kept warm for her. However, the warmth that she was creating on-stage was enough to keep her happy.

She also seemed to be in a good frame of mind, and she was obviously relieved to have her mysterious illness behind her. After she finished her sparkling rendition of the Stevie Wonder song, she turned her attention to another one of her favorite songwriters by stating, “We're gonna look back and remember my sister Carolyn.” With that came the familiar sounds of the song “Angel,” which drew an enthusiastic round of applause.

“This is Detroit's own, how do you like the band?” Franklin shouted out to the crowd, which again elicited an appreciative round of applause. It was clearly an all-Aretha / all-Detroit music fest this evening, and she confidently reconfirmed her claim to the title of being the queen of her Motor City realm.

While the diva sang, huge projection screens flashed illustrations of her glorious life, including photos of her with former Detroit Mayor Coleman Young and her late father: Reverend C. L. Franklin, as well as snapshots of her with Bette Midler, and with Tony Bennett from her highly-publicized sixty-ninth birthday party in New York City in March of 2011.

Since she was originally known as a teenage gospel singer growing up in downtown Detroit, it seemed fitting that for her sixth song of the evening, she should take the proceedings into a gospel vein with a lively rendition of the song “I Came to Lift Him Up.” Singing the song with full-force gospel power, she had the first several rows of the audience standing up, dancing and figuratively “going to church.”

Next, she began to delve deeper into her Atlantic Records classics to sing a beautiful version of her 1967 R&B classic “Ain't No Way.” In the middle of the song Aretha proclaimed: “Cousin Brenda back there,” referring to the hefty girl standing with the background singers hitting the distinctive high note that Cissy Houston performed on the original recording.

Aretha then moved forward to 1970 to present a rousing version of her Number One R&B hit “Don't Play That Song (For Me).” As she sang with incredible vocal power, three young female dancers in cheerleader outfits came out of the wings and began dancing while the commanding diva sang. While they performed, Aretha took off her short pink jacket, slung it over her shoulder, and placed it on the piano as she exclaimed, “Don't play it! I don't want to hear it!”

It was 8:35 p.m. and as she turned to leave the stage she announced, “I'm just going away for a moment to have a Snickers,” amusingly referring to the wildly popular candy bar television commercial she made with Liza Minnelli. As she left the stage, she introduced a young man she announced was “my grandson, Jordan.” The slim young man took the stage, and presented a couple of politely-received but forgettable rap songs. When he
was finished, Aretha returned to the stage in a form-fitting sleeveless silver sequined floor-length gown and instantly regained the spotlight.

“Did someone say ‘Grandma?'” she laughingly asked the audience. As she returned to her position at center stage, her background singers started crooning: “Woman, woman, strong woman.” Franklin announced as a commercial plug for her most recent album: “My newest single … exclusively at
Walmart.com
.” With that she sang the first cut from her newest album: “How Long I've Waited.” Although she sounded in great voice on the tepid song, she demonstrated again how this song from
A Woman Falling Out of Love
dramatically paled in comparison to the dynamically appealing hits of her past. When she finished it, she only received a soft and polite round of applause. By now, the audience had heard enough gospel, her grandson's rap, and other filler, and we were clearly getting restless to hear the songs that made Aretha famous.

Fortunately, the Pine Knob audience was about to get exactly what they wanted. As the familiar intro the song “Chain of Fools” began, it caused an audible ripple of ecstatic anticipation. Now this is what we came for! As Aretha delivered a searing version of this dynamic Number One 1967 hit, she had her fans on their feet, singing and dancing along with her. This is what her hometown audience wanted, and Franklin presented it with all of the fire and excitement that she became world-renown for delivering.

For her eleventh song of the evening, Aretha sat down at the grand piano that was at “stage right” and she proceeded to play while she sang. “From the book of Simon & Garfunkel,” the diva announced as she played the familiar long and slow introduction to the song that won her the sixth Grammy Award of her career, “Bridge over Troubled Water.” The crowd roared with excited approval to hear this selection, which is one of the most beloved hits of her entire career.

As she played the song she asked the crowd, “Did you notice that ugly shoe is gone?” referring to the wooden protective medical shoe that she had worn since June of that year. “It took me ten weeks,” she explained. “This is the first pair of heels I've had on in ten weeks!” According to her, “I said, ‘I gotta put my heels on, I'm going to Pine Knob!'” The hometown crowd laughed along with Aretha who was so comfortable on stage, that
her comments were delivered in a fashion that made her sound like we were all seated in her Bloomfield Hills living room.

While she was sitting at the grand piano and masterfully playing the keyboards, a close-up shot of her hands flashed on the projection screens. At first glance, the close-up mainly showed off a large square ring on her right middle finger, with a blue stone on it. However, as she played to accompany her singing, what we were witnessing was her incredibly creative talent as a musician. “Sing it ‘Ree!” someone enthusiastically shouted to Franklin from the audience.

As she showed off the keyboard work that she had been displaying since she was a young preacher's daughter in downtown Detroit, she provided the most moving, exciting, and satisfying segment of the show. It was her emotional and soulful version of “Bridge over Troubled Water,” that truly demonstrated the sheer musical genius that is Aretha Franklin.

Like Jerry Wexler once said, the key to unleashing the power of Aretha's voice was to sit her down at the piano and have her play while she sang. As I sat there on the lawn of Pine Knob, I could hear Jerry Wexler's words echoing in my ears, “I took her to church, sat her down, and let her be herself.”

This extended version of “Bridge over Troubled Water” really took the crowd back to a time in the 1970s when every song that Aretha chose to sing was instantly a smash. Tonight she really jammed on the keyboards, and drew the song out. Finally, she stood up from the piano bench, and danced in her high heeled shoes as the orchestra continued to vamp on this emotion-filled performance of “Bridge over Troubled Water.”