>>> ARETHA FRANKLIN. ONE OF THE GREATEST SINGERS THIS
COUNTRY HAS EVER PRODUCED AND
ONE OF THE BEST SELLING
MUSICIANS OF ALL TIME DIED THIS
MORNING AFTER A BATTLE WITH
PANCREATIC CANCER.
PANCREATIC CANCER. SHE WAS 76.
OVER THE COURSE OF HER CAREER,
SHE GAVE US MORE THAN MUSIC.
SHE GAVE US GIFTS.
WHAT BETTER WAY TO CELEBRATE
THOSE GIFTS THAN TO BRING
TOGETHER TWO PEOPLE WHO KNEW
ARETHA FRANKLIN WELL.
THE REVEREND AL SHARPTON, ONE OF
HER DEAREST FRIENDS, AND CAROLE
KING WHO COULD WROTE THE HIT
THAT MADE OBAMA CRY.
"NATURAL WOMAN."
"NATURAL WOMAN." ♪ YOU MAKE ME FEEL ♪
♪ YOU MAKE ME FEEL ♪
♪ YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A
NATURAL WOMAN ♪
>> SHE MADE HER NAME LONG BEFORE
SHE RECORDED THE SONG "NATURAL
WOMAN."
WOMAN." >> WHICH YOU CO-WROTE.
>> WHICH I CO-WROTE WITH JERRY
WHO WROTE THE LYRICS AND JERRY
WEXLER, THE PRODUCER IN ATLANTA.
HE CAME ONE THE TITLE.
THAT’S WHY YOU SEE THREE NAMES
ON THAT SONG.
>> YOU WRITE ABOUT THIS IN YOUR
BOOK TITLED "A NATURAL WOMAN."
YOU HAVE A WHOLE CHAPTER ABOUT,
JERRY WAS TALKING ABOUT COMING
UP WITH A REALLY BIG HIT FOR
ARETHA FRANKLIN.
ARETHA FRANKLIN. WHAT DID YOU THINK?
>> WELL, WE LISTENED TO WJNR FOR
INSPIRATION.
INSPIRATION. AND WE WENT HOME.
AND I STARTED PLAYING KIND OF
THAT SLOW GOSPEL FEEL.
AND JERRY JUST STARTED COMING
OUT WITH THE LYRICS AND IT WAS
AMAZING.
AMAZING. WE MADE A DEMO WHICH I LATER
RECORDED THAT SONG IN TAPESTRY A
DIFFERENT WAY.
DIFFERENT WAY. I MADE THE DEMO, HOW I THOUGHT
SHE MIGHT SING IT.
NOT REALLY BEING ABLE TO SING
ANYWHERE NEAR LIKE THAT.
AND WE BROUGHT THE DEMO TO JERRY
WEXLER AT ATLANTIC AND WE HEARD
NOTHING.
NOTHING. WE HEARD NOTHING.
WE HEARD NOTHING.
AND THEN WE GET A CALL AND WE
COME INTO THE OFFICE AND THEY
PLAY US THE RECORD THAT Y’ALL
HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO, THAT WE
HAVE ALL --
>> THAT’S AMAZING.
>> IT BLEW ME AWAY.
>> ONE OF HER GREATEST
PERFORMANCES, TOO, IN TERMS OF
SINGING.
SINGING. SINGING "NATURAL WOMAN."
♪ YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A
NATURAL WOMAN ♪
>> MY MOST DRAMATIC MEMORY, IF
YOU WANT TO CALL IT THAT,
ENDEARING MEMORY, SHE SANG AT
THE WHITE HOUSE IN THE LAST YEAR
OF PRESIDENT OBAMA FOR A JAZZ
NIGHT.
NIGHT. ♪ THERE’S NO ONE MORE IMPORTANT
TO ME ♪
TO ME ♪ ♪ BABY CAN’T YOU SEE THROUGH
ME ♪
ME ♪ ♪
♪ >> I REMEMBER, WE GOT TO THE
WHITE HOUSE AND SAYING TO
SOMEBODY, WE’RE GOING THROUGH
AND THEY WERE HAVING IT OUT ON
THE WHITE HOUSE LAWN UNDER A
TENT.
TENT. AND I SAW WILL TRAVEL WITH MISS
FRANKLIN.
FRANKLIN. AND HE SAID WHERE’S THE QUEEN?
