Cliff Richard - Back from the Wilderness Singles and Albums 1975 - 1995

And here is the secne from "TWELVE MONKEYS". You have to see the whole film to comprehend the meaning, but... You´ll understand enough. The power of music - and art in general.

 

The last song of Side 1 always makes me grin. It´s a perfect little pop song, intent on making you happy. I have never grown tired of it. Which surprises me somewhat, but I accept it: I love this song. Cliff resurrected it for "LIVE IN JAPAN", but I don´t know whether it was ever performed live in the UK. A happy little drop of a song.

The Composer:
Bill Crompton: Bill Crompton



Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.
"[For the Cliff In Japan album,] was just a real mess of old hits. We just did everything from Living Doll right through to things that were hits in Japan that were never released here like Let's Make A Memory."
Cliff Richard (1974 - The Music And Life Of Cliff Richard collection)

Running Time: 2:05
Record Date: December 4, 1961
Record Location: Abbey Road, London
Written By: Bill Crompton
Produced By: Norrie Paramor
Engineered By: Malcolm Addey & Norman Smith
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Norrie Paramor Orchestra (all other instruments), Mike Sammes Singers (backing vocals)

 

The "LIVE IN JAPAN" version.

 

"WHEN MY DREAM BOAT" is another super-catchy little number, written by Tin Pan Alley composers Cliff Friend - Promising name! - and Dave Franklin. This is the kind of oldie Cliff and the boys do so well!

The Composers:
Cliff Friend: Cliff Friend - Wikipedia
Dave Franklin: Dave Franklin - Wikipedia



Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.
"When My Dream Boat Comes Home, a well-loved oldie, is a perfect example of Cliff moulding a song to suit his own style-- and what a cracking job he makes of it! Taken at a really fast tempo, this is a completely original-- and very exciting-- interpretation. The Shadows' lead guitarist, Hank Marvin switches to piano for this number. Blueberry Hill, like the former song, is a song closely associated with Fats Domino."
Derek Johnson (March 1963 - Time For Cliff And The Shadows EP)

"There's a track on [32 Minutes And 17 Seconds With Cliff Richard] that-- When you talk about being influenced and things, there was an obvious Fats Domino influence on one of the tracks. And that was When My Dream Boat Comes Home, which in fact Fats Domino had recorded and we follow suit."
Cliff Richard (1974 - The Music And Life Of Cliff Richard collection)

"Continuing along the lines of Cliff Sings, and repeating the mixture of both ballad and rock 'n' roll standards, Cliff released Listen To Cliff [sic], 21 Today and 32 Minutes And 17 Seconds [sic], in quick succession between 1961 and 1962. On all three albums, listeners were treated to Cliff's renditions of such familiar numbers as Happy Birthday To You, Blue Moon and When My Dreamboat Comes Home."
Peter Lewry & Nigel Goodall (July 2010 - liner notes for The Collection album)

Running Time: 1:48
Record Date: May 17, 1962
Record Location: Abbey Road, London
Written By: Clifford Friend & David Franklin
Produced By: Norrie Paramor
Engineered By: Malcolm Addey
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Hank Marvin (piano), Bruce Welch (guitar), Brian Locking (bass), Brian Bennett (drums)

 

This song was another one associated with Fats Domino. The rolling rhythm is perfect for this song.

 

This 1937 version is by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians. The vocal is by Lebert Lombardo.

 

Bob Crosby got some vocal help from his brother Bing when he recorded the song. I like Fats and Bing, but Cliff´s version has a lot more energy, I think. This recording is from 1942.

 

"I´M ON MY WAY" is another Tepper/Bennett composition. This is almost as serious as "TURN AROUND", but this ballad has an innate sadness and melancholia that lifts it above the other song, IMO. The words roll so easily off Cliff - lucky - lips, and the song is a little gem. You may suspect that I like sad songs, and you might just be right. It´s a far cry from the rock´n´roll of "ME AND MY SHADOWS", but Cliff was coming into his own as a ballad singer.



Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.

Running Time: 2:56
Record Date: January 18, 1962
Record Location: Abbey Road, London
Written By: Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett
Produced By: Norrie Paramor
Engineered By: Malcolm Addey
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), The Mike Sammes Singers (backing vocals), Norrie Paramor Orchestra (all other instruments)

 

"SPANISH HARLEM" is one of my favourite tracks on this album, and it was lifted as a single in Germany, with the new title "DAS IST DIE FRAGE ALLER FRAGEN". (It went all the way to No. 1, and sold quite a few copies. A friend of mine thinks this is one of the embarrassing Cliff songs, along with "BLUE TURNS TO GREY" and "POWER TO ALL OUR FRIENDS". I don´t share her views on any of the songs, though the Eurovison winner´s lyrics may not stand close scrutiny. Ben E. King has the definitive version of "SPANISH HARLEM" for me, but Cliff´s version, though a pale imitation, is good.

The Composers:
Jerry Leiber: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller - Wikipedia
Phil Spector: Phil Spector - Wikipedia



From Wikipedia:
"Spanish Harlem" is a song recorded by Ben E. King in 1960 for Atco Records. It was written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector, and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. During a 1968 interview, Leiber credited Stoller with the arrangement; similarly, in a 2009 radio interview with Leiber and Stoller on the Bob Edwards Weekend talk show, Jerry Leiber said that Stoller, while uncredited, had written the key instrumental introduction to the record.[citation needed] In the team's autobiography from the same year, Hound Dog, Stoller himself remarks that he had created this "fill" while doing a piano accompaniment when the song was presented to Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records, with Spector playing guitar and Leiber doing the vocal. "Since then, I've never heard the song played without that musical figure. I presumed my contribution was seminal to the composition, but I also knew that Phil didn't want to share credit with anyone but Jerry, so I kept quiet."

It was originally released as the B-side to "First Taste of Love". The song was King's first hit away from The Drifters, a group he had led for several years. With an arrangement by Stan Applebaum featuring Spanish guitar, marimba, drum-beats, soprano saxophone, strings, and a male chorus, it climbed the Billboard charts, eventually peaking at #15 R&B and #10 Pop. It was ranked #358 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. King's version was not a hit in the UK: instead, the original A-side, "First Taste of Love", that was played on Radio Luxembourg, charting at #27. In 1987, after Stand By Me made #1, the song was re-released and charted at #92.

Aretha Franklin's version
In 1971, Aretha Franklin released a cover version of the song that outperformed the original on the charts, in which Franklin changed the lyrics slightly: from "A red rose up in Spanish Harlem" to "There's a rose in Black 'n Spanish Harlem. A rose in Black 'n Spanish Harlem. Her version went to #1 on the US soul charts for three weeks and #2 Pop for two weeks. "Spanish Harlem" was kept from the #1 spot by Go Away Little Girl by Donny Osmond. This version also hit #6 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart. Aretha Franklin's version earned a gold single for sales of over one million. Dr. John played keyboards on Franklin's version with Bernard "Pretty" Purdie on drums and Chuck Rainey on bass.

