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Title: Aretha From These Roots by Aretha Franklin, Aretha Franklin, David Ritz ISBN: 0-375-50033-2 Publisher: Villard Pub. Date: 28 September, 1999 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.03 (67 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: I Love To Sing And Eat .... But Mostly I Love To Eat!
Comment: I have been a life long fan of Miss Franklin's. I have listened to her promise a book that would set the record straight abought rumors, innacuracies and fables for along time. Was this it?
Aretha wants us to believe that her father was a paragon of virtue and a dedicated pastor though he lived with a woman to whom he was not married (Lola). He seemed to be no fine example of Christian morality perhaps that is why he was so cool with her two pregnancies. I personally did not need to know the names of her children's fathers but something, even a little something of what is was like to be a teen mother not once but twice before she was 17. I am well aqauinted with black church culture and I KNOW there was a lot of drama there especially in the era she became pregnant.
Aretha left out many relevant points of her life (and her father's) that would have made a more honest and readable tome. We really learn nothing about the lady's true feelings about nothing; other than her father.
Miss Franklin reveals herself as a petty, ego-rich diva; talented but vey shallow. If this is not the case then she should've written a more detailed and honest book.
The best parts of the book are her remembrances of all the food she ate throughout her life and career. These are vivid and full of lucious detail. In one part of the book, in a mere 4 paragraphs there were no less than four food references; they seem to be memory starters for her. She can recall with great verve and relish the food experiences she's had; from the Apollo Theater in New York to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles in Los Angeles. I wish she'd been more forthcoming with her life experiences.
This book was a true waste of my hard earned money. I enjoyed Patti Labelle's memoirs much more. They were honest, balanced and did not always paint the author in the most flattering light. In other words she was real. C'mon Auntie Ree what's the real deal. Give me something I can feel.
Rating: 2
Summary: The Queen of Soul Is Petty
Comment: I love Aretha's music. She and Etta James are my favorite singers in the whole world. But I dislike Aretha's attitude and this book in another example of it. Why is the Queen of Soul so petty? Her feud with some of the biggest divas of all time disturbs me deeply. This book does the Queen no justice. It really makes her look bad. She avoids talking about heavy subjects like her parents, her husbands and her brothers, but rips into her sisters Erma and Carolyn like there is no tomorrow. It's amazing that she was the one with all the fame and glory, but is still jealous of her sisters (who by the way was AMAZING singers). I also HATED how she kept talking about food all the time. As I was reading this book, I started timing her to see when the next subject of food will pop up. This book is trash. I am no closer to learning about the Queen. The only thing that I learned from this book is that she is PETTY. I will forever love her music, but I can do without her pettiness and meanness.
Rating: 3
Summary: Like other fans, I don't like the putdowns
Comment: While I wasn't bored by this book (as a musical retrospective of her career, it is good) I was put off by Aretha's comments about other singers. She comes off as cold, arrogant and self-serving. I was particularly disappointed in her comments about Cissy Houston and especially Gladys Knight (she says that Gladys has been under "stress" due to "career disappointments" and that she will pray for her. Whatever). That is a cheap shot and Ms. Knight is totally undeserving of that comment because 1)despite some lows, Gladys Knight has had many successes in her career and 2)it only makes Aretha look petty.
While Aretha does give herself too much credit in terms of her musical influence (humility is not one of her strong points), you cannot deny how integral she has been to the growth of modern pop/soul music. I did enjoy reading about the making of the "Amazing Grace" album and its aborted film project (which remains unrelased, unfortunately) as well as her years at Atlantic and Arista, respectively. It would have been nice if there was some additional text from her music producers and collaborators.
I do recommend the book if you are interested in reading about her music career. But just hold your tongue whenever her pen embarks upon writing about other female singers.
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Title: Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul by Mark Bego ISBN: 0306809354 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: 20 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.50 |
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Title: Call Her Miss Ross: The Unauthorized Biography of Diana Ross by J. Randy Taraborrelli, Hillel Black ISBN: 1559720069 Publisher: Birch Lane Pub. Date: October, 1989 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: The Soulful Divas: Personal Portraits of over a Dozen Divine Divas, from Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, & Diana Ross to Patti Labelle, Whitney Houston, & Janet Jackson by David Nathan, Luther Vandross ISBN: 0823084302 Publisher: Watson-Guptill Pubns Pub. Date: January, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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