Aretha is and probably always will be the First Lady of Soul. I can’t see anybody on the horizon to challenge her now that the oommpphhh has gone out of Soul Music. Those golden years at Atlantic with Booker T & the MGs as the house-band were something special and extraordinary. It was the bringing together of black and white musicians to create something different with a lot of power, precision and style. That was almost unthinkable in the heavily racially segregation of the Deep South in Memphis. Yet it happened and it worked. There was an earthiness to the music they produced which augmented the powerful performances of Aretha, Otis Redding, Joe Tex, Sam & Dave and Wilson Pickett. That energy and raw sound was unique to that era. I don’t know if it was down to the equipment, the physical nature of the Stax studio, the musicianship, the ambience, that interracial harmony or the production techniques. I suspect it was the combination of all those and a few other magical ingredients as well. Whatever it was, it suited Aretha to the ground.
Aretha was a small lady with an enormous voice. She could really belt out the songs with personality, feeling and a range that was beyond all others. She came in, like so many, from the Gospel side, singing in the Baptist church, and then went into secular R&B. It wasn’t until she teamed up with Stax that she began getting into her stride. What a stride that was. Her version of ‘Respect’ epitomised the power of her performance. She demanded respect and she got it.
Aretha not only helped break down the racial barriers in getting black music played on white radio stations but she also set a standard for feminism. She was no cute bit of fluff to be dolled up by the label. She exuded stature and power and was someone to be reckoned with. With songs like ‘Respect’, ‘Think’ and ‘You make me feel like a natural woman’ she made her case for the equality of females at a time when feminism hadn’t yet been invented. Aretha had that pride that demanded attention. She was a feisty woman in the best sense of the word.
The First Lady of Soul still reigns supreme.