Other cover versions
This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: versions may not meet WP:SONGCOVER. Please help improve this section if you can. (August 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Jay and the Americans released a cover version of the song on their 1962 album, She Cried.
Mike Stoller, along with Andre Salvet, wrote French lyrics in 1960. With the help of Lucien Morisse, the song was presented to Dalida. She recorded it as "Nuits d'Espagne" and released it in 1961.
Jimmy Justice (UK number 20, 1962)
Cliff Richard released a version on the 1962 album 32 Minutes and 17 Seconds. He also recorded a German version, titled "Das ist die Frage aller Fragen", with lyrics by Carl Ulrich Blecher, that was a #1 hit in Germany and Austria in 1963, and a #1 hit in Switzerland in 1965.
Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass on the album Volume 2 in 1963
Percy Faith in 1965
The Mamas & The Papas released a cover version on their 1966 album If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears.
Trini Lopez recorded a version in Spanish as "Aquella Rosa" on his 1966 LP, The Second Latin Album, issued by Reprise Records (6215).
Slim Smith released a cover version in 1968.
Chet Atkins in 1969
Long John Baldry released a cover version on his 1969 cover album, Wait for Me. It was later included on the 2006 posthumous release Let The Heartaches Begin: The Pye Anthology.
Checkmates, Ltd. released a version of the song as the B-side to their 1969 single, "Proud Mary". It was featured on their 1969 album, Love Is All We Have to Give.
Andy Williams released a version in 1970 on his album, The Andy Williams Show.
Laura Nyro covered "Spanish Harlem" in her live concert, at the Fillmore East, released in 2004 on the CD Spread Your Wings and Fly: Live at the Fillmore East May 30, 1971. On November 17, 1971, Nyro released a studio version on the album Gonna Take a Miracle. Her covers gender-shift some of the lyrics of "Spanish Harlem". Thus, she sang "I'm goin' to pick that rose and watch him as he grows in my garden" (originally "watch her as she grows"). She also added an original gender reference, i.e. "With eyes as black as coal he looks down in my soul." (The original lyric is "with eyes as black as coal that look down in my soul.") The live version also substitutes "rare rose up" for "red rose up" in the second refrain.
Leon Russell in 1974
The song was performed live by Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band in 1974, featuring Suki Lahav on the violin. Only 3 recordings are known to exist.
Led Zeppelin covered the song, at least in part, in a live recording of "Dazed and Confused". An example of this appears on the Led Zeppelin bootleg Get Back to L.A., a recording of their Los Angeles concert of March 25, 1975.
A Macedonian version, "Spanski Noki", with lyrics by Gjoko Georgiev and re-edition by Milan Kotlic, was recorded by Nina Spirova in the 1970s. There are also versions in French, Swedish, and Finnish.
Neil Diamond in 1993
Rebecca Pidgeon's 1994 version was used over the closing credits of the film Phil Spector (2013).
Janet Seidel in 1999
Kenny Rankin in 2002
Willy DeVille in 2003
Bowling for Soup in 2005
Phil Spector recorded a version of the song, which can be found on the compilation album The Phil Spector Collection, released in 2006.
American composer and producer Kramer covered the song and included it on his sixth album The Brill Building, released in 2012 through Tzadik Records.[10]
The song has also been covered by The Cats, Geoff Love, Paolo Nutini.[11] and Billy Joe Royal[12]
In media
Lenny Bruce discusses the song in the Carnegie Hall midnight concert on February 4, 1961.
The song is referred to in the 1972 Elton John song, "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" on the Honky Château album. The lyrics, written by Bernie Taupin, begin with "And now I know, Spanish Harlem are not just pretty words to say ... now I know that rose trees never grow in New York City." The speaker is saying that the song "Spanish Harlem" had given him a romanticized image of the city, but now that he has seen it for himself, he refers to it as a "trash-can dream come true."[citation needed] In turn, Rob Thomas stated in interviews that Elton's song inspired the line, "my Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa", in the 1999 Santana song Smooth, which Thomas wrote and sang.
In the 1974 novel The Dogs of War (novel) anti hero "Cat" Shannon favorite tune is "Spanish Harlem"
The song was included in the musical revue "Smokey Joe's Cafe".

Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.
"Gormley will never concede that the transformation of Cliff Richard, for instance, from being a rock-and-roll artist to that of an all-round family entertainer has been calculated by him or anyone else. He insists that this is something that happened in Cliff's mind, that when he now sings songs like Spanish Harlem or It's All in the Game or Maria from West Side Story, it is because he, Cliff Richard, wants to sing them; it is because he is five years older and must feel differently about music and about everything else. His musical horizons, as well as all of his other horizons, must be wider. This is not to say that Cliff looks back on things he has done in the past and wishes he had never done them. If another Move It came along, he would probably record it again, just as he did at seventeen."
Bob Ferrier (1964 - The Wonderful World of Cliff Richard)

"The Lieber/Spector classic Spanish Harlem had been recorded by a number of artists, most notably Jimmy Justice, and Cliff taped his version for inclusion on the 32 Minutes And 17 Seconds album. As with many of the tracks on this [The Rock 'n' Roll Years 1958 - 1963] set, the stereo issue has been used here."
Nigel Goodall & Peter Lewry (1997 - liner notes for The Rock 'n' Roll Years 1958-1963 album)

Running Time: 2:57
Record Date: December 4, 1961
Record Location: Abbey Road, London
Written By: Jerry Leiber & Phil Spector
Produced By: Norrie Paramor
Engineered By: Malcolm Addey & Norman Smith
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Norrie Paramor Orchestra (all other instruments), Mike Sammes Singers (backing vocals)

 

There are many covers to choose from, but we´ll start with the original Ben E. King recording from 1960. I never knew it was a B-side! Ben E. King will always remain an important artist for me. His recording of "STAND BY ME" is one of my all-time favourite songs. Unfortunately, Ben E. King was one of those who left us in 2015.



From Wikipedia:
Benjamin Earl King (born Benjamin Earl Nelson, September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015), known as Ben E. King, was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He was perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later in 1986 (when it was used as the theme to the film of the same name), a number one hit in the UK in 1987, and no. 25 on the RIAA's list of Songs of the Century—and as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B vocal group the Drifters notably singing the lead vocals of one of their biggest global hit singles (and only U.S. #1 hit) "Save the Last Dance for Me".

Early life
King was born Benjamin Earl Nelson on September 28, 1938, in Henderson, North Carolina, and moved to Harlem, New York, at the age of nine in 1947. King began singing in church choirs, and in high school formed the Four B’s, a doo-wop group that occasionally performed at the Apollo.

Career
The Drifters
In 1958, King (still using his birth name) joined a doo-wop group called the Five Crowns. Later that year, the Drifters' manager George Treadwell fired the members of the original Drifters, and replaced them with the members of the Five Crowns.
King had a string of R&B hits with the group on Atlantic Records. He co-wrote and sang lead on the first Atlantic hit by the new version of the Drifters, "There Goes My Baby" (1959). He sang lead on a succession of hits by the team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, including "Save the Last Dance for Me", "This Magic Moment", and "I Count the Tears". King recorded only thirteen songs with the Drifters—two backing other lead singers and eleven lead vocal performances—including a non-single called "Temptation" (later redone by Drifters vocalist Johnny Moore). The last of the King-led Drifters singles to be released was "Sometimes I Wonder", which was recorded May 19, 1960, but not issued until June 1962.
Due to contract disputes with Treadwell in which King and his manager, Lover Patterson, demanded greater compensation, King rarely performed with the Drifters on tour or on television. On television, fellow Drifters member Charlie Thomas usually lip-synched the songs that King had recorded with the Drifters.

