MickyDolenz said:

kitbradley said:

I really can't think of anyone who purposely wanted to sound like James.

Wayne Cochran did.

The white James Brown? That's a deep pull on an artist! I love this guy and his band!

I can't say there's an equivalant to Aretha. Stevie, Donny, Ray and Marvin are all great suggestions.

kitbradley said:

RJOrion said:

sam cooke deserves consideration as well, but his talent seems to somehow get lost in history, due to his early death and the scandal and mysteries surrounding his murder... Luther Vandross Marvin Gaye Ray Charles Sam Cooke Donny Hathaway

no one forgets Sam, he was a precursor to the rest, a figure as important as any to Black and American music. Great singer, ahead of his time as a businessman, as I said, Aretha probably would choose him as an equal.

James was too quirky and independent, he cooked up a lot of stuff out of his own head instead of relying totally on what came before him, so, even though he's a great singer, I think he's too unique to compare to Aretha. Aretha didn't burn any bridges to traditional music, never tried to change everything, never so I can't see the similarity.

NorthC said:

kitbradley said:

James Brown may have been the Godfather of Soul to counter Aretha's Queen of Soul title. He definately had a huge impact and influence on many when it came to stage presence. Lots of flash, whistles and bells. And a few of his songs were 60's anthems like some of Aretha's songs. But, vocally, he did not invoke the same feelings in people that Aretha did. Legions emulated Aretha. Many emulated James' funk music sound, but not his style of singing. I really can't think of anyone who purposely wanted to sound like James.

As far as Ray Charles, I didn't even think about him. I believe he definately had influence across the board. Not to the same extent as Aretha, but very close. Perhaps a little closer than Stevie. But, again, vocally, Ray didn't have the same impact in music and the world as Aretha.


At this point, I'm thinking perhaps she did not have a male counterpart. As I heard someone say earlier today, when they hear Aretha sing, they hear God. I love a lot of male singers but none of them possessed that kind of power and magnatism. No one commanded the attention Aretha did when she opened her mouth to sing. She didn't need any props (well, maybe some consider some of her inappropriate stage attire over the years as props ), but, other than that, she never used anything to draw attention away from her instrument. Aretha was the most powerful and impactful SINGER of our time, period.

That's because nobody CAN sound like James. A yeeaaoow!!! by James may not sound like God, but it surely has soul power like nobody else. If, however, it's about singing, than the answer would have to be Marvin Gaye who paired a beautiful voice with ground-breaking records like What's Going On, an album that always makes the top ten lists of best albums ever.

S2DG said:

The white James Brown? That's a deep pull on an artist! I love this guy and his band!

Here's ebony & ivory together on Future Shock

PeteSilas said:

RJOrion said:

PeteSilas said:

no one forgets Sam, he was a precursor to the rest, a figure as important as any to Black and American music. Great singer, ahead of his time as a businessman, as I said, Aretha probably would choose him as an equal.

the part about him being a pioneer on the business side of the industry is a very important aspect of his career...and some believe he was murdered because of that...just like some believe Prince and Michael and Donny were murdered for similar reasons

i saw no evidence about sam being murdered, i know etta james said she saw him with his, what was it? his hands or head all swelled up? wasn't true, there is a police pic with him shot, naked, with an overcoat on at the motel. Peter Guralnick did the exemplary book on Sam and no mention was made of any conspiracy, it all made sense when I read about it. Sam was going through a lot of turmoil, had a son who died, had all the business headaches, thought he outsmarted the issues with women that dogged a lot of entertainers by hiring prostitutes who didn't care who he was for sex. Got drunk, took the woman to an out of the way, cheap hotel, she took his money and ran off, he lost it like drunks often do, the motel owner shot him, no conspiracy.

JoeBala said:

Tony Williams

The jazz drummer?

MickyDolenz said:

PeteSilas said:

JoeBala said:

You know exactly who I mean the lead singer of The Platters.

I don't know the names of anybody in that group. The only Tony Williams I heard of is the drummer.

RJOrion said:

just google "who really murdered sam cooke?"...theres several stories and articles written over the years...

haha, you think i haven't done that? saw no conspiracy like I said, i do my work.

