Would love to hear em-how would you rate ReRe as a pianist?

I usually put on Spirit In The Dark album when I want to hear that.

She plays piano on a majority of her albums, especially on Atlantic.

I'd say she's up there as a pianist, here's her best performances on piano ("Brand New Me"):

On a few of her Columbia albums in the latter years; the entire I NEVER LOVED A MAN, ARETHA ARRIVES, LADY SOUL, ARETHA NOW, just to name a few.

Some particular tracks you may know:

Dr. Feelgood

Respect

Since You;ve Been Gone

Think

I Say A Little Prayer

You Send Me

Don't Play That Song

Bridge Over Trouble Water

Spanish Harlem

Until You Come Back To Me

She doesn't play on any of her Arista ht singles, but did play on the cover version of The Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash"

scriptgirl said:

Would love to hear em-how would you rate ReRe as a pianist?

RnBAmbassador said:

On a few of her Columbia albums in the latter years; the entire I NEVER LOVED A MAN, ARETHA ARRIVES, LADY SOUL, ARETHA NOW, just to name a few.

Some particular tracks you may know:

Dr. Feelgood

Respect

Since You;ve Been Gone

Think

I Say A Little Prayer

You Send Me

Don't Play That Song

Bridge Over Trouble Water

Spanish Harlem

Until You Come Back To Me

She doesn't play on any of her Arista ht singles, but did play on the cover version of The Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash"

scriptgirl said:

Would love to hear em-how would you rate ReRe as a pianist?

You could tell she wrote something if she played on the piano. And sometimes not (I think she played piano on her version of "It's My Turn").

A few favs...



...Don't Play That Song




...Since You've Been Gone




...I Never Loved A Man


^^^The one song completely recorded at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals due to the Rick Hall/Ted White brouhaha...

Dan Penn of his colleagues. "I don't think too many people knew what was fixin' to hit 'em." He told Peter Guralnick that he had raved to the other, "Man, this woman gonna knock you out." With his love of R&B and appreciation of its great singers, he prided himself on being ahead of the curve. "I was with-it, I was pretty street, I was street-smart about music." It would not take long for him to see his instincts about Aretha confirmed.

"I think the real key thing they did was to let her play piano," Jimmy Johnson observed. Spooner Oldham was under the impression that this had not been Atlantic's original intention, although Jerry Wexler eternally maintained that it was. "I walked in the studio and there's a microphone in the corner and Junior Lowe sain, 'She's probably gonna sing back there.'" If that had been the original idea, the plan was altered when Aretha sat down at the grand piano to run through a meandering composition by the Detroit writer Ronnie Shannon. "Everybody was like flies buzzing around the queen," Dan Penn described the reaction to Peter Guralnick.

"I suggested to Jerry that I play electric piano," said Spooner, who otherwise declined to talk about the decision to feature Aretha, much discussed by historians as pivotal. "It doesn't make a hill of beans, I don't want credit and I don't want to sound like a idiot" -something about which Spooner need never have worried in any case. Dan Penn gave him credit for figuring out the tilting, lurching groove that made the other musicians fall in on the Ronnie Shannon song "I Ain't Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)."

...from Memphis Boys: The Story of American Studios



Music for adventurous listeners

tA

Tribal Records

yeah "Don't Play That Song" is the first track on the album I mentioned in the first reply.

Cinny said:

yeah "Don't Play That Song" is the first track on the album I mentioned in the first reply.

And it's one of her very best.

very underrated

Yeap, yeap, she played the piano on "It's My Turn" during her Arista tenure.

She also played piano on a few selctions on the AMAZING GRACE album.

Timmy84 said:

RnBAmbassador said:

On a few of her Columbia albums in the latter years; the entire I NEVER LOVED A MAN, ARETHA ARRIVES, LADY SOUL, ARETHA NOW, just to name a few.

Some particular tracks you may know:

Dr. Feelgood

Respect

Since You;ve Been Gone

Think

I Say A Little Prayer

You Send Me

Don't Play That Song

Bridge Over Trouble Water

Spanish Harlem

Until You Come Back To Me

She doesn't play on any of her Arista ht singles, but did play on the cover version of The Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash"

You could tell she wrote something if she played on the piano. And sometimes not (I think she played piano on her version of "It's My Turn").

I recall Elton John adoring her on piano. He said that there's a little extra magic when she plays while singing.

Musicslave said:

I recall Elton John adoring her on piano. He said that there's a little extra magic when she plays while singing.

agree

She isn't playing on it, but it's a nice song regardless

Musicslave said:

I recall Elton John adoring her on piano. He said that there's a little extra magic when she plays while singing.

He isn't lying.

She does something to me when she does "Dr. Feelgood" for example:

A bit off topic, but thought all you Aretha fans should check this out if you haven't already, http://www.amazon.com/100...a+Franklin, 100 Hits Lengends, 100 of her best recordings from her peak years on 5 cd's, for a dirt cheap price at reasonable sound quality!. I picked this up about a month ago, probably the best complilation i've owned.

Did she play "Call Me"?

I agree, her piano playing is very beautiful.

Yes she played on "Call Me".

HMD82 said:

Did she play "Call Me"?

I agree, her piano playing is very beautiful.