Today I was surfing the net trying to get my Obama fix and I ran across a website where the host stated that it seemed like Aretha Franklin had an “off day.” Many people agreed(including moi) but there had some folks that came on who were bashing the younger folks because of their opinion saying things like,”respect your past young people” as if saying Re Re sounds bad is disrespecting your past somehow. I hate it when older folks try to bash younger people just because they are older as if being older (40’s and 50’s) makes your opinion more valid somehow. So, here I am, an old foggie defending the young uns.
I am not young nor is my husband, in fact, Retha is only 6 years older than he is. I saw Aretha Franklin when she was on the Ed Sullivan show(see that’s how old I am, some of you are wondering what the heck is that..lol) When Re started singing, my hubby looked at me with that*gas face*(thanks LadyLee for that phrase) that pretty much said it all. My father who is 80 years old, first response was “Retha can’t sing no more.” But, it really doesn’t matter how old you are, if you had functioning ears you could hear she was having an off day. I didn’t expect her to sound like she did when she was in her peak but sadly, she has lost her pipes.
Not that it really mattered to us, we love Retha. Seeing her up there took me back momentarily to a time in my life when life was simple. When the milkman brought milk,juice, and eggs to our doorstep; when you knew the name of your mailman,the garbage men and every neighbor in your area.
When Ed Sullivan put on a “reeeally big show.”
When Soul Train with Don Cornelius was the hippest train around…love,peace and sssoooouullll!
When people you heard on the radio did not sing…..they could SAAAANG.
All in all,yesterday was simply beautiful…. even with “The Queen of Soul” having an off day.
The Life and Times of Bayoucreole 
Whew! So it wasn’t just me who thought she was sounding a little rough. I was in the car on the way home as she sang and thought to myself, “If I didn’t know this was Aretha I’d be saying ‘Who in the hell do they have singing?!'”
By the way, I’m glad Obama took the oath again. He was still the President but this is too important to leave any type of potential loopholes.
Yeah, I’m glad they did a “do over” too before some nutcase started ranting about how he’s not really the president. They(right wing conservative blogs) were already saying that HE flubbed the oath, never mind the fact that HE had it right, the Chief Justice was the one who flubbed.
I’m just glad she dressed for the weather. I get sick of seeing her “girls” out and about everywhere.
@S23;LOL!!! I know, I was thinking the same thing. In fact, a friend of mine called me and said,girl, I’m so glad it’s cold out there, you know Retha would have been showing her “breasteses.”
I think that the hat was a good move on Re-Re’s part. Most people were so focused on that “thing” on her head that they didn’t have time to form an opinion on her singing, lol. I didn’t think that she was that great myself, but I can’t imagine who they could’ve gotten to sing in her place. Whitney? Beyonce? Mariah? Celine? Hmmm…maybe Celine, but it still wouldn’t have been the same.
I know. Retha was the best pick for the occasion and loved seeing her but, it just broke my heart to hear her sing like that.