Aretha Franklin (47 page)

She was also one of the guests at the wedding of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown in Mendham, New Jersey on July 18, 1992. Other guests included Dionne Warwick and Clive Davis. By having Aretha, Dionne, Whitney and Clive all present, it almost seemed like an Arista
Records roster meeting.

In late 1992 when the second volume of rocking Christmas music,
A Very Special Christmas 2
was released, Aretha was heard alongside such varied stars as BoyzIIMen, Sinead O'Connor, Ann & Nancy Wilson of Heart, Debbie Gibson, Frank Sinatra & Cyndi Lauper, Randy Travis, Tom Petty, Run DMC, and Michael Bolton. While Darlene Love & Ronnie Spector raucously partied their way through “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree,” and Bonnie Raitt & Charles Brown got bluesy on “Merry Christmas Baby,” Aretha takes the classy route, turning “O Christmas Tree” into a lushly orchestrated ballad. Her voice—which has never sounded better— lilts above the sound of lush strings. This standout cut was produced by Marty Paich, and his brother David Paich, both of the rock group Toto.

When President Bill Clinton was inaugurated in January of 1993, it was done to a jubilant sea of parties, concerts, dinners and special events. On January 17 Aretha performed at one of the events, billed as
A Call to Reunion: A Musical Celebration
at the Lincoln Memorial. Two days later she performed “I Dreamed a Dream” at the gala entitled
An American Reunion: The Fifty Second Presidential Gala
.

The biggest gala was an all-star televised tribute concert for Clinton and his administration. There was Aretha on-stage alongside Barbra Streisand, Fleetwood Mac, Kenny G, Michael Bolton, Judy Collins, Little Richard, Michael Jackson, and the First Family. Aretha performed that night in a shoulderless spangled white gown with a tight fitting bustier gown which flowed out into a full skirt. Her hair was swept upward into a bun on top of her head.

However, it was the outdoor event at the Lincoln Memorial that gave Aretha the most publicity. Although everyone agreed that she looked and sounded fabulous, not everyone agreed that she was at all in “politically correct” 1990s fashion by wearing a full-length sable fur coat. Animal Rights activists complained loudly, and newspapers fielded heated “letters to the editor.” The January 22, 1993 issue of
USA Today
pointed out the “politically IN-correct” show of fur coats at the festivities, headlined “Furs Out In Force For Inauguration.”
(8)
Suddenly a whole controversy was stirred up, and Aretha was at the eye of the storm.

In the February 4, 1993 issue of
USA Today,
Bonnie Davis of
Rockville, Maryland wrote in to complain, “Where has Aretha Franklin been for the past five years? If she's picked up a newspaper, listened to a radio, or simply walked down the street, she'd know most people are sickened by the sight of fur. Maybe she doesn't care. Well, after seeing her prance around the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in her tacky fur, I've lost all R-E-S-P-E-C-T for her.” In that same issue, Bill Outlaw of Washington D.C. came to her defense by proclaiming, “I keep wondering who determines what is politically correct. The whole idea behind our country is freedom of expression, and political correctness is actually an oxymoron. As for Aretha Franklin, she may receive some criticism from animal activist groups, but she has the R-E-S-P-E-C-T of a great majority of the American public.”
(9)

Finally, even Aretha had to get into the fray. She dismissed the whole affair in
Vanity Fair
magazine by arguing, “Leather comes from animals, you know what I'm saying? We're all using a lot of leather with respect to our shoes and handbags and things like that, so come on, let's be for real.”
(10)
You go Aretha!

It was to be her first television special in years, so when it came time to tape
Aretha Franklin Duets
on April 27, 1993 at Broadway's Nederlander Theater, all of the stops were pulled out and everyone turned out to hail the Queen of Soul. The event was taped for broadcast on the Fox TV network on May 9, where it ran in an edited down hour-long version.

