Respect, David Ritz
Respect, David Ritz
List: $38.99 | Sale: $27.30
Club: $19.49

Respect
The Life of Aretha Franklin

Author: David Ritz

Narrator: Brad Raymond

Unabridged: 17 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/28/2014

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

This "comprehensive and illuminating" biography of the Queen of Soul (USA Today) was hailed by Rolling Stone as "a remarkably complex portrait of Aretha Franklin's music and her tumultuous life." 

Aretha Franklin began life as the golden daughter of a progressive and promiscuous Baptist preacher. Raised without her mother, she was a gospel prodigy who gave birth to two sons in her teens and left them and her native Detroit for New York, where she struggled to find her true voice. It was not until 1967, when a white Jewish producer insisted she return to her gospel-soul roots, that fame and fortune finally came via "Respect" and a rapidfire string of hits. She continued to evolve for decades, amidst personal tragedy, surprise Grammy performances, and career reinventions.

Again and again, Aretha stubbornly found a way to triumph over troubles, even as they continued to build. Her hold on the crown was tenacious, and in Respect, David Ritz gives us the definitive life of one of the greatest talents in all American culture.
 

About David Ritz

David Ritz is a songwriter who has collaborated with stars like Janet Jackson and Marvin Gaye, as well as a renowned ghostwriter who has authored more than fifty books for some of the biggest stars in music: Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Lenny Kravitz, Joe Perry, Smokey Robinson, Don Rickles, and Willie Nelson, to name a few. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Essence, People, Art Connoisseur, and elsewhere. He lives in Los Angeles with Roberta, his wife of nearly fifty years.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Andrew on September 10, 2014

Brace yourself: this is not the fairy tale Aretha wants you to believe. This bold, unapologetic, and fulfilling book tells Aretha's story through all the key people in her life: her 4 siblings and cousin among other family members, record producers and executives, and of course industry peers. Detai......more

Goodreads review by La Tonya on March 15, 2019

The "Queen of Soul" is a musical genius with the talents of the elite. No one can come close to her "chops" musical prowess. She has been on the stage for over sixty years going through every genre of music possible. Re-inventing herself time and time again to keep current. Every time the critics th......more

Goodreads review by Ken on March 26, 2022

Aretha, queen of soul thats it, pretty much, voyeuristic journey into her life music and times Respect♥......more

Goodreads review by Tyra Sherese on January 19, 2015

I have read Ms. Ms. Franklin's 1999 autobiography "From These Roots" which, in my opinion, was NOT a very good biography...it was more like a work of fiction. I write this because it really did not give me a very good insight about the personal and professional lives of Ms. Franklin beyond what I al......more

Goodreads review by Terik H. King on December 05, 2014

Aretha Should Read It I've heard the stories for years about how difficult Aretha Franklin is known to be -- to fellow performers, making audiences swelter at her shows due to her disdain for air conditioning -- and while I've enjoyed her Atlantic years recordings, her purported attitude always kept......more

Quotes

"An honest and genuinely respectful portrait of a true diva by a writer who feels the power of her art."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Ritz's intimate and elegant voice steps from behind the veil of the ghostwriter to tell a tale of genius, dysfunction and blind ambition, describing a world of triumph and tragedy of near mythic proportions. A great read and a really heroic work of biography -- honest, loving, no holds barred."—Ben Sidran, author of There Was a Fire

"The monumental biography we've been waiting for of Lady Soul, our greatest soul singer, from the also very great David Ritz, confidante to an entire generation of soul stars -- Ray, Smokey, B.B., Etta, Marvin, etcetera. He is The Man. This is The Book."—Joel Selvin, author of Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues

"This far surpasses David Ritz's landmark study of Marvin Gaye. People will be reading Respect generations from now to understand our musical culture. Ritz deserves a lifetime achievement award for "Most Soul Full Account of America's Music."—Charles Keil, ethnomusicologist, author of Urban Blues

"Only someone who had the complete confidence and trust of Aretha's family and the elite of the Gospel and Rhythm and Blues communities could have gotten this story. An intimate and thorough account of this phenomenal woman's talent and life as only David Ritz could capture."—Tommy LiPuma, Grammy-winning producer

"A bumpy and delicious ride.... Read Respect with a YouTube-playing device near at hand to experience Aretha in a hundred shades of glorious."—Claude Peck, Minneapolis Star Tribune

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