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I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You: Aretha Franklin, Respect, and the Making of a Soul Music Masterpiece
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, 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 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.
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 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.
- GenresMusic
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 11, 2012
A flawed but engaging birth narrative about one of soul music's most important and enduring LPs. Dobkin's anecdotal material--based on some great interviews with participants from the sessions--is winning, even if some of his critical interpretations seem a little simplistic or even off the mark.
August 30, 2018
if you are particularly moved by great art that is forged in the crucible of pain and sorrow, this book will be fascinating. It focuses on one of the great artists of my lifetime, creating a masterpiece in a maelstrom.
September 1, 2018
Lots of indepth info on the recording of Aretha's classic "I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You." The book includes a nice intro by Nikki Giovanni. While an excellent read, especially for music lovers, by no means is this a full bio of Aretha's life.
September 30, 2016
Other authors have written about lives of various musicians and some have even focused exclusively on music, but Matt Dobkin goes one step further and focuses exclusively on one particular album. Mind you, its not just any old album but the album that caught the defining spirit of late 1960s, reflected civil rights movement and catapulted Aretha Franklin into stardom as enthroned Queen of Soul, female answer to brother Ray Charles. It is perhaps difficult to understand today how strict the racial barriers were up to that point and how important was that this particular release suddenly became hip, trendy and accepted by general audiences all over the world (encouraged by admiration of local rock stars, audiences in UK were already long enamored with soul music). This was not just any sugary pop Motown cookie cutter or whitewashed version refined for wide market but a full-blown battle call for attention and yes, R-E-S-P-E-C-T. It truly (and deservedly) shook up the pop world, bringing the whole avalanche of spectacularly gifted performers for whom Franklin opened the doors.
Dobkin writes with passion (how else can you write about this album?), fascination and knowledge, going so far to actually interview people involved in creation of this masterpiece. He carefully examines the social climate of the times, background of main characters, Franklin's past and influences, the difference between her Columbia and Atlantic music and how it came to be that previous recording company failed to do what Jerry Wexler and his bunch of Southern white musicians achieved so spontaneously.
(It comes as a surprise to realize that this, quintessential soul album actually had studio full of Caucasian musicians - led by self-confident and determined singer who actually co-produced the whole thing.) Even years after the fact, everybody remembers the recordings vividly, as it changed their lives and became a benchmark against future soul music was always compared. "She certainly has been a beacon" poet Nikki Giovanni said " I mean, there are ships out there and she's been the lighthouse. And it's been good. Because some of us do crash. But it's nice to know where lighthouse is."
This is so far the best book focused on single album that I have ever came across. You can't help but run and play the Aretha Franklin music immediately.
Dobkin writes with passion (how else can you write about this album?), fascination and knowledge, going so far to actually interview people involved in creation of this masterpiece. He carefully examines the social climate of the times, background of main characters, Franklin's past and influences, the difference between her Columbia and Atlantic music and how it came to be that previous recording company failed to do what Jerry Wexler and his bunch of Southern white musicians achieved so spontaneously.
(It comes as a surprise to realize that this, quintessential soul album actually had studio full of Caucasian musicians - led by self-confident and determined singer who actually co-produced the whole thing.) Even years after the fact, everybody remembers the recordings vividly, as it changed their lives and became a benchmark against future soul music was always compared. "She certainly has been a beacon" poet Nikki Giovanni said " I mean, there are ships out there and she's been the lighthouse. And it's been good. Because some of us do crash. But it's nice to know where lighthouse is."
This is so far the best book focused on single album that I have ever came across. You can't help but run and play the Aretha Franklin music immediately.
March 27, 2013
Matt Dobkin is not just any Aretha fan, he's a totally devoted one. He knows the complete Franklin discography. He can probably recite it, chronologically, backwards and forwards. He's also a noted opera critic.
This book, in theory, is about the making of "I Never Loved a Man the Way that I Loved You", which Dobkin considers pivotal in Aretha's career. The recording story, though, seems merely a structure for some musings about Aretha. He tells something of her life (but not much that can't be found on the internet) something of her work with Dr. King, something of her way of producing her own material and something of her position in the development of popular music and the popular music industry.
While Dobkin is not convincing in describing how "I Never Loved..." is more noteworthy than "Respect" (other than being the first track down with Atlantic), he does tell an interesting story about how it and its album got recorded. This kernel of about 30 pages is perhaps the only thing new in the book.
This is definitely a niche book. If you love Franklin you probably have to read it... but you will probably know just about everything Dobkin tells you.
This book, in theory, is about the making of "I Never Loved a Man the Way that I Loved You", which Dobkin considers pivotal in Aretha's career. The recording story, though, seems merely a structure for some musings about Aretha. He tells something of her life (but not much that can't be found on the internet) something of her work with Dr. King, something of her way of producing her own material and something of her position in the development of popular music and the popular music industry.
While Dobkin is not convincing in describing how "I Never Loved..." is more noteworthy than "Respect" (other than being the first track down with Atlantic), he does tell an interesting story about how it and its album got recorded. This kernel of about 30 pages is perhaps the only thing new in the book.
This is definitely a niche book. If you love Franklin you probably have to read it... but you will probably know just about everything Dobkin tells you.
August 25, 2008
Aretha was a real badass, despite her self-defeating taste in men, and I would argue that "Respect" stands as the "ur-text" of the 60s--embodying both the civil rights and feminist movements without cant or blather. Danceably.
A great look at a seminal artist at work.
A great look at a seminal artist at work.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews