The passing of Aretha Franklin meant saying goodbye to another icon of my musical life. Not too long ago, I watched The Blues Brothers again, and reveled in her performance of Think. It was chock full of rich vocals and energy, brilliantly performed and choreographed.
Music has always been embedded in my life experiences. Popular music was the soundtrack of my formative years. When I listened to the Fifth Dimension in the car last night, I was transported to a summer long ago. I can hear any Beatles song and something vibrates deep in my soul.
It's not surprising that when I watched the movie Hard Days Night with my son, he was able to view it dispassionately, puzzled by all those screaming girls. It was disappointing to me that he didn't feel what I did, but then, why should he? The feeling of something new and revolutionary happening, the heart-pumping reaction evoked by the four lads from Liverpool was rooted in my past, not his.
Going back a generation, this week I hit upon Arte Shaw's iconic Begin the Beguine in my playlist. It made me wonder what my Mom and Dad felt listening to it in their adulthood. Did it carry memories of school dances, dating and friends long gone?
Ms. Franklin could sure belt out a song, and that was a gas. But I really enjoy her soulful renderings, too. Sadly, I do not have a lot of her songs in my collection.
But I plan to remedy that.
In the meantime, I'm going to go back and watch her performance again in The Blues Brothers.
And take in Natural Woman. Until You Come Back to Me. Freeway of Love...
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