Solo career
In May 1960, King left the Drifters, assuming the stage name Ben E. King in preparation for a solo career. Remaining with Atlantic Records on its Atco imprint, King scored his first solo hit with the ballad "Spanish Harlem" (1961).
His next single, "Stand by Me", written with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, ultimately would be voted as one of the Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America. King cited singers Brook Benton, Roy Hamilton and Sam Cooke as influences for his vocals of the song. "Stand by Me", "There Goes My Baby", "Spanish Harlem", and "Save the Last Dance for Me" were all named in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll; and each of those records has earned a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. King's other well-known songs include "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", "Amor", "Seven Letters", "How Can I Forget", "On the Horizon", "Young Boy Blues", "First Taste of Love", "Here Comes the Night", "Ecstasy", and "That's When It Hurts". In the summer of 1963, King had a Top 30 hit with "I (Who Have Nothing)", which reached the Top 10 on New York's radio station, WMCA.
King's records continued to place well on the Billboard Hot 100 chart until 1965. British pop bands began to dominate the pop music scene, but King still continued to make R&B hits, including "What is Soul?" (1966), "Tears, Tears, Tears" (1967), and "Supernatural Thing" (1975).
King returned to the Drifters in late 1982 in England, and sang with them until the group's break-up and reorganization in 1986. From 1983 until the band's break-up, the other members of this incarnation of the Drifters were Johnny Moore, Joe Blunt, and Clyde Brown.
A 1986 re-issue of "Stand by Me" followed the song's use as the theme song to the movie Stand By Me and re-entered the Billboard Top Ten after a 25-year absence. This reissue also reached Number 1 in the United Kingdom and Ireland for three weeks in February 1987.
In 1990, King and Bo Diddley, along with Doug Lazy, recorded a revamped hip hop version of the Monotones' 1958 hit song "Book of Love" for the soundtrack of the movie Book of Love. He also recorded a children's album, I Have Songs In My Pocket, written and produced by children's music artist Bobby Susser in 1998, which won the Early Childhood News Directors' Choice Award and Dr. Toy's/the Institute for Childhood Resources Award. King performed "Stand by Me" on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2007. Ahmet Ertegun said, "King is one of the greatest singers in the history of rock and roll and rhythm and blues."
As a Drifter and as a solo artist, King had achieved five number one hits: "There Goes My Baby", "Save the Last Dance for Me", "Stand By Me", "Supernatural Thing", and the 1986 re-issue of "Stand By Me". He also earned 12 Top 10 hits and 26 Top 40 hits from 1959 to 1986. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a Drifter;[14] he was also nominated as a solo artist.
King performing at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 31, 2012
King's "I (Who Have Nothing)" was selected for the Sopranos Peppers and Eggs Soundtrack CD (2001).[16]
King was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
On March 27, 2012, the Songwriters Hall of Fame announced that "Stand By Me" would receive its 2012 Towering Song Award and that King would be honored with the 2012 Towering Performance Award for his recording of the song.

Later life
King was active in his charitable foundation, the Stand By Me Foundation, which helps to provide education to deserving youths. He was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey, from the late 1960s.
King performed "Stand By Me" during a televised tribute to late comedian George Carlin, as he was one of Carlin's favorite artists.
On November 11, 2010, he performed "Stand By Me" on the Latin Grammys with Prince Royce.
King toured the United Kingdom in 2013 and played concerts in the United States as late as 2014, despite reported health problems.

Death
It was announced on May 1, 2015 that King had died at the Hackensack University Medical Center on April 30, 2015 at the age of 76. His agent said he had suffered from "coronary problems" at the time of his death. King was survived by his wife of 51 years, Betty, three children and six grandchildren. On May 17, two weeks after his death, American rock band Imagine Dragons performed "Stand By Me" at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards as a tribute to his memory.

Legacy
King has been covered by acts from several genres. "So Much Love" was recorded by Dusty Springfield and many others. "I (Who Have Nothing)" was performed by Shirley Bassey in 1963 and also by Tom Jones in 1970, as well as a 1979 recording by Sylvester. "Till I Can't Take It Anymore" was revisited by peer Ray Charles in 1970 and "Spanish Harlem" was sung by Aretha Franklin in 1971. "Stand by Me" was covered by The Righteous Brothers, Otis Redding, John Lennon, Mickey Gilley, Florence + The Machine, Tracy Chapman, and Prince Royce. King also inspired a number of rock bands: Siouxsie and the Banshees recorded "Supernatural Thing" in 1981 and Led Zeppelin did a cover version of "Groovin'", more known under the title of "We're Gonna Groove".

On May 19, 2018 King's "Stand By Me" was performed at the Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle by Karen Gibson and the Kingdom Choir.

 

And since I´m in charge, for once, I include a posting of one of my favourite songs from my all-time favourite movie, "STAND BY ME". This video was produced to promote the movie as well as the reissue of the song.

Sad to think that of the three main performers in the video, only one is still alive. Who would have believed that River Phoenix would be the first to go, 3ist October 1993, 23 years of age. So sad.



I still love this song.

 

Film and song are also two of my favourites.

 

If I ever become a published songwriter - Look out for my album "RHETORICAL ANSWERS"! - I would love for any song to be covered by Aretha Franklin. (Eh.. Just to make this clear: I am aware that she is no longer with us. Sadly. And even though I have written a song called "RHETORICAL ANSWER" along with many others, the chance of them being recorded and released are, unlike my frame, slim. But a man can dream, can´t jhe?) She recorded many hits with new songs, but she could really work her magic with covers. If you haven´t already stumbled across them, seek out her covers of Elton John´s "BORDER SONG" and Paul Simon´s "BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER". Pure class.

Aretha did a cover of "SPANISH HARLEM" in 1971.



Please take the time to read the entry from Wikipedia about her below. What a woman. What a life.

When I teach my pupils about famous people, I try to present them as full personalities, with good as well as less good traits. I know Aretha Franklin was an impressive and forceful person, and not one to suffer fools gladly. And she was a bit nervous upon meeting Annie Lennox. According to Annie Lennox, Aretha was a bit cagey and nervous when they got together to record the huge hit "SISTERS ARE DOIN´ IT FOR THEMSELVES". Lennox´ androgynous image had led Aretha to believe she was gay, and she was uncomfortable, half expecting to eb hit upon! She needn´t have worried.

There are some parellels between Cliff and Aretha´s careers and lives, unlikely as it may seem. They both had long, successful careers, they were both deeply religious - and they both supported charities, both openly and in secret. And bought nervous about gay people, it seems... Just kidding.


From Wikipedia:
Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter, civil rights activist, actress, and pianist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was minister. At the age of 18, she embarked on a secular career recording for Columbia Records. However, she achieved only modest success. She found acclaim and commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as "Respect", "Chain of Fools", "Think", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", and "I Say a Little Prayer", propelled her past her musical peers. By the end of the 1960s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as "The Queen of Soul".
She continued to record acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Lady Soul (1968), Spirit in the Dark (1970), Young, Gifted and Black (1972), Amazing Grace (1972), and Sparkle (1976) before experiencing problems with her record company. Franklin left Atlantic in 1979 and signed with Arista Records. She appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers before releasing the successful albums Jump to It (1982), Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985), and Aretha (1986) on the Arista label. In 1998, Franklin returned to the top 40 with the Lauryn Hill-produced song "A Rose Is Still a Rose", later issuing the album of the same name, which went gold. That same year, Franklin earned international acclaim for her performance of "Nessun dorma" at the Grammy Awards, filling in at the last minute for Luciano Pavarotti, who had canceled after the show had already begun. In a widely noted performance, she paid tribute to 2015 honoree Carole King by singing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" at the Kennedy Center Honors.
Franklin recorded 112 charted singles on Billboard, including 77 Hot 100 entries, 17 top-ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries, and 20 number-one R&B singles, becoming the most charted female artist in history. Franklin's other well-known hits include "Rock Steady", "Call Me", "Ain't No Way", "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", "Spanish Harlem", "Day Dreaming", "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)", "Something He Can Feel", "Jump to It", "Freeway of Love", "Who's Zoomin' Who", and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (a duet with George Michael). She won 18 Grammy Awards, including the first eight awards given for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (1968–1975), and she is one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide.
Franklin received numerous honors throughout her career, including a 1987 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the first female performer to be inducted, the National Medal of Arts, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2010 Rolling Stone magazine ranked her number one on their list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" and number nine on their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

