kitbradley said:

TonyVanDam said:

Now THAT^ is what I called some serious Whitney hating!

I already knew about Dionne Warwick being Whiney's aunt. But I didn't know Aretha was her aunt too. Looks like all of that respect Whitney was giving her mentor was one sided.

Aretha is not related to Nippy.

Didn't think so either...

Cissy Houston use to sing backup for ReRe

kitbradley said:

TonyVanDam said:

Now THAT^ is what I called some serious Whitney hating!

I already knew about Dionne Warwick being Whiney's aunt. But I didn't know Aretha was her aunt too. Looks like all of that respect Whitney was giving her mentor was one sided.

Aretha is not related to Nippy.

Thanks for clearing that up.

TonyVanDam said:

vainandy said:

I never dreamed a book about her life would be interesting. I mean, the daughter of a minister. I figured it would be average and boring as hell. But gay orgies, pimps, and whores. Sounds like my kind of book. And the part where she didn't like her little goodie two shoes neice either, oh honey, she gets major respect from me for that. R-E-S...P-E-C-T.....

Now THAT^ is what I called some serious Whitney hating!

I already knew about Dionne Warwick being Whiney's aunt. But I didn't know Aretha was her aunt too. Looks like all of that respect Whitney was giving her mentor was one sided.

Dionne and Whitney are cousins. Cissy is Dionne's aunt.

Graycap23 said:

HuMpThAnG said:

Now according to her memoir, it almost happen when she was the opening act for Sam, but daddy Franklin came looking for here.

Me thinks Ms. ReRe was a lil loose [not passing judgement]

What grown ass man is looking at 12 year olds?

R. Kelly & his hero MJ

revolution75 said:

I just read the forward. Ritz did her memoir and explained his reasoning for this book. That book was HER version which means it was what she wanted the people to know about her. He feels like she is hiding behind this image she has created and he wanted to respectfully tell her story without her controlling the subject matter again.

y of course..

that's what they all do

HuMpThAnG said:

Sista Franklin's life is pretty much been an open book... except for the sealed documents about who's the father of her child. For those of that era, knows one would be surprised about the going ons of the Black Church / Gospel circuit, to say it was notorious is an understatement. I knew some parents who woudn't allow their children to join or particpate in church music programs.

Ted White beat Franklin's ass in the Congress Hotel lobby in Chicago once. Her life and really her business. I can see why she wouldn't want anyone to know; would like all of your shit put out on front street?

The other thing about the sex addiction... promiscuity that has nothing to do with being a "freak". It's not unusual for women who've been molested / raped as young girls go on to have highly sexual relations henceforth. Unless, Ritz makes a connection between cause and effect, his book will be weak. Who every impregnated Fraklin had to be an adult male or they would not have bothered to seal the records.

=======================================================

[Edited 11/13/14 18:49pm]

[Edited 11/15/14 16:46pm]

those divine huge melons in an orgy??? sounds like fun

TD3 said:

Sista Franklin's life is pretty much been an open book... except for the sealed documents about who's the father of her child. For those of that era, now one would be surprised about the going ons of the Black Church / Gospel circuit, to say it was notorious is an understatement. I knew some parents who woudn't allow their children to join or particpate in church music programs.

Ted White beat Franklin's ass in the Congress Hotel lobby in Chicago once. Her life and really her business. I can see why she wouldn't want anyone to know; would like all of your shit put out on front street?

The other thing about the sex addiction... promiscuity that has nothing to do about being a "freak". It's not unusual for women who've been molested / raped as young girls go on to have highly sexual relations henceforth. Unless, Ritz makes a connection between cause and effect, his book will be weak. Who every impregnated Fraklin had to be an adult male or they would not have bothered to seal the records.

-

I don´t know about David Ritz´s intentions here but I do know that he is a great writer when it comes to biographies. Divided Soul about Marvin Gaye is one of the most fascinating biographies I´ve ever read, and very well written. I´m not a big fan of Aretha, it´s just not my era but knowing that Ritz is behind this I might give it a try.