Not only did Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Smokey Robinson, and Gloria Estefan come to sing with her, they also came to praise her. According to Bonnie that night, “I can never believe this is happening. You know, it doesn't get any better than Aretha Franklin. I grew up wearing out 45's of ‘Respect,' ‘Chain of Fools,' ‘I Never Loved a Man,' and even though the music was always incredible, somehow I knew that she had to always get into the lyrics before she could record ‘em. If it didn't mean a whole lot, it wouldn't get cut. ‘Since You've Been Gone,' which is her song by-the-way, has always been one of my all-time favorites. And, it is the thrill of my lifetime to be here to sing it with her tonight.”
(4)

Even Hollywood stars like Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman were on hand to laud laurels on the Queen. “Tonight, all of you here tonight are fans of the female singer of our generation,” said De Niro.
“We've never met, and yet I feel as though I know her, and that speaks to the power of her music. Her songs have been an important part of several of my films, most notably ‘Do Right Woman' in
Cape Fear
, and ‘Baby, I Love You' in
Good Fellas
. But more importantly, her music is part of the soundtrack of most our lives, and the real tribute to her tonight is that she has connected with so many of us.”
(4)

Dustin Hoffman opened the concert, by announcing, “Tonight we're here to celebrate Aretha Franklin. Please welcome The Aretha-Airs.”
(4)
With that the curtain rose to reveal Smokey Robinson, Rod Stewart and Elton John singing the “chain, chain, chain” chorus line of “Chain of Fools,” over and over again. Smokey was in a charcoal sharkskin suit. Rod wore a lime green tuxedo jacket, a lime green shirt, and black pants. Elton was in a flashy cutaway tuxedo with tails, over black leather pants. Moments later, they were joined on-stage by Franklin. Her hair was blown out into a large high-on-her-head wavy style. She wore a black military jacket emblazoned with crests and medals, over a black mini skirt. She was accessorized with big dangling gold and turquoise earrings. Singing her lead vocals while Smokey, Rod and Elton handled the familiar background vocals, Aretha was in her element.

Throughout the evening, she spoke very eloquently to the audience, and the proceedings were very classy and upbeat throughout. The songs were all from the “greatest hits” songbooks of Franklin's and those of her guests. Elton's “Border Song (Holy Moses)” and Aretha's “Spirit in the Dark” were presented as a pair of double grand piano duets with Franklin and John each playing and singing to each other. For the later song they were joined on-stage by Raitt, Estefan, Stewart, Robinson, and De Niro.

Introducing her number with Aretha, Gloria Estefan proclaimed, “I can't really express what a thrill it is to be here sharing the stage with Aretha Franklin. Oh yes—most definitely, she's one of my idols. And, like all you, when it comes to Aretha, I'm a huge fan. I would have done any of her songs, but when she asked me to sing ‘Coming Out of the Dark,' I was especially thrilled. It's a song that means a great deal to me, and to sing it with the Queen of Soul adds a whole new meaning to it.”
(4)
Indeed it did.

Also on this program she was united with her Detroit buddy, Smokey
Robinson. Interestingly, in all of the years they had known each other, this was the first time they had ever sung together on a television show. They performed his 1980s hit “Just To See Her.” For that particular number she wore a tastefully cut mini-skirt suit, and ankle strapped high heels.

Prior to singing a duet with Aretha, Rod Stewart explained that he was going to ignore the pre-written cue cards, and instead delivered the heartfelt message: “This is the highlight of my life to be standing on the stage with this wonderful woman who has surely got one of the best voices of the Twentieth Century—in my opinion. It is truly a thrill to be up here!”
(4)

Aretha Franklin is a very cultured, and artistically aware woman. Although she is on one hand known as the Queen of Soul, she has demonstrated time and time again her expertise at singing, pop, jazz, blues, Broadway show tunes, standards, and gospel music. She also has a knowledge and an deep appreciation for two other musical forms, both of which are within her grasp as a performer and as an interpreter. Those two musical forms are opera and ballet, and in the 1990s she brought them both to her repertoire. Sometimes she is incredibly successful at these new realms, and sometimes she is not. She obviously thought that the taping of the
Duets
television special represented the perfect arena for her to attempt ballet. Not everyone agreed.

For whatever reason, the one sequence that was cut out of the television special was a ballet number which, featured Aretha in a revealing bustier and a tutu. What the television audience did see, was Aretha in a bustier outfit with a skirt of diaphanous pink tulle, which she wore for her duet with Rod Stewart on “This Old Heart of Mine.” She looked very chesty, and while shimmying and shaking on-stage mid-song, she appeared to be oozing out of the constraints of the tight fitting garment.

James T. Jones IV wrote of the audience reaction in
Vanity Fair
, “Others were left speechless by a surreal ballet sequence in which Aretha, in a tutu, attempted pirouettes.”
(10)

However, it was Liz Smith, who, in her syndicated gossip column minced no words when she wrote, “She must know she's too bosomy to wear such clothing, but clearly she just doesn't care what we think, and that attitude is what separates mere stars from true divas.”
(10)

Scalded by the public scolding, Aretha wrote Liz Smith back a letter
which read: “How dare you be so presumptuous as to presume you could know my attitudes with respect to anything other than music … Obviously I have enough of what it takes to wear a bustier and I haven't had any complaints. When you get to be a noted and respected fashion editor, please let us all know … You are hardly in a position to determine what separates stars from divas since you are neither one or an authority on either.”
(10)
Aretha had spoken. And, she was far from finished with her in-questionable-taste low cut dresses. In fact, she was just warming up.

Aside from the edited out ballet fiasco, the show was a huge success. The memorable music and the star duets which are contained on it is worthy of a CD release.

On April 30, Aretha was busy picking up yet another award. That night she was one of eight women honored by
Essence
magazine at the sixth annual
Essence
Awards ceremony held at the Paramount Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Without a doubt, the hottest song Aretha cut the entire decade was “Deeper Love,” which teamed her with producing duo of Robert Clivillés and David Cole, better known as C&C Music Factory. The pair came to prominence when they scored a huge Number One hit with the 1990 dance cut “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now),” and the radio smash “Things That Make You Go Hmmmm …” Putting the Queen of Soul with these mix-masters in 1993, produced her most danceable and upbeat cut in ages. Although the song did not set new sales records, the fierce cut let everyone know that Aretha was still at the top of her game.

The song “Deeper Love” was originally included on the soundtrack album for the Whoopie Goldberg movie
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
. However, the most exciting versions of the song appear on a five cut single version of the song from Arista Records, including the eleven+ minute “Tribesman Mix,” and the twelve+ minute “C&C Music Factory Mix.” Aretha proved on this cut that she would still “rock steady” with the best of them on the dancefloor. In America, the song only made it to Number Sixty-three on the Pop Singles chart, however, in Britain it became a huge Number Five hit.

In its November 5, 1993 issue,
Entertainment Weekly
magazine tallied
their selections for the “100 Greatest CD's” that could be purchased to create the ultimate collection. The article was written under the assumption that every essential 1990s compact disc collection could be easily owned by purchasing key CD compilations in just about every category, and several essential “masterpieces.” The gamut ran from Frank Sinatra (
Songs for Swingin' Lovers
1956) and Barbra Streisand (
The Broadway Album
1985) from the pop realm, the Beatles (
Abbey Road
1969 and
The Beatles 1962– 1966
) and the Rolling Stones (
Exile on Main Street
1972) representing rock, all the way to classical (Beethoven's
Symphony No. 9
) and jazz (John Coltrane's
A Love Supreme
1964 and Ella Fitzgerald's
The Duke Ellington Songbook
1957).

Several performers were represented by their “Greatest Hits” compilations alone, including the Carpenters, the Police, Sly & the Family Stone, Madonna, and Patsy Cline. The entire Motown catalog of Supremes, Temptations, and Martha & the Vandellas music was represented by the excellent four CD boxed set,
Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959–1971
(1992). The editors of
Entertainment Weekly
wisely chose Aretha's two-CD collection
30 Greatest Hits
to represent her in an “if you can purchase only one Franklin album” fashion.

Describing
30 Greatest Hits
, the cover story claimed, “You need all her great songs—hence this collection. Follow it to the end and you'll find a few pop indulgences (‘Eleanor Rigby') that don't quite catch her at her best. But Miss Franklin is so grand that her lapses are part of her charm.”
(11)

One of the most remarkable of Aretha's recordings of the 1990s appeared on Frank Sinatra's first of two
Duets
albums. This 1993 LP was a brilliant way to cast Sinatra in a contemporary setting by teaming up his voice with those of some of the hottest newcomers of the pop music field, as well as some of his own contemporaries. The album was also unique in that none of Sinatra's “duet” partners were in the same recording studio at the same time as Sinatra—due to his ill health at the time. Trading lyrics with the likes of Luther Vandross, Barbra Streisand, Gloria Estefan, Natalie Cole, Carly Simon, and Anita Baker, this was a tribute to thirteen of his most famous trademark songs. The song which paired the Chairman of the Board with the Queen of Soul, is a swinging version of “What Now
My Love” with the pair improvising sassy lines to each other in ultra-cool Rat Pack fashion. To hear Aretha ad-lib to Frank Sinatra, “don't even worry about it” is nothing short of “priceless.”