Early life
Franklin's birthplace, 406 Lucy Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee
Aretha Louise Franklin was born on March 25, 1942, to Barbara (née Siggers) and Clarence LaVaughn "C. L." Franklin. She was delivered at her family's home located at 406 Lucy Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee. Her father was a Baptist minister and circuit preacher originally from Shelby, Mississippi, while her mother was an accomplished piano player and vocalist. Both Mr. and Mrs. Franklin had children from prior relationships in addition to the four children they had together. When Aretha was two, the family relocated to Buffalo, New York. By the time Aretha turned five, C. L. Franklin had permanently relocated the family to Detroit, where he took over the pastorship of the New Bethel Baptist Church.
The Franklins had a troubled marriage due to Mr. Franklin's infidelities, and they separated in 1948. At that time, Barbara Franklin returned to Buffalo with Aretha's half brother, Vaughn. After the separation, Aretha recalled seeing her mother in Buffalo during the summer, and Barbara Franklin frequently visited her children in Detroit. Aretha's mother died of a heart attack on March 7, 1952, before Aretha's tenth birthday. Several women, including Aretha's grandmother, Rachel, and Mahalia Jackson, took turns helping with the children at the Franklin home.During this time, Aretha learned how to play piano by ear. She also attended public school in Detroit, going through her freshman year at Northern High School, but dropping out during her sophomore year.
Aretha's father's emotionally driven sermons resulted in his being known as the man with the "million-dollar voice". He earned thousands of dollars for sermons in various churches across the country. His celebrity status led to his home being visited by various celebrities. Among the visitors were gospel musicians Clara Ward, James Cleveland, and early Caravans members Albertina Walker and Inez Andrews. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke all became friends of C. L. Franklin, as well. Ward was romantically involved with Aretha's father from around 1949 to Ward's death in 1973, though Aretha "preferred to view them strictly as friends". Ward also served as a role model to the young Aretha.

Music career
Beginnings (1952–1960)
Just after her mother's death, Franklin began singing solos at New Bethel, debuting with the hymn "Jesus, Be a Fence Around Me". When Franklin was 12, her father began managing her; he would bring her on the road with him during his so-called "gospel caravan" tours for her to perform in various churches. He also helped her sign her first recording deal with J.V.B. Records. Recording equipment was installed inside New Bethel Baptist Church and nine tracks were recorded. Franklin was featured on vocals and piano. In 1956, J.V.B. released Franklin's first single, "Never Grow Old", backed with "You Grow Closer". "Precious Lord (Part One)" backed with "Precious Lord (Part Two)" followed in 1959. These four tracks, with the addition of "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood", were released on side one of the 1956 album, Spirituals. This was reissued by Battle Records in 1962 under the same title.In 1965, Checker Records released Songs of Faith, featuring the five tracks from the 1956 Spirituals album, with the addition of four previously unreleased recordings.
During this time, Franklin would occasionally travel with The Soul Stirrers. According to music producer Quincy Jones, while Franklin was still young, Dinah Washington let him know, "Aretha was the 'next one'". In 1958, Franklin and her father traveled to California, where she met singer Sam Cooke. At the age of 16, Franklin went on tour with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and she would ultimately sing at his funeral in 1968.
As a young gospel singer, Franklin spent summers on the gospel circuit in Chicago and stayed with Mavis Staples' family. After turning 18, Franklin confided to her father that she aspired to follow Sam Cooke in recording pop music, and moved to New York. Serving as her manager, C. L. Franklin agreed to the move and helped to produce a two-song demo that soon was brought to the attention of Columbia Records, who agreed to sign her in 1960. Franklin was signed as a "five-percent artist". During this period, Franklin would be coached by choreographer Cholly Atkins to prepare for her pop performances. Before signing with Columbia, Sam Cooke tried to persuade Franklin's father to sign her with his label, RCA, but his request was denied. Record label owner Berry Gordy was also looking to sign Franklin and her elder sister Erma to his Tamla label. However, C.L. Franklin felt the label was not yet established enough, and he turned Gordy down. Franklin's first Columbia single, "Today I Sing the Blues", was issued in September 1960 and later reached the top 10 of the Hot Rhythm & Blues Sellers chart.

Columbia (1961–1966)
In January 1961, Columbia issued Franklin's first secular album, Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo. The album featured her first single to chart the Billboard Hot 100, "Won't Be Long", which also peaked at number 7 on the R&B chart. Mostly produced by Clyde Otis, Franklin's Columbia recordings saw her performing in diverse genres such as standards, vocal jazz, blues, doo-wop and rhythm and blues. Before the year was out, Franklin scored her first top 40 single with her rendition of the standard "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody", the b-side of which was the R&B hit "Operation Heartbreak". "Rock-a-Bye" became her first international hit, reaching the top 40 in Australia and Canada. By the end of 1961, Franklin was named as a "new-star female vocalist" in DownBeat magazine. In 1962, Columbia issued two more albums, The Electrifying Aretha Franklin and The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin, the latter of which reached No. 69 on the Billboard chart.
In the 1960s, during a performance at the Regal Theater, WVON radio personality Pervis Spann announced that Franklin should be crowned "the Queen of Soul". Spann ceremonially placed a crown on her head. By 1964, Franklin began recording more pop music, reaching the top 10 on the R&B chart with the ballad "Runnin' Out of Fools" in early 1965. She had two R&B charted singles in 1965 and 1966 with the songs "One Step Ahead" and "Cry Like a Baby", while also reaching the Easy Listening charts with the ballads "You Made Me Love You" and "(No, No) I'm Losing You". By the mid-1960s, Franklin was netting $100,000 from countless performances in nightclubs and theaters. Also during that period, she appeared on rock-and-roll shows such as Hollywood A Go-Go and Shindig!. However, she struggled with commercial success while at Columbia. Label executive John H. Hammond later said he felt Columbia did not understand Franklin's early gospel background and failed to bring that aspect out further during her period there.

Atlantic (1967–1979)
In November 1966, Franklin's Columbia recording contract expired and she chose to move to Atlantic Records. In January 1967, she traveled to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to record at FAME Studios and recorded the song "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", backed by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Franklin only spent one day recording at FAME, as an altercation broke out between her manager and husband Ted White, studio owner Rick Hall, and a horn player, and sessions were abandoned. The song was released the following month and reached number one on the R&B chart, while also peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Franklin her first top-ten pop single. The song's b-side, "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", reached the R&B top 40, peaking at number 37. In April, Atlantic issued her frenetic version of Otis Redding's "Respect", which reached number one on both the R&B and pop charts. "Respect" became her signature song and was later hailed as a civil rights and feminist anthem.