A collaboration with Prince would be great but practically impossible. He´s really a good writer.

Check out the interview he gave Tavis Smiley regarding this book.....he does not come across as someone with bad intentions.

But yeah, I understand that some people may find this book in bad taste and too indiscreet.

TD3 said:

vainandy said:

I never dreamed a book about her life would be interesting. I mean, the daughter of a minister. I figured it would be average and boring as hell. But gay orgies, pimps, and whores. Sounds like my kind of book. And the part where she didn't like her little goodie two shoes neice either, oh honey, she gets major respect from me for that. R-E-S...P-E-C-T.....

Aretha was & is a freak! No wonder she covered Mariah's "Touch My Body"!!

laurarichardson said:

TD3 said:

Sista Franklin's life is pretty much been an open book... except for the sealed documents about who's the father of her child. For those of that era, now one would be surprised about the going ons of the Black Church / Gospel circuit, to say it was notorious is an understatement. I knew some parents who woudn't allow their children to join or particpate in church music programs.

Ted White beat Franklin's ass in the Congress Hotel lobby in Chicago once. Her life and really her business. I can see why she wouldn't want anyone to know; would like all of your shit put out on front street?

The other thing about the sex addiction... promiscuity that has nothing to do about being a "freak". It's not unusual for women who've been molested / raped as young girls... go on to have highly sexual relations henceforth. Unless, Ritz makes a connection between cause and effect, his book will be weak. Who every impregnated Fraklin had to be an adult male or they would not have bothered to seal the records.

Thanks the voice of reason. Unless he is writing this book to expose child molesters and what they do to people's lives it is going to come off as National Enquier time. You also cannot force someone to face up to their past if they are not ready and you certainly should not do it to get a paycheck.

Pretty much.

I'm def curious but I don't know if I wanna read a book based on "hearsay".....Like most of you have already stated, if you know any Baptist Church folks(I'm Baptist), some of us battle with addictions like non-believers..That includes Sex & Drugs...Whitney was probably an addict most of her adult life but she never stopped Loving The Lord, never...So I don't know if I'm gonna spend my money on this thing..Do you really want to read "Mr. X said this about Aretha and Mrs. X said that about Aretha"?

Chancellor said:

I don't know if I'm gonna spend my money on this thing..Do you really want to read "Mr. X said this about Aretha and Mrs. X said that about Aretha"?

I feel the same way.I'm not gonna buy this book.So many of our legendary R&B artists have passed away,and I think it's important to love and support the ones who are still around.This book seems like a sleazy,National Enquirer-type book.Aretha deserves better than that.I'm actually surprised that the well-respected David Ritz would write something like this.

TD3 said:

laurarichardson said:

TD3 said: Thanks the voice of reason. Unless he is writing this book to expose child molesters and what they do to people's lives it is going to come off as National Enquier time. You also cannot force someone to face up to their past if they are not ready and you certainly should not do it to get a paycheck.

Pretty much.

I read yesterday where she is threatening a lawsuit against Ritz.

The shade thrown here toward Patti was ice cold!!

kitbradley said:

I read yesterday where she is threatening a lawsuit against Ritz.

I don't blame her.And to make matters worse,he releases this book at the same time that she is promoting a new album!

laurarichardson said:

TD3 said:

Pretty much.

---------- Good Article about what is defamation. I think Aretha has a case. ----- Telling Tales: Do Tell-All Books Mean What They Say? POSTED IN LIBEL SLANDER DEFAMATION BY SUSAN M. BRAZAS FOR LAWYERS.COM How difficult is it to prove damages in a defamation action?

Very difficult... defamation, libel, slander lawsuits are very seldom won and are difficult to prove.

