Aretha Franklin and the late Ray Charles performed a duet on The Midnight Special in 1975. Photo property of Joe Adams and the Ray Charles Foundation.
By: Jacob Elyachar
Before you read the conclusion of my articles, please read part three (https://jakes-take.com/2012/03/21/the-20-best-aretha-franklin-collaborations-part-three).
On Sunday, the Queen of Soul-Ms. Aretha Franklin, will turn 70-years-old. All this week, jacobelyacharjournalist.com has countdown her best collaborations with rising stars and music icons. These top five collaborations will feature some of music’s legendary performers.
5. [Sweet Sweet Baby] Since You’ve Been Gone (with Bonnie Raitt, 1993)
Bluegrass great Bonnie Raitt was among the legendary musicians that performed alongside the Queen of Soul during Aretha’s 1993 FOX special. They collaborated on one of hits from her 1968 Lady Soul album. This performance featured impeccable vocals from Bonnie and Aretha and also showed off Bonnie’s masterful guitar playing.
To watch Aretha and Bonnie’s performance together, click here: http://youtu.be/scsuEL98KbA
4. How Do You Keep the Music Playing (with Tony Bennett, 2011)
For the first time in their historic careers, the multi-Grammy winning singers recorded a duet together on Tony Bennett’s Duets II. “How Do You Keep the Music Playing” showcased both of them at their finest from their call-and-responses to the crescendo at the end of the song.
Recently, a video was put up on YouTube that featured Bennett and Franklin recording the song together. Click here to watch this video: http://youtu.be/Y4_Fatuvp68
3. Until You Come Back to Me (with Stevie Wonder, 2005)
Stevie Wonder wrote this song for Aretha way back in 1973. Now fast-forward to 2005 where they performed this song live at the “Lady of Soul” show. This song shows how much fun both singers were having performing it together while Franklin belts out her hit and Wonder performs backup for the Queen of Soul.
To watch this performance, click here: http://youtu.be/pTnCHP-9Wdo
2. Two to Tango (with Ray Charles, 1975)
Rolling Stone placed both Aretha and the late Ray Charles at the top of their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All-Time. During the 1970s, the duo performed “Two to Tango” on the classic T.V. show: the Midnight Special. This performance featured fantastic vocal performances and amazing chemistry between the veteran performers.
Click here to see Ms. Franklin and the late Genius’s performance on the Midnight Special: http://youtu.be/q4ulNtIYX20
What Now My Love (with Frank Sinatra, 1993)
The best collaboration that Ms. Franklin ever recorded was with one of the most recognizable entertainers of the 20th Century: the late Frank Sinatra. The duo recorded the collaboration for Frank Sinatra’s 1993 Duets album. “What Now My Love” was the best track on the whole album because it highlighted both of their voices and the vocal chemistry was incredible and music lovers should have this cover in their music libraries.
To listen to this impeccable duet, click here: http://youtu.be/-8slduWHKlo
I do not own any of these clips that were used in this article, they belong to Ms. Franklin, the respective artists’ record companies and the respective television companies.
