I grew up in an unwittingly musical home. My mum loved to dance not so much my Dad. Even when she was quite ill and will go on and off a long medication which kept her in bed at least twice a week, Mrs. Josephine Hawawu Amodu was known to break into a dance whenever her health would permit. Her musical taste varied and she introduced me to the songs of the legendary Nigerian theatre giant, Hubert Ogunde and the musical geniuses from her home state Okene. She also reveled in the great jazz musicians of the past, Stevie Wonder and the great Louis Armstrong. She also listened a great deal to Jim Reeves and the soulful ballads of many African American musicians like Otis Redding and the more dramatic James Brown. Add that to Nigeria’s IK Dairo and add her high life loves which included Joe Nez Osita Osadebey and Rex Lawson. There was the occasional Fela and Bobby Benson. My mother’s musical interest was eclectic. My father in the meantime dutifully provided the musical instruments and tools for us to play our records buying any new music player in the seventies from America, an eight track player and recorder which he brought home in 1974 after his studies. By now my own musical influences and interests were growing. I could not sing that well neither could my mum, but it was hard to find her not singing in the kitchen or in the bathroom. The death of Aretha Franklin touched me in a very special way for she was always famously crooning in our living room when I was growing up or from my mother’s set in her room. I grew very fond of what has become my favorite Aretha Franklin’s song to date. “I say a little prayer for you.” A ballad of earth moving proportions. Aretha Franklin made the song her oyster and drove us all to tears. Beautiful, ethereal, heavenly, she brought the house down every time she picked it up, singing it as recent as at Elton John’s charity concert even though one could see that she had lost so much weight and was already ailing. Although she suffered personal hardships, sorrows and tragedies, Aretha remained one of America’s iconic gifts to the world. A multiple diva at all times who cared about her looks and was described as a very kind woman whose faith was unflappable. As her nation, friends, family and fans honor her, I join millions of people around the world to salute her persona and her musical legacy and to say what warmth you brought into our home every time you belted out your tunes. May your gentle soul rest in peace Amen. Here are five books in celebration of the unmatched and classical Aretha Franklin.
1) Leading the pack is Penguin books “Who is” collection and Aretha Franklin is featured in Who is Aretha Franklin, a beautifully illustrated book written by Nico Medina. It chronicles Aretha’s life from when she was born and how the church on Hastings street, Detroit Michigan became the place where her career started. Her Father, the Reverend CL Franklin was a minister in the church where Aretha first sang her first solo as a ten-year-old in 1952. Having recently lost her mum, she belted out her first solo with the soulful singing for which she came to be known. A truly historic book with beautiful drawings. Highly recommended.