PeteSilas said:

RJOrion said:

PeteSilas said:

haha, you think i haven't done that? saw no conspiracy like I said, i do my work.

ok, then youre choosing not to see them...thats cool ...

i already saw them, i do my work but I do it with an open mind, black folk are paranoid, I'm Indian, i am the same way but I got to have proof. No one is going around murdering Prince, Michael, Sam, unfortunately, they did it to themselves with their lifestyles. Now, I know there were other folks who were no good around these guys but they had control over that. I'm with black folk on the paranoia but I still need to see proof. You know who I think may have been murdered? Bruce Lee, I think it's possible, they still don't really know how that man died. I think he may have had some kind of mojo put on his ass, I think it's more likely that he died of either heatstroke, allergic reaction to the hash or equagesic in his system or adrenal crisis but those are still not good reasons for a healthy man to die, none of them.

LUTHER V.

Luther

RJOrion said:

"black folks are paranoid"????? i was trying to have a cordial exchange with you, and you lower the bar with racist shit???....i see what im dealin with...holla

racist shit? indians are more paranoid, hows that for racist? I've said it before, not saying it to be racist, just pointing out a fact. Cool down homeboy. Prince and Michael (and terence trent darby is saying in a recent interview that several times attempts were made on his life) said they were being targeted. Marvin Gaye was paranoid as fuck (coke didn't help) on his final tour, telling people he was "surrounded by evil" like i said, they needed to be scared of themselves more than anything. holla.

PeteSilas said:

RJOrion said:

PeteSilas said:

racist shit? indians are more paranoid, hows that for racist? I've said it before, not saying it to be racist, just pointing out a fact. Cool down homeboy. Prince and Michael (and terence trent darby is saying in a recent interview that several times attempts were made on his life) said they were being targeted. Marvin Gaye was paranoid as fuck (coke didn't help) on his final tour, telling people he was "surrounded by evil" like i said, they needed to be scared of themselves more than anything. holla.

whenever u make a sweeping generalization about an entire race of people, applying a collective mindset to the whole group, thats some racist, prejudiced shit...you aint stupid enough to not realize that...

racist my ass, i don't care for being politically correct, i been around black folks too much to care, my stepdad was black, my best friend is black (he'll tell you in a heartbeat that black folks are paranoid) I got no problem with the paranoia, i do got a problem where the paranoia leaps off from logic and you don't need proof. So, when Etta James or whoever it was, (mighta been Ruth Brown) said she saw Sam's body and it was nearly decapitated, and then you see Sam in the post mortem pics and it's obvious that he wasn't decapitated or beaten, I just put it down to paranoia. It's better than just calling Etta a liar i know that, still can't figure out how the lunacy actually makes people almost hallucinate shit. I'm paranoid as fuck, but i'm always wondering if I'm paranoid or if as nixon said "just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get ya". they are out to get you, they are, but the tough part is figuring out where your imagination is doing it to you and where they really are showing signs of fucking you, or even worse, sometimes their ain't no signs, they just suddenly fucking get you.

no one really, not when you look how long she had a powerful influence. She also crossed over without losing an ounce of her credibility with black audiances: She is the number one singles artist in black/urban/R&B radio ever.

gandorb said:

no one really, not when you look how long she had a powerful influence. She also crossed over without losing an ounce of her credibility with black audiances: She is the number one singles artist in black/urban/R&B radio ever.

Nicki Minaj will probably pass Aretha up sooner or later like what happened on the Hot 100.

I just checked, Drake has 205, Lil Wayne has 155, and Aretha has 96

Nicki is tied with 96

MickyDolenz said:

gandorb said:

no one really, not when you look how long she had a powerful influence. She also crossed over without losing an ounce of her credibility with black audiances: She is the number one singles artist in black/urban/R&B radio ever.

Nicki Minaj will probably pass Aretha up sooner or later like what happened on the Hot 100.

damn mick you sure re fixated on them charts, nicki isn't near importan, she's a good rapper though and she's got a big bootie.