It’s delightful how delighted Carole King is… but then, who wouldn’t be? Via NYMag:
Earlier this month, Aretha Franklin graced the Kennedy Center Honors stage to pay tribute to Carole King, one of six honorees this year. Aretha received that same honor more than two decades ago, but if you think she deserved it then, hoo boy, just look at her now: The Queen of Soul arrived to slay, casually strolling across the stage in her floor-length fur coat like it was her living room, tossing her sparkling clutch on the piano and taking her seat at the keys — a rare sight these days. Already, King’s mouth is agape. Barely a minute into “Natural Woman,” which King co-wrote, President Obama’s wiping away tears. The whole room (particularly King, who can’t help but stand out) is mesmerized…
ETA: Because star commentor LAMH is correct, as always — this performance also deserves full attention:
EATA: Courtesy of TaMara, you can watch the entire show at this link.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
It was an amazing performance, even seeing it on TV weeks later.
Cheers,
Scott.
gogol's wife
All I could think was, how can she play the piano in that coat? That’s hard!
I’m hoping we can watch this on the CBS website tonight. For some reason I had it down in my calendar as being broadcast on New Year’s Eve. I blame my cold — my brain is not working right.
Redshift
Yeah, that was just awesome, in every sense of the word.
SiubhanDuinne
Buncha great gifs here, with captions that are almost good, they’re so lame-snarky.
Satby
So great!
ThresherK
Before Aretha’s “nobody can follow that!” performance, Miranda Lambert sang “Desperado”. Was anyone else underwhelmed by Lambert?
Elizabelle
I wonder if CBS would re-air the program.
SyFy channel starts its Twilight Zone marathon at 7:00 p tonight. Love me some Rod Serling and all the actors who later became stars and more recognizable.
To say nothing of the stories and implications.
JPL
@ThresherK: Yes!! It made me miss Sarah Bolger’s performance in In America.
lamh36
@ThresherK: Boring as hell, but she was followed and frankly upstaged by that stellar performance by CeCe Winans in tribute of Cicely Tyson followed by that musical tribute for Carole King
I posted the performance by CeCe Winans on another thread, I know folks here aren’t always keen on “religious” stuff, but CeCe’s performance is worth mentioning because of how great she was and seeing the beautiful Black faces of her backing choir from Cicely Tyson Community School for Fine Arts (especially with all the news of young Black lives being taken out in the news)
Also too, Cicely’s reaction was enough to make even the most big names emotional, hell, even Usher was crying.
ICYMI: CeCe Winans performs Blessed Assurance in honor of Cicely Tyson Kennedy Center Honor
Suzanne
@ThresherK: I am underwhelmed by the Eagles, period.
Aretha is a goddess among women.
BBA
I’ve long thought that we’d only get action on police impunity when rich white guys start getting targeted, and probably not even then.
Well, rich white guy (and Linux god) Ian Murdock was murdered by police on Monday.
SiubhanDuinne
Carole King and Aretha Franklin both come across as ageless. I don’t mean “young-looking” necessarily, I mean it is almost impossible from their appearance, attitude, and energy to have any idea about their chronological ages. Turns out, they were both born in 1942 — as was I. Does a heart good.
dogwood
Kennedy Center Honors is always a great show. The honorees are always so appreciative and worthy of recognition, that I never read reviews about the performances. It’s not a show for nit-picking. That said this year’s was especially good. I have a lot of good memories from that show over the years. The Aretha Franklin tribute, YoYoMa, Led Zeppelin, Dolly Parton, to name just a few.
donnah
I bawled through the awards presentation. Cicely Tyson was as overwhelmed as Carole King by the tribute, and even the George Lucas segment was moving. I was so happy to see our President and First Lady enjoying the event. Seeing them singing along just made me smile. It was a great program.
I love my President!
KS in MA
Sigh! I could watch that video all day. Thanks for posting it, AL!
lamh36
@dogwood: to be honest, the “Obama” years have been really good every year. I barely recall the Bush years, except the year with Tina Turner who was honored by Beyonce I believe.
I was much younger during the Clinton years and do not recall ANY of those broadcast at all I honestly can’t imagine what a Trump, HRC, or Sanders KChonors would look like.
jharp
Just amazing. Aretha Franklin is a national treasure.
geg6
I got home from seeing SW just in time to catch the King tributes and Aretha was simply amazing. If I’d been Carole King, I’d have been freaking out even more. She is so awesome and I just adore her and always have.
