Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin (48 page)

When she becomes seriously sick, the Queen fears that the public will learn the nature of her disease and thus dismiss her as irrelevant. So she does her best to control the press. When she is out of the news for too long, the Queen fears that the public will forget her and so she circulates stories—about love affairs, marriages, or biopic movies—that keep her name alive.

Afraid of losing her money, the Queen carries her purse with her onstage, where she can see it at all times.

In her troubled mind, control is the antidote to fear. She hires, fires, and rehires a battery of publicists, booking agents, and managers because, when all is said and done, she cannot relinquish control. Thus she starts her own record label, becoming her own producer and marketing manager.

When these operations fail, she deflects the blame. Self-scrutiny is not her way. Her methods of denial have been perfected over a lifetime. Finally, when she has no choice and turns to others for help, help is always there. She is, after all, our once and future Queen. In the annals of our magnificent music, there is only one Queen of Soul.

The Queen is the ultimate survivor, a symbol of strength. She fights off physical ailments. She fights off depression. With steely determination, she keeps moving forward, no matter what.

Today I imagine her walking through her sprawling home in the woodsy suburbs of Detroit. There is the ever-present larger-than-life photograph of her father, young and vibrant, reminding her of the spiritual community where her artistry was born. I see her looking at the pictures of her beloved siblings—Erma, Cecil, Carolyn, Vaughn—all gone. Memories absorb her. In her own fashion, she passes over bad memories and replaces them with good ones. In looking for comfort, she walks over to the grand piano, sits on the stool, and runs her fingers over the keys. Then she closes her eyes and sings. The comfort comes. She hears her voice as clean and clear. Her voice may be shakier with age, but it is immortal, deeply and perfectly her own.

Gospel poster from the 1950s (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland, Ohio)

Aretha’s Columbia Days, the early 1960s

With John Hammond (Don Hunstein. Sony Music Entertainment)

With Bob Mersey (Don Hunstein. Sony Music Entertainment)

Clyde Otis and Aretha (Don Hunstein. Sony Music Entertainment)

With Ted White (Sony Music Entertainment)

Young Aretha (Sony Music Entertainment)

The Atlantic Years

Jerry Wexler and Aretha, 1969 (GAB Archive/Redferns/Getty Images)

Duane Allman (standing), from right end of board to left: Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, and Jerry Wexler, 1969 (Stephen Paley/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Donny Hathaway and Aretha, 1973 (Estate of David Gahr/Premium Archive/Getty Images)

With Glynn Turman, 1978 (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Ruth Bowen in
Ebony,
1974 (David Ritz Collection)