Brand Yourself Like Aretha Franklin
Brand Yourself Like Aretha Franklin
Branding Lessons from the Queen of Soul
Aretha Franklin’s voice was singular. It touched our heart and minds. Her name became synonymous with gospel and later soul music.
Aretha Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist who has become one of the most impactful individuals in the world. Her influence aligned to those such as Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela and more recently Oprah.
Personally, branding herself as the “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin is regarded as one of the most influential female artists of all time.
And continues to inspire in her autobiographical movie #ArethaFranklin released on 19th August 2021 starring #JenniferHudson. Hudson was approached by Franklin to portray herself in 2020.
Improving your personal brand is an investment in building your personal profile, reputation and the results you will achieve. And deserve to achieve. ‘ Grab your #Free Brand #Journal & #Workbook by #RachelQuilty @ www.BrandYourselfBlueprint.com
In 1987, she became the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked her number one on its list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” and number nine on its list of “100 Greatest Artists of all time.”
The Pulitzer Prize Jury in 2019 awarded Franklin a posthumous Special Citation for her indelible contribution to American #music and #culture for more than five decades”.
In 2020, she was inducted into the American National Women’s Hall of Fame.
Aretha will forever be synonymous with #SoulMusic.
Brand Yourself like Aretha Franklin.
Be an Agent of #Change … Be #TheVoice of a generation. Do what others think you can’t…Stand Out… To make your MARK you will need to stand out.
Today, mastery of your art is important in establishing and differentiating your personal brand. Do something different, hone your skills and talents to be become the recognise authority in your field.
Grab your free brand blueprint, workbook & journal by The Brand Architect, @RachelQuilty
Add your favourite Aretha Franklin Quote to the reviews section.
“Sometimes, what you’re looking for is already there.” Aretha Franklin
Reflecting on the expansive six-decade career of Aretha Franklin, it is important to recognise that you do not survive the entertainment industry without a sustainable signature personal brand. There are many branding lessons we can draw from this every day “natural woman” who claimed she was “just the lady next door” when off stage and who is universally accepted as a remarkable talent when singing, as highlighted by the significant soul-defining moments shared below:-
- Become a Name
In Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine article New Again – Aretha Franklin in 2012, records how her premiere single with Atlantic, “Never Loved a Man,” exploded over the airwaves in February 1967. It also identified how quickly the listening audience recognised her as a defining voice of the era; “The first day of its release, amazed people asked each other, “Have you heard that woman?” By the second day, everyone was calling her by name—Aretha.”
Aretha was comfortable with her unique voice and be 1972 was confident in her abilities and style and when asked by journalist Pat Hacknett for Interview magazine, about who she was styling herself along the lines of…? Franklin responded, “Aretha. But yes, I had early influences—Clara Ward, James Cleveland.”
Franklin was one of the first singers to be identified by her first name only, “Aretha” identifying the depth of her personal brand name awareness across genres, gender, ethnicity and generations.
Later the Rolling Stone magazine, would name Franklin No.1 in their 2013 list of the 100 greatest singers.
2. The Musical Footprint
Franklin appeared on the cover of TIME in 1968, making her only its second female African American cover star at the time with a story that commended the “fierce, gritty conviction” of her voice. TIME noted, “She does not seem to be performing so much as bearing witness to a reality so simple and compelling that she could not possibly fake it.”
Kelly Clarkson recent tweet acknowledges that Franklin had an ability to connect deep with her song and express this within her music. This was a signature that later singers would aspire to. In Clarkson’s tribute she says, “Aretha Franklin is the reason why I sing from that part deep inside of me that few could ever reach. She was my favorite and will always be. What a gift she has left all of us with her musical footprints. There will never be another like her. She was truly special. #QueenOfSoul.”
Other artists and singers have noted the instrument that Franklin’s voice truly was. In Interview magazine, Hackett mentions, Barbra Streisand in her 1977 Playboy interview said she wished she could hit the notes that you can.” Franklin went on to correct Hackett when asked, “It was often said you had a four-octave voice. Is that still true?” Franklin responded “Five”.
The Star noted in an Oprah interview that her voice register and quality altered with her weight and “her ideal singing weight was one hundred and sixty pounds”.
More recently the Recording Academy commented on Aretha Franklin’s Passing that she was “one of the most profound voices in music”.
- The Break Out Number
Rolling Stones magazine, identified Franklin’s breakout number in February 1967 was “Respect,”. This would become Franklin’s career-defining crossover R & B anthem which would make her an international pop star. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart and won Franklin two Grammys. It would also be the opening track on her breakthrough album, “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You.”
In 1987, Franklin scored the second Number One pop hit of her career—“I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me),” a duet with George Michael—which came exactly 20 years after she topped the charts with “Respect.”
4. The Talented Artist
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame noted Franklin’s professionalism, talent and artistry.
“Franklin had been performing “Respect” at her live shows even before she signed with Atlantic Records. “She walked in with this,” Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler told Matt Dobkin, author of I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You: Aretha Franklin, Respect, and the Making of a Soul Music Masterpiece. “Aretha was terrific at setting up a song the way she wanted it to go. Many of the songs she would bring in – basically the cake was in the oven; all you had to do was bake it. She would work out the rhythm part, the piano arrangement, she worked out her vocals, she’d bring in her backup singers. When they came in singing ‘Respect,’ they had the whole template.”
In the article, ‘New Again: Aretha Franklin’, Hackett discusses the Franklin’s genius.
