I think few people even knew that Aretha Franklin, while at Atlantic, was giving carte blanche to arrange any popular song and make it into her own. People often don't talk about her actual musical prowess. It was more than a voice singing on those records, it was the way that she, like James Brown (though not technically in a sense) had these songs done to her speed and style so everyone who was a fan of her could relate to it rather it than being a mere cover. Aretha often boasts that she and Carolyn rearranged (almost damn nearly co-wrote) "Respect" but I think she did that with a lot of the songs she covered like "Share Your Love with Me" and "I Say a Little Prayer".

I say it like this but mainly Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun let their artists run control rather than have the labels command where the artist should go (like during Aretha's Columbia period). Ray Charles is giving credit as a top arranger and so is Donny Hathaway but when it comes to women like Aretha, they are hardly mentioned in the same breath. But I think she ranks up there. What you think?

Don't know much about her arrangements but I do recall Elton John saying how much he missing her behind the piano creating her magic. He said its something special when she's actually playing.

Musicslave said:

Don't know much about her arrangements but I do recall Elton John saying how much he missing her behind the piano creating her magic. He said its something special when she's actually playing.

Ree still plays the piano in concert. Plays it like a WIZARD!

Always had great admiration for her as a musician.

Very underrated

HuMpThAnG said:

Always had great admiration for her as a musician.

Very underrated

Yeah I got a new appreciation for Aretha's music now.

A BIG APPRECIATION OF IT!

Aretha came under Wexler's tutelage after labouring in mid-stream for six years on no-hits at Columbia Records. (with John Hammond guiding things).

Aretha was always a mixed bag. She came from gospel - straight up Baptist church, but like a protagonist desired to be something different, thus you got torch ballads, pop classics, jazz songs, show tunes and watered down r&b at CBS.

At Atlantic, Wexler wisely let her play piano and pick much of her repertoire.

A producer or arranger per se`, I would say she was the sound and it was created around her - but she was not assertative in the studio. She was very shy and withdrawn, plus was under the control of Ted White in the early days.

Her statements came from her vocal chords and fingers (on the 88s).

By the Seventies, around '74 she became more assertitive and was often credited as a co-producer.

RnBAmbassador said:

Aretha came under Wexler's tutelage after labouring in mid-stream for six years on no-hits at Columbia Records. (with John Hammond guiding things).

Aretha was always a mixed bag. She came from gospel - straight up Baptist church, but like a protagonist desired to be something different, thus you got torch ballads, pop classics, jazz songs, show tunes and watered down r&b at CBS.

At Atlantic, Wexler wisely let her play piano and pick much of her repertoire.

A producer or arranger per se`, I would say she was the sound and it was created around her - but she was not assertative in the studio. She was very shy and withdrawn, plus was under the control of Ted White in the early days.

Her statements came from her vocal chords and fingers (on the 88s).

By the Seventies, around '74 she became more assertitive and was often credited as a co-producer.

I could tell from the footage in the '60s how things were with Aretha but yeah she got more assertive in later years.