Franklin in 1967
Franklin's debut Atlantic album, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, also became commercially successful, later going gold. Franklin scored two more top-ten singles in 1967, including "Baby I Love You" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". Her rapport with producer Jerry Wexler helped in the creation of the majority of Franklin's peak recordings with Atlantic. In 1968, she issued the top-selling albums Lady Soul and Aretha Now, which included some of her most popular hit singles, including "Chain of Fools", "Ain't No Way", "Think" and "I Say a Little Prayer". That February, Franklin earned the first two of her Grammys, including the debut category for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. On February 16, Franklin was honored with a day named for her and was greeted by longtime friend Martin Luther King Jr., who gave her the SCLC Drum Beat Award for Musicians two months before his death. Franklin toured outside the US for the first time in May, including an appearance at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, where she played to a near hysterical audience who covered the stage with flower petals. She appeared on the cover of Time magazine in June.

"Respect"
"Respect" was a huge hit for Franklin, and became a signature song for her.

Franklin's success expanded during the early 1970s, during which she recorded the multi-week R&B number one "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", as well as the top-ten singles "Spanish Harlem", "Rock Steady" and "Day Dreaming". Some of these releases were from the acclaimed albums Spirit in the Dark and Young, Gifted and Black. She returned to Gospel music in a two-night, live-church recording, with the album, Amazing Grace, in which she reinterpreted standards such as Mahalia Jackson's How I Got Over. Amazing Grace sold more than two million copies. In 1971, Franklin became the first R&B performer to headline Fillmore West, later that year releasing the live album Aretha Live at Fillmore West. Franklin's career began to experience problems while recording the album, Hey Now Hey, which featured production from Quincy Jones. Despite the success of the single "Angel", the album bombed upon its release in 1973. Franklin continued having R&B success with songs such as "Until You Come Back to Me" and "I'm in Love", but by 1975 her albums and songs were no longer top sellers. After Jerry Wexler left Atlantic for Warner Bros. Records in 1976, Franklin worked on the soundtrack to the film Sparkle with Curtis Mayfield. The album yielded Franklin's final top 40 hit of the decade, "Something He Can Feel", which also peaked at number one on the R&B chart. Franklin's follow-up albums for Atlantic, including Sweet Passion (1977), Almighty Fire (1978) and La Diva (1979), bombed on the charts,[citation needed] and in 1979 Franklin left the company.

Arista (1980–2007)
In 1980, after leaving Atlantic Records,[61] Franklin signed with Clive Davis's Arista Records and that same year gave a command performance at London's Royal Albert Hall in front of Queen Elizabeth. Franklin also had an acclaimed guest role as a soul food restaurant proprietor and wife of Matt "Guitar" Murphy in the 1980 comedy musical The Blues Brothers. Franklin's first Arista album, Aretha (1980), featured the No. 3 R&B hit "United Together" and her Grammy-nominated cover of Redding's "I Can't Turn You Loose". The follow-up, 1981's Love All the Hurt Away, included her famed duet of the title track with George Benson, while the album also included her Grammy-winning cover of Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'". Franklin achieved a gold record—for the first time in seven years—with the 1982 album Jump to It. The album's title track was her first top-40 single on the pop charts in six years.The following year, she released "Get It Right", produced by Luther Vandross. In 1985, inspired by a desire to have a "younger sound" in her music, Who's Zoomin' Who? became her first Arista album to be certified platinum. The album sold well over a million copies thanks to the hits "Freeway of Love", the title track, and "Another Night". The next year's Aretha album nearly matched this success with the hit singles "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Jimmy Lee" and "I Knew You Were Waiting for Me", her international number-one duet with George Michael. During that period, Franklin provided vocals to the theme songs of the TV shows A Different World and Together. In 1987, she issued her third gospel album, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, which was recorded at her late father's New Bethel church, followed by Through the Storm in 1989. The same year, Franklin performed "America the Beautiful" at WWE's Wrestlemania III, the company's third annual "entertainment spectacular", in her home state of Michigan. Franklin's 1991 album, What You See is What You Sweat, flopped on the charts. She returned to the charts in 1993 with the dance song "A Deeper Love" and returned to the top 40 with the song "Willing to Forgive" in 1994.
Franklin's final top 40 single was 1998's "A Rose Is Still a Rose". The album of the same name was released after the single. It sold in excess of 500,000 copies; earning a gold album.
That same year, Franklin received global praise after her 1998 Grammy Awards performance. She had initially been asked to come and perform in honor of the 1980 The Blues Brothers film in which she appeared with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. That evening after the show had already begun, Luciano Pavarotti himself contacted show producers and said he was too ill to perform the opera aria "Nessun dorma" as planned. The show's producers were desperate to fill the time slot, and approached Franklin with their dilemma. She was a friend of Pavarotti, and had sung the selection two nights prior at the annual MusiCares event. She asked to hear Pavarotti's rehearsal recording, and after listening, agreed that she could sing it in the tenor range that the orchestra was prepared to play in. Over one billion people worldwide saw the performance, and she received an immediate standing ovation. She would go on to record the selection, and perform it live several more times in the years to come; the last time being in Philadelphia for Pope Francis at the World Meeting of Families in September 2015. A small boy was so touched by her performance that he came onto the stage and embraced her while Franklin was still singing.
Her final Arista album, So Damn Happy, was released in 2003 and featured the Grammy-winning song "Wonderful". In 2004, Franklin announced that she was leaving Arista after more than 20 years with the label.To complete her Arista obligations, Franklin issued the duets compilation album Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen in 2007. The following year, she issued the holiday album This Christmas, Aretha, on DMI Records. In February 2006 she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" with Aaron Neville and Dr. John for Super Bowl XL, held in her hometown of Detroit.

Later years (2008–2018)
On January 20, 2009 Franklin made international headlines for performing "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" at President Barack Obama's inaugural ceremony with her church hat becoming a popular topic online. In 2010, Franklin accepted an honorary degree from Yale University. In 2011, under her own label, Aretha's Records, she issued the album Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love.

In 2014, Franklin was signed under RCA Records, controller of the Arista catalog and a sister label to Columbia via Sony Music Entertainment, and worked with Clive Davis. An album was planned with producers Babyface and Danger Mouse. On September 29, 2014, Franklin performed to a standing ovation, with Cissy Houston as backup, a compilation of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" on the Late Show with David Letterman. Franklin's cover of "Rolling in the Deep" was featured among nine other songs in her first RCA release, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, released in October 2014. In doing so, she became the first woman to have 100 songs on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with the success of her cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep", which debuted at number 47 on the chart.
In December 2015, Franklin gave an acclaimed performance of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors during the section for honoree Carole King, who co-wrote the song. During the bridge of the song, Franklin dropped her fur coat to the stage, for which the audience rewarded her with a mid-performance standing ovation. She returned to Detroit's Ford Field on Thanksgiving Day 2016 to once again perform the national anthem before the game between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. Seated behind the piano, wearing a black fur coat and Lions stocking cap, Franklin gave a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" that lasted more than four minutes and featured a host of improvizations. Franklin released the album A Brand New Me in November 2017 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which uses archived recordings from Franklin. It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Top Classical Albums chart before her death and rose to number 2 after her death.
While Franklin canceled some concerts in 2017 due to health reasons, and during an outdoor Detroit show, she asked the audience to "keep me in your prayers", she was still garnering highly favorable reviews for her skill and showmanship. At the Ravinia Festival on September 3, 2017, she gave her last full concert. Franklin's final performance was at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City during Elton John's 25th anniversary gala for the Elton John AIDS Foundation on November 7, 2017.

