Deep Tracks: A Tribute to Aretha Franklin
The death of Aretha Franklin was a stunning blow to fans of all music. From the beginning, Franklin was a singer of uncommon depth, compassion, expression and intelligence. In a recording career that spanned over 60 years and over 40 studio albums, some of Franklin’s greatest performances are unknown, unsung and often left on forgotten albums. And in Aretha’s case, a lot of songs that were once hits and well-known have been forgotten with time. This is a list of 15 of Aretha Franklin’s best Deep Tracks.
1) “Runnin’ Out Of Fools,” Runnin’ Out Of Fools (1964)
In 1960 Columbia Records president John Hammond signed the prodigious talent Aretha Franklin to a contract. The label expected big things from her – but, more often than not, the big things happened years after she left the label in 1967. The best of the Columbia years seemed to nurture Franklin’s talent even if it couldn’t quite bring it to the fore. The haunting “Runnin’ Out Of Fools” probably got her closest to the goal. Although Aretha was only 22 here, she had already established trust with her audience, she had a voice that seemed to live the words she sang. That made a song like “Runnin’ Out Of Fools” ring with a real authority that countless singers couldn’t quite muster. This great track is a difficult song to sing yet Aretha made it seem effortless and real.
2) “What A Diff’rence A Day Made,” Unforgettable: A Tribute To Dinah Washington (1964)
In 1964, Columbia Records commissioned Franklin to do a tribute album to the great Dinah Washington who died in 1963. Although tribute albums can seem a bit gauche, young Franklin tackling Washington’s work proved very interesting. In a sense, it was a natural fit. Columbia Records had put Franklin in production surroundings more befitting a woman twice her age. Luckily, Aretha was mature. Her version of “What A Diff’rence a Day Made” showed that at even 21 Franklin had such a sense of self that she didn’t try to become or approximate Washington’s precise and inimitable style. In contrast Franklin grasped the longing in the lyrics, the song and added a bit more sultriness than what was hinted in Washington’s original.
3) “Take A Look,” Take A Look (1967)
By 1966, Franklin’s stint with Columbia didn’t quite make her blossom into super stardom. Franklin still held her own, however, as her voice started to take on more of the strength and personality inherent in her Atlantic days. “Take A Look” is a 1958 song written by Clyde Otis. While it’s a bit didactic, Franklin’s wise-beyond-her-years delivery made a listener heed the message in the song. “Take A Look” was one of the standouts from Franklin’s time at Columbia Records and ended up both on the 1967 compilation Take A Look (known as Soul, Soul, Soul in Europe) and Columbia’s 1968 cash-grab, Aretha Franklin’s Greatest Hits Volume II.
4) “Don’t Let Me Lose This Dream,” I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (1967)
Now we’re getting somewhere. In 1967, Aretha Franklin left Columbia Records and signed to Atlantic Records. Immediately the change brought out of confidence and earthier dimensions in Franklin’s presentation and voice. The then au currant bossa-nova of “Don’t Let Me Lose This Dream” suggests a gentler touch and romance that Franklin would further accentuate in her early ’70s work. Although I Never Loved A Man featured songs like the title track as well as “Dr. Feelgood” and “Respect,” tracks like “Don’t Let Me Lose This Dream” helped to make the album a cohesive work of art.
5) “Share Your Love With Me,” This Girl’s In Love With You (1969)
“It’s an evil wind/That blows no good, yeah…” Isn’t that the truth. Bobby “Blue” Bland’s 1964 classic “Share Your Love With Me” was an odd perfunctorily, pop-ish exercise. Franklin rescued it from obscurity, recorded it five years later and she and her producers put the song into her distinct, earthy and relaxed style. “Share Your Love” has a lot to love, her Franklin’s winsome vocal, the strong backing vocals as well as the grit of the production style here that’s all but was all but a R&B sub genre. As “Share Your Love” proves, Aretha was one of the few to get the charming and swinging vocal like this and made it seem so effortless.
