Aretha Franklin: the story of Lady Soul lives again in the film “Respect”, airing on Rai3

Talento ed emozione in prima serata su Rai 3 con la vita di Aretha Franklin nel film “Respect” di Liesl Tommy, in onda mercoledì 8 gennaio alle 21.20. Ambientato a Detroit nel 1952 e a Detroit, dove la piccola Aretha vive con le sorelle e il padre, un pastore battista. La morte della mamma ha traumatizzato la bambina che si rifiuterà di parlare finché il padre, durante una funzione, la costringe a cantare in chiesa. E lei rivela un talento precoce e fuori dal comune: seguono figli, mariti, dipendenze, frustrazioni e la storia del successo planetario di quella che è stata la più grande cantante gospel della storia e una delle protagoniste indiscusse del panorama musicale Usa.

Ambitious and thorough, the biopic "Respect" was made in the very year that Aretha, at 76, died of pancreatic cancer: before her passing, Franklin had managed to give her blessing to the film's magnificent lead, Jennifer Hudson, already an Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actress for "Dreamgirls", who also took on the demanding task of reinterpreting the original songs.

The cast of "Respect" (USA/Canada, 2021) also includes Forest Whitaker and Audra McDonald.

Aretha Franklin died on 16 August 2018 at 76, in her home in Detroit. She had long been seriously ill, suffering from a form of pancreatic cancer that she had already revealed a few years earlier.

Between the Sixties and Seventies in particular, she recorded some of the most famous soul songs of all time, such as "Respect", "Think" and "You Make Me Feel (Like A Natural Woman)" (written by Carole King), collaborating with countless artists across every genre.

Also surprising were her forays into film, such as in "The Blues Brothers" by John Landis, in which she played a stern fast-food restaurant owner. The previous year she had announced her decision to almost entirely stop performing live, and at the start of this year she had been forced to cancel several concerts – including one in Newark for her 76th birthday – on doctors' advice.

Aretha Franklin was not only the greatest soul singer of all time, but also a performer with a sublime and at the same time devastating voice. When Aretha sang, she made the song her own, her voice and delivery pushing the material towards new meanings.

Take Otis Redding's "Respect", which in her rendition gains fresh vitality and energy. While other Black female singers of the period were sugary and romantic, Lady Soul was instead fierce, gritty, or genuinely sorrowful. Aretha was a true queen of Black music, perfectly embodying the new Black generation's need for spirituality, and illuminating every song with her talent.

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