Music style and image
According to Richie Unterberger, Franklin was "one of the giants of soul music, and indeed of American pop as a whole. More than any other performer, she epitomized soul at its most gospel-charged". She had often been described as a great singer and musician due to "vocal flexibility, interpretive intelligence, skillful piano-playing, her ear, her experience". Franklin's voice was described as being a "powerful mezzo-soprano voice". She was praised for her arrangements and interpretations of other artists' hit songs. According to David Remnick, what "distinguishes her is not merely the breadth of her catalogue or the cataract force of her vocal instrument; it's her musical intelligence, her way of singing behind the beat, of spraying a wash of notes over a single word or syllable, of constructing, moment by moment, the emotional power of a three-minute song. 'Respect' is as precise an artifact as a Ming vase".Describing Franklin's voice as a youngster on her first album, Songs of Faith, released in 1956 when she was just 14, Jerry Wexler explained that it "was not that of a child but rather of an ecstatic hierophant". Critic Randy Lewis assessed her skills as a pianist as "magic" and "inspirational". Musicians and professionals alike such as Elton John, Keith Richards, Carole King, and Clive Davis were fans of her piano performances.

Civil rights activism
From her time growing up in the home of a prominent African-American preacher to the end of her life, Franklin was immersed and involved in the struggle for civil rights and women's rights. She provided money for civil rights groups, at times covering payroll, and performed at benefits and protests. When Angela Davis was jailed in 1970, Franklin told Jet: "Angela Davis must go free ... Black people will be free. I've been locked up (for disturbing the peace in Detroit) and I know you got to disturb the peace when you can't get no peace. Jail is hell to be in. I'm going to see her free if there is any justice in our courts, not because I believe in communism, but because she's a Black woman and she wants freedom for Black people". Her songs "Respect" and "Natural Woman" became anthems of these movements for social change. Franklin and several other American icons declined to take part in performing at President Donald Trump's 2017 inauguration as a large-scale act of musical protest.
Franklin was also a strong supporter for Native American rights. She quietly and without fanfare supported Indigenous Peoples' struggles worldwide, and numerous movements that supported Native American and First Nation cultural rights.

Personal life
After being raised in Detroit, Franklin relocated in the 1960s to New York City, where she lived until moving to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. She eventually settled in Encino, Los Angeles, where she lived until 1982. She then returned to the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan to be close to her ailing father and siblings. Franklin maintained a residence there until her death. Following an incident in 1984, she cited a fear of flying that prevented her from traveling overseas; she performed only in North America afterwards.

Franklin was the mother of four sons. She first became pregnant at the age of 12 and gave birth to her first child, named Clarence after her father,[on January 28, 1955. According to the news site Inquisitr, "The father of the child was Donald Burk, a boy she knew from school". On January 22, 1957 Franklin had a second child, named Edward after his father Edward Jordan. Franklin did not like to discuss her early pregnancies with interviewers. Both children took her family name. While Franklin was pursuing her career and "hanging out with [friends]", Franklin's grandmother Rachel and sister Erma took turns raising the children. Franklin would visit them often. Franklin's third child, Ted White Jr., was born in February 1964 and is known professionally as Teddy Richards. He provided guitar backing for his mother's band during live concerts. Her youngest son, Kecalf Cunningham, was born in 1970 and is the child of her road manager Ken Cunningham.
Franklin was married twice. Her first husband was Theodore "Ted" White, whom she married in 1961 at age 19. Franklin had actually seen White the first time at a party held at her house in 1954.After a contentious marriage that involved domestic violence, Franklin separated from White in 1968, divorcing him in 1969. Franklin then married her second husband, actor Glynn Turman, on April 11, 1978 at her father's church. By marrying Turman, Franklin became stepmother of Turman's three children from a previous marriage. Franklin and Turman separated in 1982 after Franklin returned to Michigan from California, and they divorced in 1984. At one point, Franklin had plans to marry her longtime companion Willie Wilkerson. Franklin and Wilkerson had had two previous engagements stretching back to 1988. Franklin eventually called off the 2012 engagement.
Franklin's sisters, Erma and Carolyn, were professional musicians as well and spent years performing background vocals on Franklin's recordings. Following Franklin's divorce from Ted White, her brother Cecil became her manager, and maintained that position until his death from lung cancer on December 26, 1989. Sister Carolyn died the previous year in April 1988 from breast cancer, while eldest sister Erma died from throat cancer in September 2002. Franklin's half-brother Vaughn died two months after Erma in late 2002.Her half-sister, Carol Kelley (née Jennings; born 1940) is C. L. Franklin's daughter by Mildred Jennings, a then 12-year-old congregant of New Salem Baptist Church in Memphis, where C. L. was pastor.
Franklin was performing at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, on June 10, 1979, when her father, C. L., was shot twice at point-blank range in his Detroit home. After six months at Henry Ford Hospital while still in a coma, C.L. was moved back to his home with 24-hour nursing care. Aretha moved back to Detroit in late 1982 to assist with the care of her father, who died at Detroit's New Light Nursing Home on July 27, 1984.
Her music business friends included Dionne Warwick, Mavis Staples, and Cissy Houston, who began singing with Franklin as members of the Sweet Inspirations. Cissy sang background on Franklin's hit "Ain't No Way". Franklin first met Cissy's daughter, Whitney, in the early 1970s. She was made Whitney's honorary aunt, not a godmother as has been occasionally misreported, and Whitney often referred to her as "Auntie Ree". She had to cancel plans to perform at Houston's memorial service on February 18, 2012, when a leg spasm prevented her from attending.
Franklin was a Christian, and was a registered Democrat.

Health
Franklin had weight issues for many years. In 1974, she lost 40 pounds (18 kg) on a crash diet and maintained her new weight until the end of the decade. She again lost weight in the early 1990s, before gaining some back. A former chain smoker who struggled with alcoholism, she quit smoking in 1992. She admitted in 1994 that her smoking was "messing with my voice", but after quitting smoking she said later, in 2003, that her weight "ballooned".
In 2010, Franklin canceled a number of concerts after she decided to have surgery for an undisclosed tumor. Discussing the surgery in 2011, she quoted her doctor as saying that it would "add 15 to 20 years" to her life. She denied that the ailment had anything to do with pancreatic cancer, as had been reported. On May 19, 2011, Franklin had her comeback show at the Chicago Theatre. In May 2013, she canceled two performances because of an undisclosed medical treatment. Later the same month, she canceled two June concerts and planned to "resume her touring schedule in July". A show scheduled for July 27 in Clarkston, Michigan, was canceled due to continued medical treatment. She canceled an appearance at a Major League Baseball luncheon in Chicago honoring her commitment to civil rights on August 24 and also a performance on September 21 in Atlanta. During a phone interview with the Associated Press in late August 2013, Franklin stated that she had a "miraculous" recovery from her undisclosed illness but had to cancel shows and appearances until her health was at 100%, estimating she was about "85% healed". Franklin later returned to live performing, including a 2013 Christmas concert at Detroit's MotorCity Casino Hotel. She launched a multi-city tour in mid-2014, starting with a performance on June 14 in New York at Radio City Music Hall.

