Everyone is posting this (and why shouldn’t they?), and I’m happy to join the crowd—with love, respect, and appreciation. I’m sure, when I first saw this, age 10-ish, I’d heard “Respect,”, and puzzled over who “Rita Franklin” was (courtesy of Steely Dan’s “Hey 19,” and how my innocent ears misheard that lyrical shout out), but *this* was my —and how many countless Gen Xers?—intro to The Queen of Soul.
It is, of course, incredible, hilarious, sublime—equal parts silly and serious. Watching it, yet again, my joy hasn’t remotely diminished (also RIP Matt “Guitar” Murphy); if anything, it augments my adoration. That Aretha, THE QUEEN, was willing to have fun, be self-deprecating (look at the stains on her uniform; imagine ARETHA taking anyone’s food order, etc.), revisit—in amusing, epic fashion—an old hit, and allow herself to be the “bad gal” who gets ditched. As if.
With almost four decades hindsight, I can further savor how, even in a Chicago fried chicken joint, she’s in FULL diva mode (both during the song and before: “the Blues Brothers?! Sheeeeeeit. They still owe you money, fool!”), unable to not be brilliant, even while clearly having a blast, and dropping knowledge on young fools (and you know everyone on the set was delirious with joy to have her playing along). And soul to spare…my God.
All. Hail. The. Queen.
