# Aretha Franklin during the inauguration. Ouch! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154 "2009-01-20T17:42:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/41 "2009-01-21T00:27:22Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > The hat was interesting, but four minutes into it I had to be reminded what song it was she was singing again. It became completely unrecognizable. do you think her majesty the queen could recognize it? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/42 "2009-01-21T00:41:20Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > [http://subtletyinexcess.blogspot.com/2009/01/aretha-franklins-inauguration-hat.html](http://subtletyinexcess.blogspot.com/2009/01/aretha-franklins-inauguration-hat.html) > > Looks like a freeway interchange. Yes, actual size. _d&r_ ---
**Author:** ![Mariemarie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@Mariemarie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mariemarie)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/43 "2009-01-21T01:21:48Z")
Not ouch. I thought it was beautiful, and I bet she was getting emotional, which make sit hard to sing. The hat? Hardly even noticed it. The song? It was chosen for a damn good reason. Like **JRDelirious** said, > [@](#): > > I suppose that the choice of “America (My Country ‘Tis o’ Thee)” as opposed to “AtB” or “GBA” may have been an allusion to Dr. King’s speech (“from ev’ry mountaintop, let Freedom ring”). From MLK’s “[I Have A Dream](http://www.mlkonline.net/dream.html)” speech. > [@](#): > > '…I have a dream that one day on the \*\*red hills of Georgia \*\*the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. > … > > 'This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, " **My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."** > > ‘And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So \*\*let freedom ring \*\*from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening \*\*Alleghenies \*\*of Pennsylvania!..’ Aretha Franklin adlibbed the parts about Georgia and the Alleghenies into the end of the song. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XX9s\_w1leo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XX9s_w1leo) ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/44 "2009-01-21T03:12:59Z")
> [@MizTina](#): > > I loved the hat! There was also a bright red fedora someone in the handshake line was wearing that was hot, hot, hot. Who was that guy? He had the best location on the whole dais. And that red hat meant that all of his friend definitely could locate him “I’m the one in the red hat!” ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/45 "2009-01-21T06:25:27Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > When she took a breath between “coun” and “try” right off the bat, I cringed. And her background singers were over the top I thought. Ah well. Yeah, once she sang “My cunt…” it was all pretty downhill from there. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/46 "2009-01-21T06:44:09Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > Yeah, once she sang “My cunt…” it was all pretty downhill from there. Sounds like someone else was watching Jon Stewart, too. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/47 "2009-01-21T11:21:51Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > i liked the hat. that is a hat with presence. that is a church hat. it would easily fit into the book called “crowns”. Off by one letter. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/48 "2009-01-21T12:30:17Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Oh, on most other people the hat would have been appalling, but on Aretha? It goes with her. And yes, the singing was below usual Aretha standard, but heck, time does not pass in vain, and freezing air isn’t exactly helpful. Basically how I feel about it. And for some folks who are commenting on her \*melisma \*- I would point out that she didn’t use much of it at all. She did NOT stretch words out forever, putting vowels through extended runs up or down scales. She did, however, modify the \*phrasing \*of the song. Similar to when Ray Charles lays off a lyric until the last. possible. moment. and yet somehow slips it in easy as you please (I am referring to his singing, although his bio pic suggests both \*entendres \*apply). Aretha worked with the phrasing of the song, backing off or using a different cadence as a means of emphasis. Classic Gospel tradition and entirely to be expected given the singer, the song, the history and the moment - she laid the phrasing on pretty thick, but I thought it went well with the hat ;). YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/49 "2009-01-21T12:55:58Z")
Melisma is one of those things that can be rather pretty if used **sparingly**. This performance would not be such an example. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/50 "2009-01-21T12:58:34Z")
> [@Vox\_Imperatoris](#): > > I don’t care who sang it; that was a godawful rendition of that song. Plus it’s kind of weird to be singing a song to the same tune as “God Save the Queen” at the inauguration, anyway. Amusingly, the commentator on BBC TV said “…and now Aretha Franklin will sing the Nation Anthem.” I’m not sure which National Anthem he was thinking of, but he was wrong either way. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/51 "2009-01-21T13:51:46Z")