Baud
@lamh36:
Trump might finally honor professional wrestlers at this thing.
dogwood
@lamh36:
I don’t believe the President has anything to do with who gets honored. It’s the Kennedy center honors not the President honors. The president hosts a reception and sits with the honorees at the show. I wouldn’t not watch the program, or assume it would be bad because I didn’t like the President. The Dolly Parton tribute was during the Bush years and it’s a classic.
lamh36
@dogwood: never said I didn’t watch because I didn’t like whatever President.
I never had any interest in it. It just so happened that I did consistently watch during the “Obama” years…that is all. Nothing to do with who the Pres was.
And I am aware that the Prez does pick the honorees…the bit about the future President’s programs was an attempt at a joke, as I see someone else understood
ETA: From Wikepedia:
Emma
That is one hell of a master class.
SiubhanDuinne
@BBA:
From what I’ve read, the circumstances of his death have not even been released. He apparently threatened suicide on Monday on FB/Twitter. He was apparently arrested on Monday, although it’s not at all clear whether said arrest was related in any way to his suicide threat. It is also not clear that he died in police custody, or as a result of being in police custody.
It may well turn out to be the case, but at this point your claim of “murderd by police” seems irresponsible, to say the least. Do you have a source or link?
laura
In addition to the Kennedy Center Honors two music news notes, one happy and one sad:
Guns n Roses reunion in the New Year and,
The passing of Lemmy Kilmister legendary front man of Motorhead.
My brother intruded Slash and Carole King. They’re good pals.
dogwood
@lamh36:
Well, you said that you couldn’t imagine what the program would be like with a different president which led me to believe you assumed the president was central to the quality or nature of the tributes. I’m old, so I’ve watched these programs for decades. I hope that what you’ve seen during the Obama years has made you a fan.
And on another note. The Carole King tribute was especially nostalgic for me. Over the holiday’s my sister and I were talking about our high school years and reminiscing about wearing out “Aretha Franklin’s Greatest Hits”, Carole King’s “Tapestry” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Bare Trees”. So seeing Aretha and Carole together really hit a nice nerve for me.
laura
Oops, he did NOT intrude, but instead, introduced.
TaMara (BHF)
(Anne Laurie – you might want to put this link in the post itself)
@gogol’s wife:
Here is the video link for the full show
Also, if you go to youtube you can watch the President’s full remarks.
Schlemazel
@SiubhanDuinne:
Nobody that age has a voice like that! She is amazing. My mom took me to see Mahalia Jackson when I was young. It was not until years later when I understood what time did to great voices that I really understood what a great talent she was. I had flashbacks to her while watching that video. The power, that range, simply not normal, what a blessing to her her.
Ultraviolet Thunder
There may be recordings of Aretha at a very young age floating around. A good friend of mine’s father had a record shop on Hastings in Detroit. He had a contract to make recordings of sermons at area churches and Rev. Franklin’s were always in demand. He also recorded the choirs and soloists, and pressed a few copies. This was ephemeral stuff, but collectors still dig for it. Once flipping stacks at a Goodwill I saw a guy with the VON Records (my friend’s father’s obscure brand) label tattooed on his arm. He was from Manchester England. You never know what will turn up.
In any case, she’s a treasure and that’s an outstanding performance.
rikyrah
love this article…..LOL
…………
Obama cries as Aretha Franklin proves why she’s the queen of soul
You want to know why Aretha is the indisputable Queen of Soul? Watch this. You want to know why hacks like me send her fan mail by the week pleading for an interview, knowing there is sod-all hope, but not resenting her one smidge? Watch this.
Aretha is performing at the 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, held on 6 December in Washington and broadcast on CBS on Tuesday night. It wasn’t even Aretha’s night. Oh no. This ceremony was to award, among others, Rita Moreno,George Lucas and Carole King. Then up steps Aretha to sing the King/Goffin/Wexler 1967 classic (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.
Look at King, open-mouthed in shock and awe (the right kind of shock and awe) – and this is before Aretha’s even opened hers. Everything about Aretha is astonishing – the range, depth, control in her voice, the phrasing, the passion, the playing, the floor-length fur, the sparkling clutch purse. The more Aretha sings, the harder it is to believe that King is not going to die and go to heaven. President Obama is wiping away tears before Aretha’s even done with the first verse. Aretha is 73, looks wonderful, and might just be singing better than ever.
To top everything, she throws the mink to the ground with supreme elan. Nobody chucks a fur like Aretha. This is not the performance of the year, it’s the performance of the millennium. Long live the Queen.
TaMara (BHF)
@rikyrah: That was great. Thanks for sharing it.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
I got the Kirkus review of Becoming Phoebe today. I couldn’t have asked for one much more complimentary. It ends with:
I’m in a good mood this evening.
lamh36
I think alot of folks don’t know that Aretha Franklin was accepted into Juilliard School of Music for classical piano…so she knows her way around a piano.
