The 25 Best Christmas Albums by Pop Divas
Pop divas seem born for Christmas: they’re dramatic, emotional, sentimental, campy – everything that’s Christmas. These best Christmas albums suit the season.
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin’s ‘Who’s Zoomin’ Who?’ Brought the Grand Diva into the 1980s
Aretha Franklin’s comeback with ‘Who’s Zoomin’ Who?’ wasn’t an awkward attempt to be hip. Instead, she entered the cool, synth-sluiced 1980s with aplomb.
50 Years Ago Aretha Franklin Celebrated Being ‘Young, Gifted and Black’
Aretha Franklin’s Young, Gifted and Black became a brilliant capper to a dizzying five years that produced perhaps the greatest run of studio LPs in any artist’s discography.
Aretha Franklin and Black Music Power
Aretha Franklin’s superior soul albums, ‘Spirit in the Dark’ and Young, Gifted and Black’, see her stepping up to the ’70s Black Power movement.
Aretha Franklin: Preacher’s Daughter
Aretha Franklin, born a musical prodigy, was nurtured by her father, Reverend C.L. Franklin, and his numerous houseguests of gospel and R&B renown.
What You Want, Baby, Aretha’s Got It
From January 1967 to January 1972, Aretha Franklin, one of 20th-century pop music's towering geniuses, stood the pop world on its head with a run, inconceivable today, of 11 albums. Tony Scherman's biography in progress about the Queen of Soul covers those years.
He’s the Leader: An Interview with Aretha’s “Main Man” Fonzi Thornton
From the Apollo Theater to the Kennedy Center, acclaimed vocalist Fonzi Thornton shares untold stories from his solo career and his prolific stage work with Diana Ross, Bryan Ferry, Aretha Franklin, and other music legends.
When Sunday Comes: Gospel Music in the Soul and Hip-Hop Eras (excerpt)
In this excerpt of Claudrena N. Harold's new book, When Sunday Comes, gospel legend James Cleveland joins the amazing Aretha Franklin to raise the rafters in spirited song.
The Top 10 Definitive Breakup Albums
When you feel bombarded with overpriced consumerism disguised as love, here are ten albums that look at love's hangover.
You Can Feel the Venue’s Heartbeat on Every Page of ‘Showtime at the Apollo’
How do we measure the status of a performer's Holy Grail like the Apollo Theater in 2019? Ted Fox and James Otis Smith's beautifully realized, updated graphic history brings this rich history to life.
Aretha Franklin: Context, Intersectionality, and the Rock Canon
Viewing Aretha Franklin's work through a focus on race, gender, and other categories of analysis can challenge us to do the same with all music, acknowledging how multiple points of oppression and privilege impact the production, consumption, and reception of a wide range of music.
Aretha Franklin: The Atlantic Singles Collection 1967-1970
Aretha Franklin's The Atlantic Singles Collection 1967-1970 documents how the Queen of Soul earned her crown.