US courts give a lot of lead way to, "freedom of experssion". Ms. Franklin would have to prove the author /publisher knowingly and willfully published false or incorrect information. Ms. Franklin would also have to prove these falsehood caused her irrevocable harm. Ms. Franklin lawyers would have to prove the book was writtten with malice. Another concern...

A libel suit could open up another can of worms. Other embarrasing stories that the author and/or the public didn't know about could be revealed. Ms. Franklin testimony under oath could possibily give credence to parts, if not the entire book about her life. Its one thing to yell you've been defamed or a story or stories are false in the streets; its another thing say this under oath and in a court of law.

The author has given his publisher and editor the names of his sources that have corroborated his book. I'm sure a lot of information he discovered are true... the stories of debauchery within the Black Church are well known. But when you have others telling you what, when, where, and why... people memories, motives, and/or opinions, can and do become very subjective. Some biographer's use these sometimes subjetive accounts to bend or embellsh the narrative about their subject(s).


My only beef is this attitude that the public has a right to know. I'll give Mr. Ritz a little credit, at least he's writing the book while Ms. Fanklin is alive. She' can refute what has been written or take legal action, which I doubt will happen.

======================================================

[Edited 11/16/14 13:13pm]

vainandy said:

I never dreamed a book about her life would be interesting. I mean, the daughter of a minister. I figured it would be average and boring as hell. But gay orgies, pimps, and whores. Sounds like my kind of book. And the part where she didn't like her little goodie two shoes neice either, oh honey, she gets major respect from me for that. R-E-S...P-E-C-T.....

Oh honey, Aretha's infamous as insecure jealous woman. Whitney was a threat, gorgeous on top of talent. Aretha has a funny way of showing love.

Allegations highlighted in book aren't new revelations. Much are confirmed. She was nothing short of a talented whore.

Sounds like Ritz is very upset with her so he wrote this book to be vindictive because everything in the preview is very negative. The "fried chicken" remark was tasteless and cruel obviously stated to make her feel even worse about her body image and to contribute to her insecurity issues. Whitney stated she was very close to Aretha in the interview clips of her on YouTube so I don't believe she didn't like her. I wonder what happened between Ritz and Aretha that inspired him to write the book. I'm sure he wouldn't talk about that though.

I don't know if I buy the jealousy allegations toward Steisand and Nippy. As singers, Barbara and Aretha couldn't be more different. And Nippy was more of a Pop singer than R&B. If Aretha was so jealous, I don't think she would have recorded a duet with Nippy for her "Through The Storm" album. They sounded like they were have a heck of a lot of fun on that song. Aretha knows she is the Queen of Soul, not the Queen of Pop. And even with the "Soul" label, she may not have had the record sales but she was still more highly regarded in the industry and music fans than Nippy.

kitbradley said:

Ordering my copy NOW!

Aretha Franklin may be the Queen of Soul, but a new unauthorized biography reveals some less than royal things about her and her rise to fame.

In the book, titled “Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin,” noted biographer David Ritz details Franklin’s journey from child prodigy to legendary entertainer as well as times when she was reportedly abused, battled depression and addiction and never felt like she was pretty enough.

An excerpt from the book, obtained by The Daily Mail, cites Franklin’s father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin and what he did as the head pastor at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit as where the singer’s troubles began.“It was the point where Saturday night merged into Sunday morning and sin met salvation at the crossroads of African American musical culture,” Ritz wrote about the church. “High on the Holy Ghost, dancing in the aisles of New Bethel, the saints celebrated the love of Christ. ‘High on wine and weed, the party people celebrated the love of the flesh’.”

Regarding Rev. Franklin, Ritz described him as a serially promiscuous philanderer. So much so that New Bethel was so notorious for its orgies, some all-male, some all-female that it even caught the attention of Ray Charles.“When it came to pure sex, they were wilder than me – and that’s saying something,” Charles said in the book. “In those days I had a thing for orgies, but I had to be the only cat in the room with two or three chicks. The gospel people didn’t think that way. The cats liked it with the cats and the chicks liked it with the chicks and no one minded mixing it up this way or that. I got a kick outta seeing how God’s people were going for it hard and heavy every which way. I was just surprised to see how loose they were.”

