There are a lot of ways to pay tribute to Aretha Franklin, who died Thursday. You can talk about her majestic voice and her influence on American pop culture. You can talk about her signature song, “Respect,” the one that for many listeners of my generation dulled with overplaying but which, listened to again with fresh ears, is thrilling. You can talk about her political boldness, her masterpiece Young, Gifted, and Black, her late-life divahood, the time she blew everyone away at the Kennedy Center honors. Advertisement But as you’re listening to Aretha today, take a some extra time—just a little bit—to play her Beatles covers. They’re remarkable testaments to music’s cultural power in that era—the biggest solo artist of the late 1960s completely reinventing the songs of the biggest group of the late 1960s. It was common in that era for R&B artists to cover Beatles songs, and when they became smashes it was only fair, given how the Beatles made their name in their early years making certain kinds of black music palatable to white teenagers. It was a time of interesting and fertile cross-pollination, in part due to the historical gulf between the pop and R&B markets and charts. Aretha’s Beatles covers reveal surprising facets of familiar songs while also highlighting the way she made every song she sang her own. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Take this demo-like version of “The Fool on the Hill,” released on a 2007 rarities compilation but recorded in 1969 as part of the sessions for her album This Girl’s In Love With You. It’s just Aretha on piano, with added tambourine and a touch of acoustic guitar. But the way she ascends the chorus transforms the song for me from lovely whimsy to earthy comedy. Advertisement Her “Eleanor Rigby,” released as a single in 1969, is muscular and searching, and Aretha’s claiming of the first person—“I’m Eleanor RIgby,” she sings; “I pick up the rice in the church where the weddings have been”—gives the song a haunting aspect entirely different from the Beatles’ original. Advertisement I love her version of “The Long and Winding Road,” from Young, Gifted, and Black. It’s just as romantic as the Beatles’ version, but its gospel inflections and Aretha’s soaring voice suggest just whose door it is the road leads to. Advertisement Advertisement And then of course there’s one of Aretha’s most famous covers: “Let It Be.” Paul McCartney sent a demo of the song to Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records in hopes that Franklin would sing it; her version was released in January 1970, two months before the Beatles would release theirs as a single. It doesn’t soar quite like the Beatles’ version does, but it is filled with tenderness, and its sax solo is a stunner. Shorter than the Beatles’ version, it packs a lot into its three-plus minutes. I could listen to it forever. Read more in Slate about Aretha Franklin: • “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin Dies at 76 • How Aretha Franklin Created the Greatest Cover of All Time • “Rest in Peace, Soul Sister”: Musicians and Admirers Pay Tribute to Aretha Franklin<doc-sep>The two surviving Beatles paid tribute to Aretha Franklin today following the news of the Queen of Soul’s death. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr issued separate statements, each praising the artist for her musical impact. “Let’s all take a moment to give thanks for the beautiful life of Aretha Franklin, the Queen of our souls, who inspired us all for many, many years,” McCartney wrote, paired with a photo that was shot looking up at her as if in awe. “She will be missed but the memory of her greatness as a musician and a fine human being will live with us forever. Love Paul.” Starr simply wrote, “God bless Aretha Franklin the queen of soul and peace and love to her family.” He accompanied the note with emojis for music, peace and love. Franklin was a mutual admirer. She put her spin on covers of “Let It Be” and “Eleanor Rigby” while the band was still together and “The Long and Winding Road” after they broke up. Her arrangement of the former was more like a gospel song with church organ and choral backup vocals, which both supported her own unique passionate vocal performance. “Eleanor Rigby” turned the Fab Four’s baroque, third-person tale into a first-person gospel rave-up with scratchy guitar, an upbeat drumbeat and Franklin wondering loudly where all the lonely people belong. She included this in her set lists, delivering an exceptiontal performance of the song at the Fillmore West. Her take on “The Long and Winding Road,” which appeared on her 1972 Young, Gifted and Black LP, was equally upbeat and gospel-tinged, side-stepping the schmaltzy arrangement Phil Spector cooked up on Let It Be in favor of a moving groove and Franklin’s stirring vocals.<doc-sep>Already registered? Click here to log in By registering with theweek.com , you accept and hereby explicitly consent to our processing of your Personal Information in accordance with the terms of our Privacy Policy You've read 4 or more articles this month. To continue reading for free, please join other loyal fans of The Week by registering below. If you are an existing subscriber to The Week magazine please register with the email address you subscribed with. For assistance or further information please contact us. Log in You've read 4 or more articles this month. To continue reading for free, please log in below. Email address Password Login A link has been emailed to you - check your inbox.