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Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | 921 FRANKLIN | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
A frank examination of Aretha Franklin, Mark Bego's definitive biography traces her career accomplishments from her beginnings as a twelve-year-old member of a church choir in the early 1950s, to recording her first album at the age of fourteen and signing a major recording contract at eighteen, right up through her headline-grabbing 2010 health scare. Originally positioned to become a gospel star in her father's Detroit church, Aretha had a privileged urban upbringing--stars such as Mahalia Jackson, Dinah Washington, and Sam Cooke regularly visited her father, Rev. C. L. Franklin. It wasn't long before she was creating a string of hits, from "Respect" to "Freeway of Love," and becoming one of the most beloved singers of the twentieth century.
This New York Times bestselling author's detailed research includes in-person interviews with record producers Jerry Wexler, Clyde Otis, and Clive Davis, Aretha's first husband, several of her singing star contemporaries, and a rare one-on-one session with Aretha herself. Every album, every accolade, and every heart-breaking personal drama is examined with clarity and neutrality, allowing Franklin's colorful story to unfold on its own. With two teenage pregnancies and an abusive first marriage, drinking problems, battles with her weight, the murder of her father, and tabloid wars, Aretha's life has been a roller coaster. This freshly updated and expanded biography will give readers a clear understanding of what made Aretha Franklin the "Queen of Soul."
Author Notes
Mark Bego is a New York Times best-selling author of sixty-two books on rock 'n' roll, country music, and show business. Heralded in Publisher's Weekly as "The Prince of Pop Music Bios," his biographies have covered Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and Billy Joel, with 11 million copies of his books in print. Bego lives in Tucson, Arizona.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this unauthorized biography, Bego (who has written books on Michael Jackson and Elton John, among many others) expands his previous books, published in 1989 and 2001, about dynamic vocalist Franklin. For this third book, Bego includes all of the earlier editions, adding "over one dozen Aretha Franklin stories and two new chapters in order to bring the story all the way up to 2012." Those 53 pages tacked on at the end are followed by a "new and improved" reconstructed discography. Here are the highs (singing at the Clinton White House, being a 1994 Kennedy Center Honoree, winning 20 Grammy Awards, performing at Obama's inauguration) and the lows: teen pregnancies, her stormy first marriage, canceled engagements, lawsuits, drinking and weight problems, the fire at her $1.8 million home. Bego writes with enthusiasm and manages to juggle "conflicting information," but since Franklin prefers privacy, he's unable to get the inside information that would have captured the soul of this legendary soul singer. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Survivor story of the Detroit preacher's daughter who burst upon the music scene as a gospel singer, then crossed over to pop and rock-and-roll without losing her gospel roots. Sadness struck Aretha early when, at 15, she found herself pregnant and decided to have the baby. Her father, the Reverend C.L. Franklin, was a famed radio preacher based in Detroit whose evangelical troups played church stops around the country and who had 50 phonograph records of his vibrant sermons made and sold by Chess Records. At home the Reverend--who lived high and had a pink Cadillac--was a hub of musical activity in Detroit, and, as a child and teen-ager, Aretha swung the night away at home with visiting jazz greats like Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson or by singing with gospel/soul stars like Sam Cooke. She modeled her singing on Clara Ward's thrilling delivery and taught herself to play piano like Ward. At 12, she began drawing crowds to Reverend Franklin's 4500-seat New Bethel Baptist Church and had churchgoers fainting in their pews. Meanwhile, her mother deserted the family, an act that remains a mystery, then died of cancer when Aretha was ten. Her mother's death, her father's later being fatally shot at home by a robber, an unhappy series of husbands and lovers, and her unmanageable weight problem have contributed to Aretha's restrained life today. After life on the road and winning more Grammys and having more Top Ten hits than any woman in Rock, Pop, Soul or Gospel, she almost never leaves Detroit, staying walled up in her fine home. A close friend of Martin Luther King's, she apparently fears being assassinated in public by some cracked admirer or crazed white. Bego (Linda Gray) asks more questions than he finds answers for, and Aretha remains still a mystery. But he has energetically interviewed the right people and done groundbreaking work--the Soul recording background is strong and absorbing. In all, a merely competent netting of a vastly vital woman. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Bego, the king of pop biographies, has expanded and updated his portrait of the Queen of Soul, which appeared first in 1989, then in 2001. Now his thorough knowledge and unwavering enthusiasm in chronicling Franklin's extraordinary career and shadowed life coalesce in a definitive and irresistible biography. Chatty and caring, Bego offers energetic analysis of Franklin's enormously influential hits ( Respect, Natural Woman ), wildly varied albums, legendary concerts, and bewildering fashion faux pas. Drawing on dozens of interviews with producers, musicians, and others in her circle, Bego delineates the genius of Franklin's musicality as a singer, pianist, and arranger, marveling at her prolificacy and versatility in performing R&B, jazz, rock, gospel, and opera. Pushing past his oddly endearing glitches (cliches, repetition, gushiness), Bego delves into Franklin's secret sorrows and depression, passion for cooking and epic overeating, fear of flying and reclusiveness. For all his persistence, Bego could not unearth the whole truth about her teenage pregnancies, oppressive and abusive first marriage, financial fiascos, or recent health scares. What does emerge with new clarity is the fact that Franklin, winner of 18 Grammys, is not only a queen but also a phoenix, rising triumphantly in sequins and fur from the ashes of despair to reign as a magnificently soulful artist, a voice of pain and womanly-wise transcendence.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Bego's detail-laden effort could well stand as the definitive reading of the Queen of Soul's life and career, barring an objective account by Her Majesty herself. But while certainly interesting, Aretha's life does not lend itself to the in-print excitement that, say, a Jerry Lee Lewis or a Keith Moon might inspire. Indeed, so much of Franklin's life is shrouded by a veil of privacy that it was a real challenge for Bego to unearth as much as he did. Although he obviously reveres his subject, he nevertheless displays a good reporter's fearlessness in revealing less-than-complimentary aspects of Franklin's life. He occasionally gets bogged down with minutiae (especially when writing about recording sessions), but his overall performance is good. Recommended for popular music collections.-- David M. Turkalo, Social Law Lib., Boston (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