Other details outlined in the unauthorized biography include:

– Claims of Franklin regularly fabricating stories about romance and happiness to Ebony and Jet magazines to make sure her fans saw her life the way she “imagined” it to be.

– Franklin’s marriage at age 19 to an infamous Detroit pimp named Ted White who supposedly turned her onto weed and booze as well as allegedly financed her career with money from his “girls.”

– Franklin’s allegedly sexually promiscuity at a young age that had some people blaming her father when she became pregnant at age 12, while others suspected he was the dad. He wasn’t.

– Franklin’s alleged affair with 23-year-old R&B singer Sam Cooke when she was 12-year-old

– Friends and family admitting that Franklin is deeply insecure and never felt pretty enough, skinny enough or that her singing was the best. So much so that she hid her insecurity by belittling others and starting fights.

– Franklin’s ego reportedly preventing her from befriending other women. She was insanely jealous of Diana Ross and Barbra Streisand and couldn’t stand for competitors like Natalie Cole, Anita Baker, Roberta Flack or Whitney Houston to get more attention for singing soul music.

– Franklin allegedly starting fights with Luther Vandross. She would only refer to him as Vandross,
while he was required to call her Miss Franklin.

– Franklin being notorious for cancelling concerts, showing up late, no-shows and skipping out on bills.

– Franklin’s arguable addictions to sex and food…particularly fried chicken.David Ritz’s “Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin” is available now.

http://www.eurweb.com/2014/10/unauthorized-aretha-bio-highlights-alleged-orgies-addiction-and-insecurity/#7uZ271wcCCjwX8Eo.99

[Edited 11/2/14 15:19pm]

I totally disagree with David Ritz..ok he wrote Aretha From These Roots, now why is he writing this..i thought they were good friends..something is fishy to me..even though many want to read it, but she is LEGENDARY!! so what..she has did her dues and still some...if she wants people to know things she will tell, but its her business..she is the QUEEN not only of Soul but Lady Soul can sing anything and that makes her true royalty..I am a big Aretha fan,usually don't listen to to many other female singers, but she is on the top of mine...she can play piano like nobody business...that incident earlier this year with Patti LaBelle at the White House, the media and Aretha haters took that and ran with it..after Aretha performed Patti and herself hugged one another and Patti even said that it didnt even go down like that, aretha is still her dog!!!..for me, these things want take away her musical contributions and being one of the best to ever do it

It could have been worse - Albert Goldman

MickyDolenz said:

It could have been worse - Albert Goldman

Years ago: Chicago newspaper columnist, the late Mike Royko was arrested for DUI. Mr. Royko made bond the following morining, a little past midnight. When Royko walked out of the Police Dep. the TV news media were waiting with mics and lights all-up-in the man's face. BIG mistake...

The next day Mr. Royko wrote a scathing article (his version of Truman Capote's, "Answered Prayers", Chicago Style) about the soap opera behind the scenes of TV news. The woman beater (sportscaster), the drug users, the adultery's (co-anchoring host), the top news anchor pedophilia brother who had just been sentence to a long stay in the pokey. Mr. Royko gave out enought hints for reader's to put names to stories. 'Bout time lunch came around that article was the talk of the town and a lot of TV journalist were pissed.

I said all of that to say this....

Some of these celeb's should flip the script and dig up dirt on these folks, the shoe on the other foot. At this point I doubt if anyone cares... the Mommy Dearest, Kitty Kelly days are so over. Most folks are so over exposed and that type of salacious shit can be seen everyday on Reality TV. The folks who worship Sister Franklin give or take a decade ahead or behind, don't give a shit. At this point, these folks are trying to figure out how much their medicine is going to cut into their Social Security check.