I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You: Aretha Franklin, Respect, and the Making of a Soul Music Masterpiece - Hardcover

Dobkin, Matt

3.86

42 ratings by Goodreads

9780312318284: I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You: Aretha Franklin, Respect, and the Making of a Soul Music Masterpiece

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312318286 ISBN 13: 9780312318284

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2004

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Aretha Franklin's first album for Atlantic Records and famed producer Jerry Wexler, was a pop and soul music milestone that jump-started Franklin's languishing career. Almost overnight, Aretha became a top-selling recording artist and a cultural icon. But the album almost didn't happen. Matt Dobkin has unearthed fascinating details about the recording session in Muscle Shoals, Alabama: about the volatile behavior of Aretha's manager/husband, Ted White; about Aretha's reaction to the lack of black musicians in the session; and about how tempers and alcohol almost derailed the session with only a track and half in the can.

This book goes far beyond anything that's been written about "The Queen of Soul" or her music before. I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You is the story of a great achievement and includes scores of fresh interviews: Wexler, the session men from Muscle Shoals, Aretha's own musicians, and others. It gives insight into a star more complex and determined than her modern diva image would seem to indicate. Aretha, a teenage mother and daughter of a commanding preacher father, rose above her circumstances and transformed them into art. She gave the civil rights movement, already well under way in 1967 when the album came out, a passionate call to arms. And with "Respect"-along with the title track, one of the album's first two singles-she provided the burgeoning feminist movement with an enduring theme song.

The first serious, nonbiographical look at Aretha Franklin's work, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You will deepen even ardent fans' understanding of one of the great soul artists of our time, a direct descendant of Bessie Smith and Billie Holliday.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

From the Back Cover:

"I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You," Aretha Franklin's first album for Atlantic Records and famed producer Jerry Wexler, was a pop and soul music milestone that jump-started Franklin's languishing career. Almost overnight, Aretha became a top-selling recording artist and a cultural icon. Matt Dobkin has unearthed fascinating details about the recording session in Muscle Shoals, Alabama: about the volatile behavior of Aretha's manager/husband, Ted White; about Aretha's reaction to the lack of black musicians in the session; and about how tempers and alcohol almost derailed the session with only a track and half in the can.

This book goes far beyond anything that's been written about "The Queen of Soul" or her music before. I NEVER LOVED A MAN THE WAY I LOVE YOU is the story of a great achievement and includes scores of fresh interviews, including Wexler, the session men from Muscle Shoals and Aretha's own musicians. It gives insight into a star more complex and determined than her modern diva image would seem to indicate. Aretha, a teenage mother and daughter of a commanding preacher father, rose above her circumstances and transformed them into art. She gave the Civil Rights movement, already well underway in 1967 when the album came out, a passionate call to arms. And with "Respect" she provided the burgeoning feminist movement with an enduring theme song.
The first serious, non-biographical look at Aretha Franklin's work, I NEVER LOVED A MAN THE WAY I LOVE YOU will deepen even ardent fans' understanding of one of the great soul artists of our time, a direct descendant of Bessie Smith and Billie Holliday.

"Effusive writing...about her sublime musicianship and the impact of her songs on feminism and the Civil Rights movement...opens an enlightening window on the creative process."
--Publishers Weekly

About the Author:

Matt Dobkin is the author of Getting Opera. He is the former classical music editor at Time Out New York, and his work has appeared in New York magazine, Bazaar, Out, and a variety of other publications. He lives in New York City.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.