> [@Mariemarie](#): > > Not ouch. I thought it was beautiful, and I bet she was getting emotional, which make sit hard to sing. The hat? Hardly even noticed it. The song? It was chosen for a damn good reason. > > Like **JRDelirious** said, > From MLK’s “[I Have A Dream](http://www.mlkonline.net/dream.html)” speech. > Aretha Franklin adlibbed the parts about Georgia and the Alleghenies into the end of the song. > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XX9s\_w1leo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XX9s_w1leo) No ouch from me, either. I had to catch Ms Franklin’s song on re-run this evening–but I was at home on Monday. So I saw MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech, once again. Yes, there’s a reason Ms Franklin picked that song. If her singing style & amazing hat offended a few tighty whities, too bad. It was not about them. (I’m definitely Melanin Deficient–but my eyes & ears have been opened during my years on the planet.) ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/52 "2009-01-21T13:56:11Z")
The hat was hideous, but would have been worse on a smaller woman. I thought she started out pretty bad (couldn’t find her voice), but found it early enough that it wasn’t a total disaster. On a scale of 1-10, I’d give her an 8. And she’s usually an 11 for me. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/53 "2009-01-21T14:00:24Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > When she took a breath between “coun” and “try” right off the bat, I cringed. And her background singers were over the top I thought. Ah well. That moment had us laughing so hard that I missed the next 15 seconds of the song! ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/54 "2009-01-21T14:12:38Z")
Why does everybody nowadays feel they have to make those scalded-cat noises instead of actually singing? Bring back Kate Smith! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/55 "2009-01-21T14:16:32Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Basically how I feel about it. And for some folks who are commenting on her \*melisma \*- \*\*I would point out that she didn’t use much of it at all. She did NOT stretch words out forever, putting vowels through extended runs up or down scales. She did, however, modify the \*phrasing \*of the song. \*\* Similar to when Ray Charles lays off a lyric until the last. possible. moment. and yet somehow slips it in easy as you please (I am referring to his singing, although his bio pic suggests both \*entendres \*apply). Aretha worked with the phrasing of the song, backing off or using a different cadence as a means of emphasis. Classic Gospel tradition and entirely to be expected given the singer, the song, the history and the moment - she laid the phrasing on pretty thick, but I thought it went well with the hat ;). YMMV. Word…_man_. She did what she does to every song she sings. She puts Aretha all over it. All great singers put their own phrasing to a song to make it their own. _Even the white guys._ I dont’ know why this bothers people more with patriotic songs than it does with pop music, but I never heard anyone diss Frank Sinatra for Sinatra-ing the hell out of his songs. Vocal gymnastics is a whole 'nuther animal that was invented by singers who aren’t as good as the Arethas and Franks of the world…but wish they were. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/56 "2009-01-21T14:56:07Z")
Yes, the hat was pretty wild (but not on her IMO) and she did almost sing about her cunt, but my main thing is: why oh why must it always be Aretha? I feel like, anytime there’s a big event, there she is. Aretha, Aretha, Aretha. She’s a big old cliche at this point. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/57 "2009-01-21T15:25:23Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > No ouch from me, either. I had to catch Ms Franklin’s song on re-run this evening–but I was at home on Monday. So I saw MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech, once again. Yes, there’s a reason Ms Franklin picked that song. > > If her singing style & amazing hat offended a few tighty whities, too bad. It was not about them. (I’m definitely Melanin Deficient–but my eyes & ears have been opened during my years on the planet.) You go girl. 😃 [total hijack] **Bridget Burke** - I tried using the email you have in your User CP a week or so ago - related to a completely different music thread. Not sure if that address is up to date, so thought I would make a brief mention here… [/total hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/58 "2009-01-21T15:27:09Z")
I wasn’t watching, just listening, but I thought it was awful. My wife thought it was great. I believe her quote was that “Aretha tore it up!” Crazy… Joe ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/59 "2009-01-21T15:34:23Z")
I relistened to the song last night to reassess my first opinion. Sadly I feel I was right the first time. Aretha’s voice is not as good as it used to be and the performance was poorly done. (for someone of her ability). As I noted in the pit thread, ms. Franklin has many well earned laurels and it might be time to rest on them. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154/60 "2009-01-21T15:47:31Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > Sounds like someone else was watching Jon Stewart, too. Nope. I actually formed my own opinion all by myself! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-during-the-inauguration-ouch/482154.md?page=4)