HE SAID, HE DID LIKE THIS AND HE
BROUGHT ME IN THE BACK.
SHE WAS IN THE ROOM GETTING HER
HAIR DONE.
HAIR DONE. AND HE LOOKED AT ME.
DON’T GET NOTHING TO THAT.
SHE’S GETTING HER HAIR DONE IN
THE WHITE HOUSE WITH A BLACK
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. IF THEY COULD SEE ME NOW.
I DIDN’T KNOW WHETHER TO LAUGH
OR CRY BECAUSE OF THE MOMENT.
AND THE PRESIDENT REALLY LOVED
ARETHA FRANKLIN.
ARETHA FRANKLIN. >> 50 YEARS OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
HER PERFORMING LIFE WAS 50 YEARS
OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
TALK TO ME ABOUT HER INFLUENCE
ON CONTEMPORARY MUSIC.
>> FIRST, I AM A WHITE JEWISH
GIRL, I WAS A WHITE JEWISH GIRL.
AND TOTALLY INFLUENCED BY HER
PIANO PLAYING STYLE, WHICH BY
THE WAY --
>> REMARKABLE, YEAH.
>> AT THE KENNEDY CENTER HONORS
THING.
THING. >> THIS IS DECEMBER 2015.
AND SHE SANG "NATURAL WOMAN" FOR
YOU.
YOU. >> FOR ME AND LATER I READ AN
ARTICLE IN WHICH SHE SAID I WAS
SINGING IT FOR HER.
IT SURE FELT LIKE THAT.
I WAS JUST, OH, MY GOD.
THE FIRST THING SHE DID, WHICH
SHE DOESN’T USUALLY DO IN HER
LATER YEARS.
LATER YEARS. SHE CAME OUT ON THAT STAGE AND
SHE SAT DOWN AT THE PIANO AND
STARTED TO PLAY.
I TURNED TO MY DAUGHTER WHO WAS
SITTING BEHIND ME AND I SAID,
SHE’S PLAYING!
SHE’S PLAYING! ♪ LOOKING OUT FOR THE MORNING
RAIN ♪
RAIN ♪ ♪ I USED TO FEEL SO INSPIRED ♪
♪
♪ >> FROM THERE, IT WAS JUST, SHE
TOOK ME HIGHER.
SHE WAS KIND OF A REVOLUTION OF
HER OWN.
HER OWN. HER TALENT, TO BE SURE.
A BLACK WOMAN DOING HER OWN
THING.
THING. LEADING OTHERS AROUND HER.
SO INSPIRED.
SO INSPIRED. >> AND CONDUCTING HER OWN
BUSINESS.
BUSINESS. >> INDEED.
>> INDEED. I WAS A YOUNG WHITE JEWISH
WOMAN.
WOMAN. BUT I INTERACTED IN MY BUSINESS,
YOU KNOW, WE DIDN’T THINK VERY
MUCH ABOUT HOW, YOU WOULD SAY
COLOR, WHATEVER.
COLOR, WHATEVER. WE JUST ALL, WHATEVER IT TOOK
GET THE MUSIC TO HAPPEN.
SO YOU KNOW, MY INTERACTION WITH
HER WAS JUST INSPIRATION.
I TOOK SO MUCH INSPIRATION.
>> SO THE INSPIRATION TO BE FROM
HER AND ALL THE THINGS SHE DID.
SHE HAD A NUMBER OF SONGS,
RESPECT AND THINK AND THE
ANTHEMS.
ANTHEMS. PARTICULARLY FOR WOMEN.
THEY’RE FEMINIST ANTHEM.
♪ R-E-S-P-E-C-T ♪
>> THIS WOMAN WAS A TRAIL BLAZE
NEAR LOT OF WAYS.
IN THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF MUSIC
SHE DID.
SHE DID. SHE SUCCEEDED AT OPERA AS WELL.
BUT SHE REALLY, SHE BOTH WROTE
INSPIRATIONALLY AND BEHAVED
INSPIRATIONALLY.
INSPIRATIONALLY. SHE BEHAVED AS SHE WROTE.
SHE CERTAINLY AFFIRMED WOMEN,
FEMINISM, WAY BEFORE IT WAS
POPULAR.
POPULAR. AND SHE BROUGHT THE SOUND OF THE
BLACK CHURCH MAIN STREAM.