It’s just so rare as she’s gotten older to see her sit at the piano to play. I’d always assumed it may have to do with her being a diabetic, diabetic nerve disease can be a real bitch.
BB King used to talk about how hard it was to suffer from the disease especially since he fingers are his trade…
It’s why I think Carole King was so shocked to see Aretha sit at that piano
SiubhanDuinne
@Schlemazel:
I heard Mahalia Jackson sing in Chicago in probably around 1958-59 or so. She was incredible. Get-down Gospel music, spirituals, and some good old secular folk music. She sang “Everybody Loves Saturday Night” in about 20 different languages, verse after verse after verse. Just wonderful.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Congratulations!
SiubhanDuinne
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Oh, that is great!! Congratulations, TTP!
Baud
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Congrats!
rikyrah
Blessed Assurance is my favorite hymn…so, I loved Ms. Winan’s performance last night. Moved me to my soul.
SiubhanDuinne
@rikyrah:
“Nobody chucks a fur like Aretha.”
What a perfect, perfect sentence.
realbtl
Whew! That is all.
WaterGirl
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: I read the review from the link in my update. Besides yelling “spoiler alert!” out loud as I read the review, I thought it was really wonderful.
Big congratulations.
Mary G
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Mazel tov! You put your heart and soul into that story, from what I’ve seen you write here.
gogol's wife
@lamh36:
For me that was even better than Aretha. I love that song. I guess there’s a scene in the play The Trip to Bountiful where Tyson sings it, and it’s amazing.
gogol's wife
@lamh36:
The Obama ones have been light-years better than earlier ones.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: Michelle looked gorgeous, too. What a beautiful dress!
gogol's wife
@TaMara (BHF):
Thank you!
Mike E
I’m a fan of both women, and that’s why we must always honor artists…tho, did you check out George Lucas trying his hand at directing there? Heh.
gogol's wife
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Congratulations! I’m so glad!
rikyrah
That’s why Carole King has lived a long life…she could always count on those music publishing $$$$$. Was surprised years ago when I found out just how lucrative the writing of the song was…they make money long after the ‘performers’ of the song do.
Honestly, until I saw the ads for the Carole King Musical, with all kinds of different musical acts – THAT I KNEW- I didn’t know how much she had written.
gogol's wife
@rikyrah:
Yes, she has a great catalogue, some with Goffin.
Anne Laurie
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Congratulations! We know how hard & how long you worked on Becoming Phoebe; glad you’re happy with the results.
rikyrah
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
That is great TTP!!
WereBear
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: OMG, Kirkus!?!? That is freakin’ awesome.
schrodinger's cat
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Congratulations! When will it be available on Amazon and in my local book store?
lamh36
@gogol’s wife: no matter how I feel now, I was raised in the church and Blessed Assurance is one of the first song you learn to sing…
I was literally singing my heart out to every word. I even wish they’d let her sing the entire song…loved it so much…lol
gogol's wife
@lamh36:
“this is my story, this is my song” — if you don’t cry when you hear that . . . .
lamh36
@gogol’s wife: right! Don’t even get me started.
I will be singing at the top of my lungs, like I’m singing an Adele song…lol
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@WereBear: Definitely worth the $500.
JPL
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: How wonderful! Congrats.
raven
@rikyrah: Ever see American Hot Wax about Alan Freed and early rock and roll. Laraine Newman plays a Carole King type character. Chuck Berry, Freddy Cannon, Screamin Jay Hawkins and Jerry Lee are all in it as well as a number of groups that are “representative” of great groups of the 50’s.
whoa, it’s up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGJhaU6-6Qc
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@schrodinger’s cat: It will be available on Amazon on February 1. It’ll probably be ready a bit earlier than that, but I’m going to give the Kickstarter supporters first crack at it if we get it done before then.
It will be available for your local bookstore to carry at the same time, through Ingram-Spark, but I suspect that very few will actually pick it up. I’ll be going around to the local stores and pitching it to them once I have it in hand. We’ll see how that goes.
raven
The guy that plays Alan Freed is Tim Mcintire who also sang the soundtrack of Jeremiah Johnson.
PurpleGirl
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Congratulations! That is so good.
Patricia Kayden
Thank TaMara for the link to the entire show. Looking forward to watching it. I thoroughly enjoyed last year’s show with Sting as one of the honorees.
JPL
@efgoldman: Not at all. Earlier I mentioned the show to a friend and spoke about him. Yo-Yo Ma was great in his tribute.
Steeplejack (phone)
@efgoldman:
I think “seiji ozawa” actually does mean chopped liver in Japanese.