Illness, death and funeral
On August 13, 2018, Franklin was reported to be gravely ill at her home in Riverfront Towers, Detroit. She was under hospice care and surrounded by friends and family. Stevie Wonder, Jesse Jackson and ex-husband Glynn Turman visited her on her deathbed. Franklin died at her home on August 16, 2018, aged 76, without a will. The cause of death was pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET), though widely mis-reported as pancreatic cancer, a different disease. Numerous celebrities in the entertainment industry and politicians paid tribute to Franklin, including former U.S. president Barack Obama who said she "helped define the American experience". Civil rights activist and minister Al Sharpton called her a "civil rights and humanitarian icon".
A memorial service was held at New Bethel Baptist Church on August 19. Thousands then paid their respects during the public lying-in-repose at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The August 31 Homegoing Service held at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, included multiple tributes by celebrities, politicians, friends and family members and was streamed by some news agencies, such as Fox News, CNN, The Word Network, BET and MSNBC.[154] Among those who paid tribute to Aretha at the service were Ariana Grande, Bill Clinton, Rev. Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan, Faith Hill, Fantasia, The Clark Sisters, Ronald Isley, Chaka Khan, Jennifer Holliday, Jennifer Hudson, Shirley Caesar, Stevie Wonder, Eric Holder, Gladys Knight, Tyler Perry, Smokey Robinson, and Yolanda Adams. At her request she was eulogized by Rev. Jasper Williams Jr. of Salem Baptist Church in Atlanta, as Williams had eulogized her father as well as speaking at other family memorials. William's eulogy was criticized for being "a political address that described children being in a home without a father as 'abortion after birth' and said black lives do not matter unless blacks stop killing each other". Franklin's nephew Vaughan complained of Williams: "He spoke for 50 minutes and at no time did he properly eulogize her".
Following a telecast procession up Seven Mile Road, Franklin was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit.

Legacy and honors
Franklin wipes a tear after being given the Presidential Medal of Freedom on November 9, 2005, at the White House. She is seated between fellow recipients Robert Conquest (left) and Alan Greenspan
Franklin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1979, had her voice declared a Michigan "natural resource" in 1985, and became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences awarded her a Grammy Legend Award in 1991, then the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. Franklin was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1994, recipient of the National Medal of Arts in 1999, and was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. She was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2015. Franklin became the second woman inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. She was the 2008 MusiCares Person of the Year, performing at the Grammys days later.
In 2010 Franklin was ranked first on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" and ninth on their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Following news of Franklin's surgery and recovery in February 2011, the Grammys ceremony paid tribute to the singer with a medley of her classics performed by Christina Aguilera, Florence Welch, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, and Yolanda Adams. That same year she was ranked 19th among the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time top artists.
When Rolling Stone listed the "Women in Rock: 50 Essential Albums" in 2002 and again 2012, it listed Franklin's 1967, "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You", number one. Inducted to the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012, Franklin was described as "the voice of the civil rights movement, the voice of black America" and a "symbol of black equality". Asteroid 249516 Aretha was named in her honor in 2014. In 2018, Franklin was inducted in to the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.
"American history wells up when Aretha sings", President Obama explained in response to her performance of "A Natural Woman" at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. "Nobody embodies more fully the connection between the African-American spiritual, the blues, R&B, rock and roll—the way that hardship and sorrow were transformed into something full of beauty and vitality and hope". Franklin later recalled the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors as one of the best nights of her life. On June 8, 2017, the City of Detroit honored Franklin's legacy by renaming a portion of Madison Street, between Brush and Witherell Streets, "Aretha Franklin Way". On January 29, 2018, Gary Graff confirmed that Jennifer Hudson will play Franklin in an upcoming biopic.

Honorary degrees
Franklin received honorary degrees from Harvard University and New York University in 2014, as well as honorary doctorates in music from Princeton University, 2012; Yale University, 2010; Brown University, 2009; University of Pennsylvania, 2007; Berklee College of Music, 2006; New England Conservatory of Music, 1997; and University of Michigan, 1987. Franklin was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Case Western Reserve University 2011 and Wayne State University in 1990 and an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Bethune–Cookman University in 1975.

Tributes
After Franklin's death, fans added unofficial tributes to two New York City Subway stations: the Franklin Street station in Manhattan, served by the 1 train, and the Franklin Avenue station in Brooklyn, served by the C train. Both stations were originally named after other people. Although the fan tributes were later taken down, the subway system's operator, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, erected temporary black-and-white stickers with the word "Respect" next to the "Franklin" name signs in each station.
During the American Music Awards on October 9, 2018, the show was closed by bringing Gladys Knight, Donnie McClurkin, Ledisi, Cece Winans, and Mary Mary together to pay tribute to Aretha Franklin. The "all-star" group performed gospel songs, including renditions from Franklin's 1972 album, Amazing Grace.
A tribute titled "Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul" organized by CBS and The Recording Academy is due to be hosted on January 13, 2019, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. It will be hosted by Tyler Perry while Janelle Monáe, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, Alessia Cara, Patti LaBelle, Jennifer Hudson, Chloe x Halle, H.E.R., SZA, Brandi Carlile, Yolanda Adams and Shirley Caesar will perform.

 

I always knew you had excellent taste, Mark! Still do.

 

"YOU DON´T KNOW" is the next song on Cliff´s excellent 1962 album. One of the relatively few songs on the album where he was backed by The Shadows, this is another fine, bluesy ballad. The song was written by Walter Spriggs, and had previously been recorded by Peggy Lee. (Just like "I´M LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW".) I really like Cliff´s performance of this song. Cliff did record some material that strayed into blues and R&B territory, and he often did it well. As he does here. Walter Spriggs wrote several sonsg in this genre.

The composer:
Walter Spriggs: Walter Spriggs



Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.
"Finally, You Don't Know is not the tune which Helen Shapiro took the to top of the table. On the contrary, this is a down-to-earth blues number, handled with surprising feel and warmth by the British boy."
Derek Johnson (March 1963 - Time For Cliff And The Shadows EP)
"Interestingly, precisely one week after the session that produced I’m Looking Out the Window, Cliff was back in the studio doing another bluesy Peggy Lee song, this time with the Shadows. You Don’t Know had been tried out on stage during his six-week Blackpool Opera House season several months earlier, evidently to everyone’s mutual satisfaction. And yes, they nicked Peggy’s arrangement again!"
Pat Murphy (November 2015 - The Beat)

Running Time: 2:49
Record Date: December 11, 1961
Record Location: Abbey Road, London
Written By: Walter Spriggs
Produced By: Norrie Paramor
Engineered By: Malcolm Addey
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Hank Marvin (guitar), Bruce Welch (guitar), Jet Harris (bass), Brian Bennett (drums)

 

On Discogs, an early recording of "YOU DON´T KNOW" is credited to Alan Copeland. ( Alan Copeland - Wikipedia ) He started out as a rock/blues sort of a singer, it seems, but later he also scored hits with a more MOR out fit under the name The Alan Copeland Singers. I tried to find our song on YouTube but it doesn´t seem to be there.

So why not post Peggy Lee´s 1958 version? As already mentioned several times, 1958 was a good year.

 

Rodgers & Hart are responsible for the next little gem. Just like "LET´S MAKE A MEMORY" and "WHEN MY DREAM BOAT COMES HOME", this song is just too irresistible! I surrender! It´s not even close to rock´n´roll, so I can only wonder what Cliff younger fans might have though about songs like these. Doesn´t matter - it´s not on the credible side of Cliff´s catalogue, but I love it.