6) “The House That Jack Built,” Aretha’s Gold (1968)
“This is a house that Jack built, ya’ll….” This confident 1968 hit is the type of song most R&B singers would dream to sing and have in their oeuvre. For Franklin, it was in a long line of hits that have been forgotten with time, languishing under the shadows of “Respect” and “(You Make Me Feel) Like A Natural Woman.” “The House That Jack Built” appeared on 1970’s Aretha’s Gold, 1977’s 30 Greatest Hits as well as a 1977 Warner Special Products release The Heart and Soul Of Aretha Franklin. Wherever you can find it, you’ll hear Franklin at the peak of her powers that seemed to last for years.
7) “Don’t Play That Song,” Live At Fillmore West (1971)
Like many acts, Aretha had to navigate between her R&B fans as well as reaching out to what Otis Redding called, “the love crowd.” By 1971, “the love crowd” was a fading memory but the rockers at Bill Graham’s Fillmore West seemed to see a different Franklin emerging as the late ’60s turned into the early ’70s. For the Live At Fillmore West sets, she took on Bread’s “Make It With You” did a brilliant takes on Stephen Stills’ “Love The One You’re With” and Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” What worked best? A blistering cover of Ben E. King’s “Don’t Play That Song.” Franklin released a version of it in 1970 and it went to #1 on the R&B charts and #5 on the pop charts. Somehow, live settings seemed to bring out a specific fire in Franklin’s singing as a listener could be captivated by her ad-libs and her passion.
8) “The First Snow In Kokomo,” Young, Gifted And Black (1972)
Young Gifted and Black from 1972 is one of those albums you see in people’s collection, often well-played, well-worn and known for hits like “Daydreaming” (#1 R&B, #5 Pop) and “Rock Steady” (#2 R&B, #9 Pop.) Although those were indeed signature songs, the entire album was filled with great and often introspective songs like “First Snow In Kokomo.” With it’s winter wonderful cast and poetic eye, “First Snow In Kokomo” is a gentle song that Franklin sings with in coy, quiet yet not cloying tone. The arrangement is spare as Franklin tells the story about a traveling band and is so intimate, you all but see the band members and are engrossed in their story.
9) “Master Of Eyes (The Deepness Of Your Eyes),” 30 Greatest Hits (1973)
It’s hard to believe a song that won Best R&B Female Vocal Grammy is a “deep track” but it is. In 1973 Franklin paired with Quincy Jones for the sometimes disappointing album Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky.) What wasn’t disappointing was “The Master Of Eyes.” The track was a perfect merger of Jones’ tough early ’70s sound that appeared on albums like $ and The Hot Rock. As for Aretha, she did yet another customarily great performances. For some reason, “The Master Of Eyes” didn’t make the Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky) album and was only initially available on a 45. Franklin performed the song on Soul Train with a pre-recorded backing track and a live vocal.
10) “The Happy Blues,” Rare & Unreleased Recordings From The Golden Reign Of The Queen Of Soul (1973/2014)
In the early ’70s, Franklin seemed to record non-stop and this track came from the Let Me In Your Life sessions. As that album didn’t quite cohere despite gems like “I’m In Love” and the magnificent, “Until You Come Back To Me.” Given the myriad of emotions exhibited on Let Me In Your Life, a declarative and cleansing song like “The Happy Blues” might have been a great album closer. Recorded in 1973, “The Happy Blues” captures Franklin when she was morphing from the soulful, earth mother to the more delicate presence that appeared in 1974’s With Everything I Feel In Me. “The Happy Blues”might be one of the last songs recorded in the strong, well-produced ’67-’74 sound that Franklin was known for.