JordanRules
I really enjoyed the show and tributes.
But somebody really started cutting onions when Aretha did her thing. I just loved how excited Carole King was too.
David Koch
Here’s a great photo from last year’s show.
NotMax
If ever in need of showing someone an example of the word eclectic, point them to this year’s National Film Registry choices by the Library of Congress.
jo6pac
Saw her at Fillmore with Allman band nothing but tears in the eyes of all of us. The Voice of feeling to everyone’s heart. Thanks for posting:)
raven
@jo6pac: When Duane was alive?
David Koch
geg6
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Wow! A rave from Kirkus! You must be thrilled. Congratulations
Anoniminous
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Congratulations!
gogol's wife
I hope Mnemosyne got to see Miranda pay tribute to Rita Moreno. He was great.
Anoniminous
Brinks Truck UNLIMITED CORPORATE CASH!!! Hammer Time JEB! is pulling his TV ads:
Davebo
@BBA: It’s more than a little early to blame Ian Murdock’s death on police.
Unless you have some information not made public.
SiubhanDuinne
@Davebo:
Yeah, <a href="SiubhanDuinne: “>I asked him for that two hours ago and he hasn’t bothered to respond.
ETA:Sorry about the ugly link. Thought I was embedding, but I guess not.
PurpleGirl
@David Koch: I love Michelle. She is classy, dresses well, speaks well… there are times I wish we could get her to run for president.
David Koch
Just think how classy, luxurious, and yooooge the Kennedy Center Honors will be under President Trump.
raven
@Davebo: I guess you the threads last night?
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: As you should be. Congratulations!
J R in WV
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Wow! Congratulations! You should be, must be over the moon after that.
Best of luck now that you’re sliding downhill!
Davebo
@raven: I have no idea what you intended to convey with that gibberish.
raven
@Davebo: It’s never to early to blame the police.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@lamh36: The story of The Homeward Choir, a choir of homeless men in Atlanta, singing in the WH (by Presidential invitation) was more than moving. “Go, Tell It On The Mountain” as they sang it was spectacular. I had something in my eye.
KS in MA
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Congratulations!!!! That’s a mighty good review!
Howard Beale IV
Erick son of Erick is launching a new vanity website: theresurgent.com. Adding more percentage to Sturgeons’s Law.
Davebo
@raven:
In this case, it’s crying wolf unless, again, you guys know more than the rest of the world.
And doing so debases legitimate complaints and provides fodder for those who would defend police misconduct.
raven
@Davebo: Adjust your snark detector please.
Davebo
@Howard Beale IV: Good god, how many sites does he need to spew his crap?
Davebo
@raven:
Sorry. I’m just used to a better quality of snark.
But keep working on it! ;0)
Gonghayfatchoy!
raven
@Davebo: Sorry, I’m watching football and snarking on the side!
Anne Laurie
@Davebo: Redstate’s pretty tainted — too many minions/underlings trying to ugly-scream their way to the top of the pyramid. Now that Erick ‘Voice of the GOP Gated Community” Erickson has what he conceives as a shot at high-dollar Respectability, he needs a new clean vehicle for his steam-polished punditory… one where his calling David Souter “a goat-fvcking child molestor” isn’t the top hit on Google search.
Think of it this way: If Cole wanted to try for a spot on the NYTimes op-ed roster, it wouldn’t do his chances any good to be associated with a lot of foul-mouthed rabble and tasteless aggregators like yours truly. He’d have to give the NYT suits a new, more ‘professional’ site to link, with better design and no FYWP issues, providing only his own content with maybe the occasional guest-post from recognized experts like Tom Levenson or Richard Mayhew.
Fortunately, I find it hard to imagine our John Cole desiring such a social upgrade!
Baud
@Anne Laurie: He’d also have to put on pants.
rikyrah
Luvvie has weighed in on Aretha at Kennedy Center Honors.
Aretha Franklin is Every Older Black Woman at the Kennedy Center Honors
Awesomely Luvvie — December 30, 2015
Last night was the airing of the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, saluting Rita Moreno, George Lucas, Cicely Tyson, Seiji Ozawa and Carole King.
Aretha Franklin performed “Natural Woman” to a standing ovation to honor Carole. President Obama and FLOTUS Shellie were getting their entire good times because the Queen of Soul can’t help but slay. She even moved Barack to tears. She is legend and she has been on more stages than she can count. She can literally do this and leave everyone hollering IN HER SLEEP.