From Wikipedia:
"Falling in Love with Love" is a show tune from the Rodgers and Hart musical The Boys from Syracuse, where it was introduced by Muriel Angelus. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1938. The song is set to a waltz, but the lyrics "remind his [Hart's] listeners of the show's skeptical tone".

Performances
In the 1940 musical film version of The Boys from Syracuse, it was performed by Allan Jones.
It was sung by Bernadette Peters in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997) as the Stepmother.
Notable recordings
Helen Merrill - Helen Merrill (1955)
Wes Montgomery - Far Wes (1958)
Dinah Shore - Dinah, Yes Indeed! (1959)
Alma Cogan - With You in Mind (1961)
Frank Sinatra - Sinatra Swings (1961)
Caterina Valente - Super-Fonics (1961)
Cliff Richard - 32 Minutes and 17 Seconds with Cliff Richard (1962)
Sheila Jordan - Portrait of Sheila (1963)
Andy Williams - Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests (1963)
Sergio Franchi - The Songs of Richard Rodgers (1965)[3]
Franco Cerri - 12 bacchette per una chitarra (1966)
Eliane Elias - Illusions (1986)
Jessye Norman - Lucky to be me (1992)
Roseanna Vitro - Softly (1993)

Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.
"This particular disc [the Cliff Sings Don't Talk To Him EP] provides yet another excellent example of his distinctive vocal talent, as he tackles a varied collection of song which range from his recent Don't Talk To Him hit to evergreen standards like Falling In Love With You."
James Wynn (March 1964 - Cliff Sings Don't Talk To Him EP)

Running Time: 1:45
Record Date: December 5, 1961
Record Location: Abbey Road, London
Written By: Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
Produced By: Norrie Paramor
Engineered By: Malcolm Addey & Norman Smith
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Norrie Paramor Orchestra (all other instruments)

 

This is a 1997 recording from the soundtrack.

 

Helen Merrill´s 1955 version. Very smooth. Notice the name Quincy Jones Septet. Now, where did I come across that name?

 

"WHO ARE WE TO SAY?" feels like a throwback to the songs on "CLIFF SONGS". Smoother and looser in feel than those songs, it nevertheless sounds and feels old. The back-up singers make you think of previous songs like "THEME FOR A DREAM" and "CATCH ME", but they are more tastefully done - and, thankfully, further down in the mix. The song was co-written by Ira Kosloff, who penned Elvis´ "I WANT YOU, I NEED YOU, I LOVE YOU" among others. AThe second composer is given as "Pray", but I was unable to find any information about him - or her.

The Composers:
Ira Kosloff: Ira Kosloff
Pray: ?



Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.

Running Time: 2:44
Record Date: December 11, 1961
Record Location: Abbey Road, London
Written By: Ira Kosloff & Tom Pray
Produced By: Norrie Paramor
Engineered By: Malcolm Addey
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Norrie Paramor Orchestra (all other instruments)

 

The final song on the album is, in addition to "IT´LL BE ME", my favourite. "I WAKE UP CRYIN´" is a beautiful ballad written by no other(s) than Burt Bacharach and his lyricist Hal David. The arrangement for this song is so subtle, so tender... It was originally performed by Chuck Jackson.

The Composers:
Burt Bacharach: Burt Bacharach - Wikipedia
Hal David: Hal David - Wikipedia



Robrt Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.
"December 8, 1961: ...the press erroneously announce that the 'B' side of the forthcoming Young Ones single will be I'll Wake Up Crying."
Mike Read, Nigel Goodall & Peter Lewry (1995 - The Complete Chronicle)

Running Time: 2:10
Record Date: December 4, 1961
Record Location: Abbey Road, London
Written By: Burt Bacharach & Hal David
Produced By: Norrie Paramor
Engineered By: Malcolm Addey & Norman Smith
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Norrie Paramor Orchestra (all other instruments), Mike Sammes Singers (backing vocals)

 

Chuck Jackson was a name I had never heard before today. His original version of the song is here, and I included his Wikipedia entry. Time to learn something new. I rather like his rawer version of the song. Lovely.



From Wikipedia:
Chuck Jackson (born July 22, 1937) is an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961. His hits include "I Don't Want to Cry," "Any Day Now," "I Keep Forgettin'", and "All Over the World".
He was born in Latta, South Carolina, and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Career
Between 1957 and 1959, he was a member of The Del-Vikings, singing lead on the 1957 release "Willette." After leaving them, he was "discovered" by Luther Dixon when he opened for Jackie Wilson at the Apollo Theater. He signed a recording contract with Scepter Records subsidiary Wand Records. "I Don't Want to Cry," his first single, which he co-wrote (with Luther Dixon) and recorded in November 1960, was his first hit (released in January 1961). The song charted on both the R&B and pop charts. In 1962, Jackson's recording of the Burt Bacharach-Bob Hilliard song "Any Day Now" became a huge hit and his signature song. His popularity in the 1960s prompted him to buy the time on his contract from Scepter and move to Motown Records. There he recorded a number of successful singles, including "Honey Come Back." He later recorded for All Platinum and other labels, but with minimal success.
After meeting producer/composer Charles Wallert at the Third Annual Beach Music Awards, the two collaborated to record "How Long Have You Been Loving Me" on Carolina Records.
In 1998, Jackson teamed with longtime friend Dionne Warwick to record "If I Let Myself Go", arranged as a duet by Wallert for Wave Entertainment. The recording received critical acclaim and charted at number 19 on the Gavin Adult Contemporary Charts. Jackson followed with "What Goes Around, Comes Around", another Wallert production and composition, and reached number 13 on the Gavin Charts.

Legacy
Several of Jackson's songs later became hits for other artists, including Ronnie Milsap, whose 1982 cover version of "Any Day Now" reached #1 on the Country and Adult Contemporary charts, and Michael McDonald, who covered "I Keep Forgettin'" with much success. "I Keep Forgettin'" also was covered by David Bowie in his album Tonight, and a version produced by Phil Spector for the Checkmates, Ltd.. Jackson was close friends with political strategist Lee Atwater. He appears in the documentary Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story.
Australian pop-rock band Big Pig recorded a cover to "I Can't Break Away", simply titled "Breakaway", which was used as the opening theme to the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. The song was covered in 2007 by house music singer Inaya Day.
On 4 October 2015, Chuck Jackson was inducted into the Official Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.

 

In summation, I think "32 MINUTES AND 17 SECONDS WITH CLIFF" was a successful next step for Cliff in 1962. It was a hit, and it featured quality recordings of various types of songs. On their own merits, most of the songs were good to great, and always professionally arranged and performed. What was lacking was perhaps the edge of "ME AND MY SHADOWS". This was not as personal as the first two albums, and it sounds to me like a compromise between commerical concerns and Cliff´s own preferences.

So, another good album. Time for a great one?

 

As usual, we´ll round up this momentous year in Cliff´s career - Hey, that rhymes! - with a look at the EP releases of 1962. First out was "CLIFF´S HIT PARADE". Nothing exciting seen from 2019, but it prvided an easy way to pick up a few of Cliff´s hits of 1960 and 1961. A bit heavy on the ballads, me thnks, but that didn´t prevent it from climbing to No. 4 in the EP charts. And having four Top 3 hits on one disc was rather handy.





There was also an Australian release of this EP, with a diffeent cover.

 

"CLIFF RICHARD 1" was the exciting title of the next EP release. Two big hits, and two album tracks. ("ANEMA E CORE" is, of course, "HOW WONDERFUL TO KNOW"´s original Italian title. The EP failed to make the charts.