11) “When You Get Right Down To It,” With Everything I Feel In Me (1974)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foA89Os3u70
After the so-so returns of Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky,) Franklin returned to the production style of her early ’70s album and reunited with Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin for With Everything I Feel In Me. This captured her at an interesting time. By late 1973, Franklin started to appear as more of a sex symbol, she lost weight and her voice started to take on new dimensions. The sensual and direct “When You Get Right Down To It” seemed to be proof of this change. During this time Mardin was concurrently producing singer Margie Joseph (Sweet Surrender, Margie) and this song more resembles her work than Franklin’s style. Franklin’s power and persona more than helped her power through this production heavy track and “When You Get Right Down To It” is one of her truly lost gems.
12) “Jump,” Sparkle (1976)
This song is from the Sparkle soundtrack. The movie Sparkle dealt with an up and coming R&B girl group and starred Lonette McKee and Irene Cara. Fans of the film will notice that McKee and Cara did their own singing in the movie. When it came time for the lucrative soundtrack (produced by Curtis Mayfield) Aretha Franklin was tapped due to her talent and her name recognition. Oddly enough, Franklin’s sister Carolyn was initially approached by Mayfield to sing the soundtrack. Like most of Sparkle, “Jump” has a vaguely retro vibe that goes with the movie’s mid ’60s setting. In turn, Franklin turns in a joyous and rollicking performance. Unlike most deep tracks, “Jump” was a hit single and Franklin performed it on Soul Train. “Jump” was the A side of a 45 that had the #1 R&B single “Something He Can Feel” as the B side. Despite being released as a single, “Jump” wasn’t included on 30 Greatest Hits or 2014’s Queen of Soul anthology.
13) “United Together,” Aretha (1980)
“We’ve had our hard times/You and I….” At this point, Franklin could have been talking about her career. The late ’70s seemed to be tough artistically for Franklin who went down swinging with esteemed producers such as Lamont Dozier, Curtis Mayfield and Van McCoy. By 1979, her stint with Atlantic Records came to a merciful close. Franklin was heavily courted by Clive Davis and was signed to Arista and she got a well deserved new start. Oddly enough though, the album’s first single, “United Together” seemed to be years in the making. The track was written and produced by Marvin Yancy and Chuck Jackson, a duo who wrote and produced five years of hits for Natalie Cole. The kicker? The majority of Natalie Cole’s late ’70s classics were written with Aretha Franklin’s voice in mind. The sweeping and romantic “United Together” brought them to their muse and Franklin turned in her best performance in years.
14) “Come To Me,” Aretha (1980)
Of all the benefits of Aretha’s signing to Arista was that it reunited her with producer/arranger Arif Mardin. In the intervening years, Mardin’s profile steadily increased as he became known for his work with the Bee Gees, Average White Band and had started his classic run with Chaka Khan. That being said, there was always something about Franklin’s presence and energy that brought an added strength to Mardin’s productions. “Come To Me” is a poignant, autumnal ballad that brought Franklin close to the Westcoast AOR sound. For his tracks on Aretha, Mardin assembled a coterie of A-list of session players from both coasts including Marcus Miller, Jeff Porcaro and David Foster. Even as Mardin’s career continued to climb, he always seemed reverential to Franklin and respected her talent and framed her voice in only the best and most suitable surroundings.
15) “If You Need My Love Tonight,” Aretha (1986)
By 1985, Aretha Franklin singing to Arista more than paid off. In 1985, Franklin released the multi-platinum classic album Who Zoomin’ Who that had the hits, “Freeway of Love” and “The Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves.” In retrospect, the albums follow-up, Aretha was an interesting and sometimes off the beaten path effort that embraced Aretha’s eccentricities rather than chasing the bottom line. In keeping with that, Aretha offered something a listener might not expect: a sensual and pure R&B quiet storm ballad. The mature and longing “If You Need My Love Tonight” paired Franklin with bassist extraordinaire Larry Graham who at the time had recast himself as a romantic balladeer. What makes this song work is Franklin’s passion, the charming (and very ’80s) production and the surprising chemistry between Franklin and Graham. Aretha a lot of duets, but this one showed a great share of power and is one of her best post 198o performances.
Did we miss your favorite deep track from Aretha Franklin? Let us know in the comments!