Schlemazel
@SiubhanDuinne:
That would have been around the time I saw her. Glad to know I’m not the only person to remember that
Mary G
Well, I just watched the whole thing. Nothing beats Aretha’s mic drop with a full-length fur, but CeCe Winans was amazing, too. Thanks to everyone talking about it, my TV aversion would have made me miss a great show!
Davebo
@Anne Laurie: I thought he had that with his “erickonthereadio” domain.
Oh well, there’s no such thing as over exposure when your making bank of the rubes I guess.
raven
@Davebo: He fills in for that jackass Hermann Cain on WSB.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Congratulations!
lamh36
Cicely Tyson has said that she is the last member of her family left. She was an only child, married only once to Miles Davis and has no kids. So when she leaves this mortal coil, unless her father has “outside” children, she is the end of her line of her part of the Tyson lineage.
I don’t even know why, but that made me sad. Cicely is a legend we won’t see the like of again, in my lifetime at least.
As for Aretha, I’m not even sure what fans of true soul music will do, especially as more and more younger artist are going more for that “pop R&B” mainstream “money” sound rather than true, blue souls music…Aretha’s heir apparent is gonna be just as hard to find when she leaves this earth.
Debbie
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Congratulations! As an ex-publishing person, anything positive out of Kirkus is a real achievement.
rikyrah
@efgoldman:
I did not know his name. I knew who he was, but never knew his name.
Debbie
@Debbie:
Rats, can’t edit. Meant to say that as an ex-publishing person, I know that anything…
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@Debbie: It is? I had no idea they were that tough when I sent it in to them.
Gin & Tonic
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Hey, congratulations. I know you’ve had more than your share of ups and downs with this project.
Ridnik Chrome
I first knew Carole King through the “Tapestry” album. My mom bought it the year it came out and played it so often that I got to know all the songs by heart. I remember being surprised to find out, when I got a little older, that she and Gerry Goffin had written so many of those Brill Building hits. Awesome talents, her and Aretha both.
(P.S. The music site Brooklyn Vegan has a post up about this by the way. Not only did they spell King’s first name wrong, the comments are beyond stupid. Sigh. Millenials…)
JPL
@efgoldman: That is really cool. It’s time to get that framed.
Debbie
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Yeah for a bunch of librarians, they’re very tough to please. Some time you should go to the library and look at past issues of their reviews.
Mary G
Jeb? really is a moron. Someone asked him about the officers who killed Tamar Rice and he said Chicago has a lot of work to do and when the reporter said “That was Cleveland,” Jeb? said “Oh, I’m sorry. My bad.”
Gin & Tonic
In media news, my Google feed has a headline from 2 hours ago from ABC News saying “Four Secret Service Agents Guarding Hillary Clinton Die In a Car Crash.” Not bad, I guess, except that they weren’t actually guarding Hillary Clinton and none of them died. But they were in a car crash, so there’s that. It’s tough for the major media with breaking stories – I mean this crash was almost 24 hours ago, so you can’t expect them to have all the facts, right?
PurpleGirl
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Oh, yes, a Kirkus review is a big deal. And a positive review… well, a really big deal. (I worked in publishing too.)
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@Debbie: Looking around, I think things have changed. They no longer have a publication or issues; they ended that in 2009. It’s now strictly online and I’m probably not going to get a whole lot of exposure from their site. It also sounds like they aren’t nearly as tough as they were when they were publishing.
schrodinger's cat
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: You are famous! Don’t forget your blog friends when Hollywood comes knocking! Who do you want to play Phoebe, JLaw?
Debbie
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Your exposure will be with the people who do the purchasing for libraries and schools. That would be a huge market for a book like yours.
Debbie
@Debbie:
P.S. Make copies of the page and use as handouts.
Anne Laurie
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
But Amazon always seems to include the Kirkus reviews, if there is one, so you’ll get that quoted on your Amazon link!
And while my only Amazon exposure is as a reader/buyer, I get the feeling that a Kirkus review probably counts towards the “You might also like… ” algorithm… I’ve actually found some great books from that line of pictures between the listing proper & the Amazon reviews…
Steeplejack
@Ridnik Chrome:
Sigh. Millennials.
The Lodger
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Loved the review. Buying the book.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@schrodinger’s cat: JLaw is about five inches shorter than Phoebe and looks like she’s at least fifty pounds lighter. Phoebe is huge.
Unlike Phoebe, JLaw probably didn’t have to go to men’s stores to find clothes and shoes even before she got rich enough to have everything custom made.
Satby
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Congrats! We all know the work you put into this and you’ve more than earned that great review!
Ridnik Chrome
@Steeplejack: Oops…
low-tech cyclist
I grew up on Aretha. I could listen to her sing the phone book. That song was right in her wheelhouse, and she hit it out of the park.