<doc-sep>An utter show-stealer. We missed you too. Sign up to our newsletter , and follow us on Instagram and Twitter , so you always know where to find us. With news that Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul, has died this morning aged 76, tributes are pouring in online as fans celebrate a monumental figure who left her mark on both music and civil rights. And as fans remember their favourite performances, there’s one which keeps popping up: Franklin’s rendition of ‘Think’ in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. There’s a bucketload of cameos in The Blues Brothers (Ray Charles, James Brown, Chaka Khan), but Franklin’s has become one of the film’s most-loved moments. For many online, it’s their earliest memory of seeing Franklin in all her might. In the five-minute scene, Franklin plays Mrs. Murphy, a diner waitress who’s not too happy her husband’s about to run out to rejoin the brothers’ old band for one last show. She sings a rendition of her 1968 hit ‘Think’ to let him know what’s up. The Blues Brothers was something we watched nonstop during my childhood. Aretha Franklin’s performance of “Think” was one of the most memorable parts of that cult classic. Just one of many great memories of the Queen of Soul. Rest In Peace. pic.twitter.com/zYdB9KUJrD — Adam Best (@adamcbest) August 16, 2018 Of course, it’s a complete powerhouse of a performance. And to think that it almost didn’t happen: at first, Universal wanted newer acts to cameo, but the film’s co-writers and stars Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi stuck to their guns and won out. As Vanity Fair point out, Universal would later campaign for Franklin to be Oscar-nominated for the five-minute role. While that didn’t pan out, it rekindled Franklin’s career, which had struggled at the turn of the decade as disco reigned above soul and Atlantic let her contract expire. Oh no. Aretha Franklin died. I grew up with that woman showing me how to woman really loudly. Watched The Blues Brothers at the working men’s club when I was little and danced all the way home screeching “respect” and haven’t stopped shouting it at men yet. Thanks woman. — Jean Hatchet (@JeanHatchet) August 16, 2018 In an interview with Deadline, this morning The Blues Brother director John Landis reflects upon working with Franklin on the film and it’s 1998 sequel, the only films she did in her career. “I have nothing but praise for Aretha,” he said. “She trusted me and was wonderful in the movie. We were a little concerned, uh oh, how’s she going to react to this costume. And she totally was fine, she loved it.” “Attention must be paid,” he said. “Aretha, she was the Queen of Soul and a great artist. But she also had a firm place in American history. As a civil rights figure. She sang at Dr. King’s funeral. She sang at the inaugurations of Presidents Carter, Clinton and Obama. She is right up there with Paul Robeson, Marian Anderson, Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier, these artists who put themselves on the line.” The most absurd thing about the famous Aretha Franklin Blues Brothers sequence is that when the scene is over, the Blues Brothers are like "good thing we got the guitarist to join our band, phew" — Dan Golding (@dangolding) August 16, 2018 Watch the performance below.<doc-sep>
Aretha Franklin performs ‘Think’ in ‘The Blues Brothers’ movie The legendary soul genius Aretha Franklin passed away on Thursday, August 16 at the age of 76. Franklin will be remembered forever for her vocal prowess, her musical genius, and the barriers through which she smashed as a woman of colour. From singing at the Obama inauguration to filling in for Pavarotti to perform Nessun Dorma, her talents ran the gamut. Here's one you may not remember: her show-stealing scene in The Blues Brothers. Aretha Franklin appears in a diner scene which would have been otherwise unremarkable other than the fact the queen herself presided over it. She performs her single Think, long touted as a feminist anthem, which was originally released in 1968. For The Blues Brothers, Franklin did not shy away from its female-empowerment angle. The diner scene saw Franklin’s character, Mrs Murphy, telling her husband he had to ‘think about the consequences’ of walking out on her and their business. Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul passed away today and will be remembered for her vocal prowess For the Blues Brothers, Franklin lip-synced, something the divine songstress wasn't used to doing. As a result, this scene required a plethora of takes and considerable editing. Alongside Aretha are her sisters, Carolyn and Erma, singing back up. The Blues Brothers saxophonist Lou Marini also performed in the scene, though some haphazard editing led to his head being out of shot for some of the diner scene. Aretha Franklin: The queen of soul had a movie-stealing scene in Blues Brothers Think marked Franklin's seventh top 10 hit in the United States. Franklin's publicist today confirmed her passing at her Detroit home on Thursday. The statement read: "Franklin’s official cause of death was due to advance pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type, which was confirmed by Franklin’s oncologist, Dr Philip Phillips of Karmanos Cancer Institute." Franklin's family added: "In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul had a genius talent for music