SHE NEVER LOST THAT KIND OF
CHURCH KIND OF FEEL TO HER
MUSIC.
MUSIC. IF YOU WOULD EVER GO SEE HER
PERFORM, SHE WOULD DO GOSPEL
SONGS AND DO A JOY SHOUT.
IF IT WAS IN THE WHITE HOUSE --
>> THAT WAS A REAL STRUGGLE AT
THE TIME, PARTICULARLY FOR
AFRICAN-AMERICAN PERFORMERS.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN PERFORMERS. BECAUSE THEY WERE PIGEON HOLD.
IF YOU WERE AN R & B SINGER, IT
WAS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE EVEN IF
YOU WERE TOPPING THE CHARTS, TO
MOVE OVER TO MAIN STREAM.
>> BUT ARETHA DID IT SEAMLESSLY
AND I THINK SHE NEVER GOT THE
CREDIT FOR THAT.
SHE NEVER LOST HER AUTHENTICITY.
THAT’S WHY EVERYBODY LOVED HER,
NO MATTER WHAT RACE.
SHE WAS WHO SHE WAS.
AND SHE WOULD SING, YOU COULD
WATCH OTHER PERFORMERS.
YOU COULD FEEL ARETHA.
THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT HER
THAT GOT INTO THE BOTTOM OF YOUR
SOUL.
SOUL. >> I’M JUST READING FROM CHAPTER
27 OF YOUR BOOK, CAROLE, WHERE
JERRY, YOU WERE TALKING TO HIM
ABOUT WRITING "NATURAL WOMAN."
UP OH, MY GOD, HE WANT TO US
WRITE FOR ARETHA.
OF COURSE WE CAN.
I’VE ALREADY GOT AN IDEA.
DID YOU KNOW AT THE TIME WHEN
YOU WERE DOING THIS WITH ARETHA
FRANKLIN THAT THIS WOULD BE ONE
OF MANY?
OF MANY? BUT A SONG THAT EVERYBODY, NO
MATTER HOW OLD YOU ARE TODAY,
KNOWS.
KNOWS. THERE IS NO YOUNG CHILD WHO
WON’T RECOGNIZE IT.
>> I DID NOT.
I DON’T THINK JERRY DID EITHER.
WE JUST HAD A JOB TO DO.
WE JUST SAT DOWN TO DO OUR JOB.
IT WAS A LITTLE INTIMIDATING.
I MADE THE DEMO AND I DON’T HAVE
THE RANGE THAT SHE HAS.
I DON’T HAVE THAT GOSPEL SINGING
BACKGROUND.
BACKGROUND. YET SOMETIMES WE SONG WRITERS
ARE PERFORMERS, AND YOU CAN SEE
THIS IN ARETHA, WE ARE THE
INSTRUMENTS.
INSTRUMENTS. SO I WAS NOT CONSCIOUS OF ANY OF
THAT.
THAT. ALL DID I WAS SIT DOWN WITH
JERRY, THE COLLABORATION AS IT
OFTEN IS WITH SONG WRITERS, SHE
LIFTED TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
BUT WE WERE ALL INSTRUMENTS IN
BRINGING THIS SONG TO PEOPLE
AROUND THE WORLD.
SO THE FACT IT IS POPULAR, I
THINK THAT’S THAT.
AND ARETHA, I KNOW WOULD SAY,
SHE FELT LIKE AN INSTRUMENT.
SHE KNEW SHE WAS AN INSTRUMENT.
>> I DON’T KNOW IF IT IS CLEAR
TO EVERYBODY, REVEREND AL, WHAT
INFLUENCE ARETHA FRANKLIN HAS
HAD ON THEIR LIVES.
FOR 50 YEARS OF PERFORMING, SO
MUCH OF WHAT WE THINK OF AS
MUSIC IS BECAUSE OF ARETHA
FRANKLIN.
FRANKLIN. >> ABSOLUTELY.
>> ABSOLUTELY. >> AND THAT I THINK WE’VE HAD A
LOT OF LEGENDS, STARS AND SUPER
STARS BUT ONLY ONE QUEEN AND HER
NAME IS ARETHA FRANKLIN.
>> AND SHE’S GOT SOUL.
>> AND SHE’S A NATURAL WOMAN.
>> THAT’S A GREAT WAY TO