The Aretha Franklin Thread

[marceline]

Ugh. No words.

 

 

[Faulkner]

Lol! BET had this scheduled until 2 pm ET.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2018 by Faulkner

[Faulkner]

Audrey DuBois Harris is showing out!

[DramatistDreamer]

While Bill Clinton is trending worldwide, Hillary Clinton gave some heartfelt words about what Aretha's friendship meant to her.

 

 

I'm just trying to ignore all the Trumpists trying to have a word by interjecting themselves in the discussion by trying to use the Aretha #hashtags.

In church parlance, "Not today, Satan".

[Khan]

 

I'm disappointed, of course, but I'm not surprised.  Filth like that will take any and every opportunity to grab some of the spotlight.  But I trust the power of Mother Franklin's voice to repel all demons in the name of Jesus.

 

Aaaaaaaaaand it's still going.  Y'all, I know we lost a nat'l treasure, the likes of which we will never see again.  But the point of these things is not to wait around and see if the dead will come back.  #WrapItUp

Edited August 31, 2018 by Khan

[Faulkner]

There’s something about Jennifer Hudson I just don’t connect with. I think she's talented, but there’s this building campaign to make her some kind of a national treasure, and she is just not deserving of that status. 

[Faulkner]

 

 

[DRW50]

The more I hear about this service the happier I am I chose not to watch.

[Faulkner]

It was a slog for the most part, with some good-to-great performances (Audrey, the Clark Sisters, the gospel artists more than the pop stars unsurprisingly given the venue). 

 

I’m sure that sermon could be heard in a lot of black churches (I’ve certainly heard those messages), but it wasn’t appropriate for this particular occasion. 

[Khan]

Was this the same pastor who groped Ariana Grande?

 

Unfortunately, I've attended several Black funerals where the pastor(s) responsible for the eulogy took it upon himself to speak out on things that did not pertain to the occasion at hand.  There's a difference between a sermon and a eulogy.  However, some don't seem to understand that.

 

I understand that Aretha wasn't just anybody -- but, honestly, her service was much too long.

[DRW50]

 

It was a different pastor.

 

I've been to funerals where the minister just says whatever he wants, even if it hurts the family burying their loved one. It's not an experience I've ever forgotten.

 

Making it worse is that people were saying Aretha requested him on her deathbed. I think this is why her family spoke out. Given what happened to Aretha's parents and sisters, she was, presumably, terrified of accepting death, and denied it to the last breath. Yet people were saying she chose this man and his words. 

 

Between him, the usual dramas surrounding Ariana,  and Al Sharpton being Al Sharpton, Aretha herself seemed to be an afterthought at her own service.

[DramatistDreamer]

There's nobody that could've watched that entire thing.  Nobody!

 

I missed the sermon but there was an uproar on Twitter over it, with good reason.  The pastor who groped Grande, at the very least apologized, this pastor has not and stands by what he said.

 

I wonder why the family didn't choose someone who has demonstrated a greater grasp of public speaking in front of a multi-generational audience.

 

I was glad to see the likes of the Clarke Sisters perform, they truly embodied the genuine spirit of gospel and church.  Even Fantasia was really moving people.  And normally Jennifer Holiday is OTT but she was in the right tone for the occasion and they needed a strong gospel roots singer to close the ceremony out.

Jennifer Hudson can clearly sing but she is definitely more closely tied to pop than gospel, regardless of what some might say. 

Honestly, I would've risked Lauryn Hill (yes, I know her reputation for not being on time).  Hill had a closer relationship to Aretha Franklin, especially seeing that she wrote and produced one of Aretha's last hits on the charts, Lauryn even sang some backup vocals, lol!  Had they invited Hill to sing "His Eye is On the Sparrow" it would've been special. 

The family missed a few key points of significance with this homegoing celebration but they were grieving and no doubt, tried their best.

Edited September 4, 2018 by DramatistDreamer

[BetterForgotten]

I didn't know Dionne and Aretha did a live duet of this.

 

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I still prefer Dionne's version/arrangement as I don't feel Aretha suited Bacharach/David's type of music, which was tailor made for Dionne.

 

Aretha also did a rather messy version of Walk On By:

 

 

Edited September 8, 2018 by BetterForgotten

[DramatistDreamer]

 

From what I heard of Sharpton, he seemed to stayfocused in his remarks.  I thought he did well (especially compared to the pastor who did the eulogy and the groper pastor).  Yes, Sharpton's reputation precedes him, but just as the way he was at Michael Jackson's memorial, he was in full black pastor mode at the funeral.  I only heard positive things about his remarks. 

 

Yes, the service was too long and some people just didn't fit in (I like Faith Hill but this is the second time I've seen her fizzle while singing at a big occasion) I don't think it's fair to say that Aretha was an afterthought. 

The Clarke Sisters, The Williams Brothers, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, even Fantasia all paid considerable due to Aretha.  The Clarke Sisters and Williams Brothers, in particular really brought authentic black church gospel to the fore.

I thought Cicely Tyson and her big, bountiful church lady black hat gave a wonderful performance.  At 93 years of age!

 

To crystallize the whole 6+ hour celebration to less than a handful of unfortunate incidents seems a tad dismissive. 

It was big and showy and heartfelt at times and also a bit messy, and unapologetically black...kind of like the life of a huge entertainer of Aretha's status. 

Honestly, what else did people expect?

Edited September 8, 2018 by DramatistDreamer

[DRW50]

 

I mostly just expected speakers who would focus on Aretha and her life, rather than bashing black women, or talking about Trump, etc. I do agree that there were many there who did right by her, but those who were more focused on public response got the response they were looking for, and that is what ended up getting the coverage.