”HACKETT: Jerry Wexler said that you and Ray Charles were the only two geniuses he could think of. Who do you regard as a genius?
FRANKLIN: In music? I know people I feel are extremely talented, but I don’t know that I’ve ever heard any geniuses.
HACKETT: You’ve never felt that you were hearing an inspired work of genius?
FRANKLIN: Not that I recall. Just very talented people.
HACKETT: So do you think that Jerry Wexler was excessive in calling you a genius?
FRANKLIN: [laughs] Well, what is this? If Jerry wants to say it, then let Jerry say it!”
Wexler wasn’t alone in recognising the duets genius, as Coca -Cola must have thought the same as they engaged both Ray Charles / Aretha Franklin as a duet in their second 1969 commercials – ‘Things Go Better with Coke”.
Out of an array of influences both sacred and secular, Franklin spear headed a contemporary fusion that would speak to the Sixties generation in the revolutionary new language of soul music. As Jerry Wexler, Aretha’s long-time producer, observed: “Clearly, Aretha was continuing what Ray Charles had begun—the secularization of gospel, turning church rhythms, church patterns and especially church feelings into personalized love songs.”
6. The Ownership
Franklin was clear about her calling, noting “Music is my thing. That’s who I am.” Franklin managed to continue to express herself with the incredible feat of having hits in five consecutive decades.
Franklin’s career is characterised by covers of songs which almost inevitable became her song.
Aretha Franklin’s signature anthem is a commanding cover of Otis Redding’s 1965 “ Respect”.
Once Aretha sang a song, she owned it. She committed to the song completely, because as Franklin confirmed she has never recorded anything she didn’t like and went on to comment, ”If a song’s about something I’ve experienced or that could’ve happened to me it’s good. But if it’s alien to me, I couldn’t lend anything to it. Because that’s what soul is all about.” This was to occur again and again.
Even Bacharach admitted Franklin took the song to “a far deeper place. “Hers is the definitive version,”, when Franklin recorded “I say a little prayer’ while Dionne Warwick’s original version of this Bacharach-David classic was only eight months old and still on the radio.
- Her Signature Song
King would later tell interviewers how, Wexler her Atlantic Record producer stopped King and her co-writer and asked them to write a song for Franklin, called “A Natural Woman”.
This song was written for Franklin and her unique voice. King was able to personify a deep soul and sensual aspect of Franklin that previous writers had not tapped into. Franklin would increasing write songs herself in a more autographical sense.
Some would say, Franklin’s greatest triumph—and an enduring milestone in popular music—was “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”.
The iconic Aretha Franklin performed Carole King co-written song “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” as she performed before dignitaries at the Kennedy Centre Honours on Sunday, December 6 in a White House tribute to Carole King in 2015.
7. Her Gift
Franklin was clear about her calling, noting “Music is my thing. That’s who I am.” Franklin managed to continue to express herself with the incredible feat of having hits in five consecutive decades.
Beyoncé considers Franklin’s voice “one of God’s blessings.”
Franklin herself testified, “Being a singer is a natural gift. It means I’m using to the highest degree possible the gift that God gave me to use. I’m happy with that.”
Within the biography, Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin, Jerry Wexler agreed “She sang the shit out of everything.”
Ahmet Ertegun, co-founder of Atlantic Records told Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that, “She is blessed with an extraordinary combination of remarkable urban sophistication and deep blues feeling…The result is maybe the greatest singer of our time.” Much of Franklin’s best work would be produced with Atlantic Records and Ertegen noted, “I don’t think there’s anybody I have known who possesses an instrument like hers and who has such a thorough background in gospel, the blues and the essential black-music idiom,”
Aretha has been quoted as saying,” Sometimes, what you’re looking for is already there.” A reminder that our gifts and blessings are innately ours and while sometimes not a readily identifiable as singing, they are already evident in our lives if we take the time to reflect as Franklin implies.
- Sound Track To Your Life
Aretha Franklin was an artist of passion, sophistication and command, whose recordings remain anthems that defined soul music.
Aretha Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist and iconic recording artist.
Personally, branding herself as the “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin is regarded as one of the most influential female artists of all time.
As such many Apple iTunes playlists have been created covering Franklin career and a link to the most popular has been included here:
https://music.apple.com/au/playlist/queen-of-soul/pl.u-yZyVDNACd4p7o3J
Improving your personal brand is an investment in building your personal profile, reputation and the results you will achieve. And deserve to achieve. ‘ #RachelQuilty
Grab your #Free Brand Work #Journal & #Workbook at: www.BrandYourselfBlueprint.com
In 1987, she became the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked her number one on its list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” and number nine on its list of “100 Greatest Artists of all time.”
The Pulitzer Prize Jury in 2019 awarded Franklin a posthumous Special Citation for her indelible contribution to American #music and #culture for more than five decades”.
In 2020, she was inducted into the American National Women’s Hall of Fame.
Aretha will forever be synonymous with #SoulMusic.
- Brand Yourself like Aretha Franklin.
Be an Agent of #Change … Be #TheVoice of a generation. Do what others think you can’t…Stand Out… To make your MARK you will need to stand out.
Today, mastery of your art is important in establishing and differentiating your personal brand. Do something different, hone your skills and talents to be become the recognise authority in your field.
Grab your free brand blueprint, workbook & journal by The Brand Architect, @RachelQuilty
Add your favourite Aretha Franklin Quote to the reviews section.
“Sometimes, what you’re looking for is already there.” Aretha Franklin