He became wealthy publishing this and Poor Richard's Almanack, which he wrote under the pseudonym "Richard Saunders". įranklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at age 23. Among the leading intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the first postmaster general. ![]() The slowest, sultriest thing on Lady Soul, Ain’t No Way is easily one of the most beautiful songs in a catalogue full of incredible gems, and a perfect finisher to a brilliant album.Delegate from Pennsylvania to the Second Continental CongressĢnd President of the University of Pennsylvaniaīoston, Massachusetts Bay, British AmericaĬhrist Church Burial Ground, Philadelphiaīenjamin Franklin FRS FRSA FRSE (Janu – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Cissy’s perfect high note might ring out like an easy soar to freedom, but Aretha’s rumble, deep and tired and imploring – “And if you need me like you say you do/Then baby don’t you know that I need you” – remains the song’s defining moment. Here Aretha sings from the bottom of her shoes: these are words that twist and roll their way out into the air and onto record. Cissy Houston provides the utterly magical soprano throughout – her voice as clear and pure as a bell, and a reminder that she also deserved to be a much bigger star in her own right. This deeply romantic, heartfelt number comes on almost like a slow ballad, with jazzy piano and languid saxophone. Carolyn wrote no shortage of contenders for a place among the best Aretha Franklin songs, including Baby, Baby, Baby, Save Me, Ain’t Nobody (Gonna Turn Me Around) and Pullin’. ![]() The Lady Soul album closes with Ain’t No Way – one of Aretha’s most beautiful songs, penned by someone who does not get the credit they deserve: her younger sister, Carolyn Franklin. It was her first R&B No.1 and the beginning of a brilliant future. Finally, the song kick-started a new direction for Aretha. To think they had all just met is madness, given the ease with which they all gel. Spooner Oldham cracked it with the electric piano opening, which in turn set session musician Roger Hawkins off on the drums, while Aretha began to sing. ![]() In 6/8 time, I Never Loved A Man… set Muscle Shoals’ house band, The Swampers, to work trying to decide how they could bring it to life. For one, it was the first song that Aretha recorded at Muscle Shoals, during sessions which – thanks to Ted White – were cut short after a fight broke out (the rest of the record was cut in in New York). You could choose nearly all of it for this list of the best Aretha Franklin songs, but the title track is special for a number of reasons. The pair would separate in 1968, a year after the I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You album was issued. Recorded for her 1967 album of the same name, Aretha brings all the tumult of her personal life to this one, as she endured an abusive relationship with her then husband and manager, Ted White. The earliest recording in our list of the best Aretha Franklin songs, it demonstrates the kind of confident characters Aretha could embody – as she would on later songs such as Think or Respect.ģ: I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) (1967) Completely reworked from the Broadway version, it sits somewhere between a gospel number (“Are you sure your prayers haven’t been answered?/… Don’t you dare/Say the good lord/Didn’t stop to hear you”) and a jazzy little dancer, with tenor sax and tambourine, and the most brilliant percussive intro. However, it’s Are You Sure, a number from the 1960 musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown, that best represents the formative singer’s talents. Released when Franklin was just 18, her debut album, Aretha With The Ray Bryant Combo, may not show off her full capabilities as a vocalist but it does show how she could manage a wealth of genres, including standards (Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody) and R&B (Won’t Be Long). Listen to the best of Aretha Franklin here, and check out our 20 best Aretha Franklin songs, below. Whether its ballads, gospel, R&B or down and dirty soul, Aretha takes on each song like she’d been singing it since before it was written – claiming the Queen Of Soul crown in the process. But it’s what Franklin managed in just a 12-year space, between 19, that forms the crux of this list, showing just what a talent she was. Many highlights inevitably miss out, and there isn’t enough room to cover her later years, which contain fan favourites and chart successes alike. ![]() Selecting the 20 best Aretha Franklin songs is no easy task.
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