美国国家公共电台 NPR Aretha Franklin, The 'Queen Of Soul,' Dies At 76

Aretha Franklin, The 'Queen Of Soul,' Dies At 76

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

We are sad to report this morning that the Queen of Soul has died. Aretha Franklin was 76 and had pancreatic cancer. Let's look back now with NPR's Ted¹ Robbins.

TED ROBBINS, BYLINE²: No one's life can be condensed to one word. But, Aretha Franklin, she came close when she sang this.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RESPECT")

ARETHA FRANKLIN: (Singing) R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Find out what it means to me. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Take care, TCB.

ROBBINS: "Respect." The song was written by the great Otis Redding. In his version, a man is pleading, offering his woman anything she wants in exchange for her respect.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RESPECT")

OTIS REDDING: (Singing) Hey, little girl, your soul's sweeter than honey. And I'm about to just give you all of my money.

ROBBINS: Aretha Franklin flipped³ the perspective.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RESPECT")

FRANKLIN: (Singing) Ooh, your kisses, sweeter than honey. And guess what? So is my money.

ROBBINS: She was 25 years old when "Respect" went to the top of the charts in 1967. She told NPR in 2004 that she'd been singing in church since she was a small child.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

FRANKLIN: Someone found the footstool in the office and put it there on stage for me to stand on to sing because they didn't feel that I would be seen, I was so small.

ROBBINS: She was 14 when she recorded this.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PRECIOUS LORD")

FRANKLIN: (Singing) Father. Father. Father, hear my cry, Lord. And, oh, hear my call.

ROBBINS: Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis. She grew up in Detroit, where her father was the famous preacher C.L. Franklin. She told PBS "American Masters" that her father would coach her.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN MASTERS")

FRANKLIN: He would give me different records to listen to, and to see if I could emulate⁴ them on the piano, different vocalists to listen to.

ROBBINS: Gospel vocalists. But Aretha listened to popular music, too, and met rhythm and blues⁵ artists as she toured with her father.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN MASTERS")

FRANKLIN: People like Fats Domino, and Bobby Bland⁶ and many other artists that would be staying in the same hotel that we would be staying in.

ROBBINS: And there was her Detroit neighborhood. It was filled with future Motown stars, like Diana Ross, The Four Tops and Smokey Robinson.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN MASTERS")

SMOKEY ROBINSON: I've known Aretha since I was probably 8 years old. She grew up right around the corner from me.

ROBBINS: When Aretha was 18, she confided⁷ to her father that she longed to cross over from gospel to secular⁸ music. If that's what she wanted, he would help her. They made a demo which led to a contract with Columbia Records. In 1961, the bluesy⁹ "Won't Be Long" reached the Billboard¹⁰ Hot 100.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WON'T BE LONG")

FRANKLIN: (Singing) My daddy told me when he said goodbye - yes, he did - I'll be back, baby. Baby, bye and bye.

ROBBINS: Then she moved to Atlantic Records. That's where she became the Queen of Soul. Just listen to some of the classics she released between the late 1960s and the mid-'70s.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHAIN OF FOOLS")

FRANKLIN: (Singing) Chain, chain, chain. Chain of fools.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THINK")

FRANKLIN: (Singing) You better think. Think about what you're trying to do to me, yeah. Think, think. Let your mind go. Let yourself be free. Oh, freedom.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DO RIGHT WOMAN")

FRANKLIN: (Singing) If you want a do-right-all-day woman, you got to be a do-right-all-night man.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "(YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE) A NATURAL WOMAN")

FRANKLIN: (Singing) 'Cause you make me feel, you make me feel, you make me feel like a natural woman.

ROBBINS: Aretha Franklin grew up in the civil rights era, and she was deeply involved in the movement. Her father was a close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN MASTERS")

FRANKLIN: My dad brought him to Detroit and introduced him to the city of Detroit through the New Bethel Baptist Church.

ROBBINS: The late comedian¹¹ and activist¹² Dick Gregory told PBS the Franklins helped fund the movement.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN MASTERS")

DICK GREGORY: If Martin needed money, he could make one phone call to Reverend Franklin, and that money was there. Also, Reverend Franklin could deliver his daughter over whatever record executives or managers would say.

ROBBINS: Aretha Franklin's songs helped the nation through the assassination¹³ of Dr. King, and they helped American soldiers in Vietnam.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

FRANKLIN: On occasion, I hear that some of them helped them get through the service, the war. And I'm delighted by that.

ROBBINS: Franklin continued recording¹⁴ and had hits into the 1990s.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "A ROSE IS STILL A ROSE")

FRANKLIN: (Singing) Because a rose is still a rose. Baby girl, you're still a flower.

ROBBINS: She performed with The Rolling Stones, and when tenor¹⁵ Luciano Pavarotti became ill, she filled in for him, singing Puccini at the 1998 Grammy Awards.

(SOUNDBITE OF 40TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS TELECAST)

FRANKLIN: (Singing in Italian).

ROBBINS: As successful as she was, Aretha Franklin had a turbulent personal life. Her mother died before she was 10. Her father was shot in an attempted robbery and lingered in a coma¹⁶ for five years before he died. She had two children before age 17, and two more later during two marriages which ended in divorce. She struggled with her weight and with smoking. Franklin continued performing but she rarely toured because of a fear of flying. Still, in 2009, she sang for the inauguration¹⁷ of President Barack Obama.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MY COUNTRY 'TIS OF THEE")

FRANKLIN: (Singing) My country, 'tis of thee. Sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

ROBBINS: Aretha Franklin received just about every award a singer can get, from 18 Grammys, to the Presidential Medal of Freedom to being the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She performed until she couldn't anymore because, as she once said, being the Queen of Soul was second nature to her.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER")

FRANKLIN: (Singing) Forever - forever - and ever, you'll stay in my heart.

ROBBINS: Ted Robbins, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER")

FRANKLIN: (Singing) Forever and ever. We never will part. We'll be together.

GREENE: Reporter Allison Keyes contributed to that story.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER")

FRANKLIN: (Singing) Would only mean heartbreak for me. Nobody but me. Forever - ever - and ever, ever...

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

4 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

5 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

6 bland   

adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的

参考例句：

• He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
• This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。

7 confided   

v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
• He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露，他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

9 bluesy   

adj.布鲁斯乐的（一种摇摆乐）

参考例句：

• As a teenager I was obsessed ragtime, and bluesy guitar guys like Johnny Winter. 当我十几岁的时候我迷上了雷鬼，和JohnnyWinter那样的布鲁斯吉他手。 来自互联网
• Lips Accentuate your new bluesy beat in simply sensational LipSlicks Hint of Mauve. 为了强调新布鲁斯乐的节奏，涂上紫红色的唇彩是最自然的。 来自互联网

10 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

11 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

12 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

13 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

14 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

15 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

16 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

17 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。