Nineteen sixty-seven was a tough year in many respects — riots, protests, an unwinnable war — but I can’t think of it without thinking of the glory of Aretha Franklin, a woman in her mid-20s, introverted and somewhat shy, who sang soul and rock ’n’ roll with the power and beauty of a heavenly choir.
Newark and Detroit went up in flames in 1967, and neither city was ever to recover. Muhammad Ali, a perfect physical specimen in his absolute athletic prime, was convicted of dodging the draft and stripped of his world heavyweight championship. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. endured a hurricane of criticism when he came out publicly against the war in Vietnam and called the United States government “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.”
If you were lucky, you could close the door on the din, at least for a little while, and reach for the record album with the head and shoulder shot of Aretha positioned at a precarious angle on the cover. The album was called “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You,” and if you listened closely, if you paid attention, it would just thrill you, take you to a place of exquisite human feeling. A region of laughter and tears. Of love and joyous possibilities.
Aretha, now 68, recently had surgery and is very ill, reportedly with pancreatic cancer. I spoke a few days ago with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who is very close to the Franklin family. He was reluctant to speak in detail, saying only that Aretha is home from the hospital, that the surgery was “successful” and she is “recovering nicely.”
Aretha Franklin death, aretha franklin dead, aretha franklin, asbury park press, craigslist rockford.
Aretha suffered through rough relationships with men, chronic weight problems and bouts of despondency. But always there was the music, the splendor and artistry and grace of Aretha when she was at her best, which was often. As the author Peter Guralnick has put it: “Aretha staked out a claim for the ecstatic transcendence of the imagination.”
Rolling Stone magazine ranked her No. 1 on its list of the 100 greatest singers of the rock era, calling her “a gift from God.”
The Respect singer, 68, is suffering from incurable advanced pancreatic cancer, a US magazine claimed. Her family confirmed that she had the disease but refused to give details or discuss her prognosis, reports the Sun. Family and friends are 'very concerned' but said she is doing well.
It was earlier reported that the American singer is recovering from surgery to treat pancreatic cancer, She announced last week that she was canceling all her concerts until May on the advice of her doctor, but did not disclose the cause of her illness. Aretha Franklin death, aretha franklin dead, aretha franklin, asbury park press, craigslist rockford.
Newark and Detroit went up in flames in 1967, and neither city was ever to recover. Muhammad Ali, a perfect physical specimen in his absolute athletic prime, was convicted of dodging the draft and stripped of his world heavyweight championship. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. endured a hurricane of criticism when he came out publicly against the war in Vietnam and called the United States government “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.”
If you were lucky, you could close the door on the din, at least for a little while, and reach for the record album with the head and shoulder shot of Aretha positioned at a precarious angle on the cover. The album was called “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You,” and if you listened closely, if you paid attention, it would just thrill you, take you to a place of exquisite human feeling. A region of laughter and tears. Of love and joyous possibilities.
Aretha, now 68, recently had surgery and is very ill, reportedly with pancreatic cancer. I spoke a few days ago with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who is very close to the Franklin family. He was reluctant to speak in detail, saying only that Aretha is home from the hospital, that the surgery was “successful” and she is “recovering nicely.”
Aretha Franklin death, aretha franklin dead, aretha franklin, asbury park press, craigslist rockford.
Aretha suffered through rough relationships with men, chronic weight problems and bouts of despondency. But always there was the music, the splendor and artistry and grace of Aretha when she was at her best, which was often. As the author Peter Guralnick has put it: “Aretha staked out a claim for the ecstatic transcendence of the imagination.”
Rolling Stone magazine ranked her No. 1 on its list of the 100 greatest singers of the rock era, calling her “a gift from God.”
The Respect singer, 68, is suffering from incurable advanced pancreatic cancer, a US magazine claimed. Her family confirmed that she had the disease but refused to give details or discuss her prognosis, reports the Sun. Family and friends are 'very concerned' but said she is doing well.
It was earlier reported that the American singer is recovering from surgery to treat pancreatic cancer, She announced last week that she was canceling all her concerts until May on the advice of her doctor, but did not disclose the cause of her illness. Aretha Franklin death, aretha franklin dead, aretha franklin, asbury park press, craigslist rockford.
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