Page 29 - ARUBA TODAY

A29
PEOPLE & ARTS Tuesday 16 april 2019
Aretha Franklin makes history with posthumous Pulitzer win

By MESFIN FEKADU innovators that male instru-
Associated Press mentalists do. They should.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aretha Franklin has mastered her
Franklin is still getting R-E- instrument as surely as John
S-P-E-C-T after death: The Coltrane mastered his sax.”
Queen of Soul received Franklin was born in Mem-
the Pulitzer Prize Special phis, Tennessee, though her
Citation honor Monday, family moved to Buffalo,
becoming the first individ- New York, and then settled
ual woman to earn a spe- in Detroit. She grew up sing-
cial citation prize since the ing in the church alongside
honor was first awarded in her father Rev. C.L. Franklin,
1930. a prominent Baptist minis-
The Pulitzer board said the ter who recorded dozens
award was given to Frank- of albums of sermons and
lin for her indelible contribu- music. She joined him on
tion to American music and tour and she released a
culture for more than five gospel album in 1956. Four
decades. years later, she signed with
Franklin died on Aug. 16 at Columbia Records and
her home in Detroit from when her contract ran out
pancreatic cancer at age in 1966, she joined Atlantic
76. Records.
The superstar musician was In this Nov. 21, 2008 file photo, Aretha Franklin performs at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. That’s when she blazed the
the first woman inducted Franklin is still getting R.E.S.P.E.C.T. after death: The Queen of Soul received the Pulitzer Prize Special pop and R&B charts with
into the Rock and Roll Hall Citation honor Monday, April 15, 2019. a string of hits, including
of Fame when she entered Associated Press “Respect,” ‘’I Say a Little
the prestigious organization and voice — had and con- charts. including 18 Grammys, the Prayer,” ‘’Think,” ‘’Chain of
in 1987. tinues to have on the world. But her reputation was National Medal of Arts and Fools,” ‘’Day Dreaming,”
The Pulitzer board most re- Franklin became a cultural defined by an extraordi- the Presidential Medal of ‘’(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since
cently awarded a special icon and genius of Ameri- nary run of Top 10 smash- Freedom, the nation’s high- You’ve Been Gone,” ‘’Rock
citation prize in 2010 to can song, considered by es in the late 1960s, from est civilian honor. Steady” and “Until You
Hank Williams, the country many to be the great- the morning-after bliss of Rolling Stone ranked Frank- Come Back to Me (That’s
music legend who died in est popular vocalist of her “(You Make Me Feel Like) lin No.1 on its list of the Top What I’m Gonna Do).”
1953. From the arts world, time. Her voice transcend- A Natural Woman,” to the 100 singers and she was Her Grammy-winning al-
other recipients include ed age, category and her wised-up “Chain of Fools” also named one of the 20 bum, “Amazing Grace,” is
Duke Ellington, Bob Dylan, own life. to her unstoppable call for most important entertain- one of the seminal albums
John Coltrane, Theloni- She was professional singer “Respect,” transforming ers of the 20th century by in not only Franklin’s dis-
ous Monk, George Gersh- and accomplished pianist Otis Redding’s song into a Time magazine, which cel- cography, but the canon
win, Ray Bradbury, William by her late teens and a classic worldwide anthem ebrated her “mezzo-sopra- of American pop music. It is
Schuman, Milton Babbitt, superstar by her mid-20s. — especially for the femi- no, the gospel growls, the the basis for the recently re-
Scott Joplin, Roger Sessions, Raised in Detroit, she re- nist and civil rights move- throaty howls, the girlish leased concert film “Amaz-
Richard Rodgers and Oscar corded hundreds of tracks ments — making it one of vocal tickles, the swoops, ing Grace,” filmed over two
Hammerstein II. and had dozens of hits over the most recognizable and the dives, the blue-sky sessions in January 1972 at
Franklin’s inclusion into the the span of a half century, heard songs of all-time. high notes, the blue-sea the New Temple Missionary
exclusive club re-confirms including 20 that reached She sold millions of albums low notes. Female vocal- Baptist Church in the Watts
the impact her music — No. 1 on the R&B and won countless awards, ists don’t get the credit as section of Los Angeles.q

An undiagnosed illness haunts D.J. Palmer novel

By JEFF AYERS Her father, Carl, has taken stant health issues stem evidence against her is
Associated Press an opposite approach in from an overbearing moth- overwhelming.
“Saving Meghan” by D.J. caring for his little girl by er. Palmer knows how to
Palmer (St. Martin’s Press). being hands off to the Legal and law enforce- ratchet up the suspense
A teenage girl seems to point where some ques- ment debate whether this and paranoia in “Sav-
have an illness that doc- tion if he even cares about is a classic Munchausen ing Meghan” while keep-
tors cannot diagnose in Meghan’s health. Syndrome by Proxy, a form ing the reader continually
D.J. Palmer’s psychological Meghan begins to question of abuse where the per- guessing to what is hap-
thriller. her sanity and her mortality son supposed to care for pening to Meghan.
Fourteen-year-old Meghan while she watches her fam- the individual makes up or He also has the talent to
continues to show symp- ily start to implode. causes the condition. create an emotional in-
toms of some mysterious Is Meghan sick, or is some- Becky says no, but Carl vestment in the characters
disease that has her con- thing else going on? One starts to believe other- while also keeping the re-
sistently dizzy, dehydrated, doctor with potential ethics wise and begins to work pulsion factor of what’s be-
and losing weight. Her violations believes Meghan to remove his wife from his ing discussed low.
mother, Becky, demon- is suffering from a rare dis- daughter’s care. The finale might not be
strates signs of devotion to This cover image released ease involving her mito- Becky has to prove her in- a happy ending in the
her daughter, but others by St. Martin’s Press shows chondria. nocence to keep her fam- traditional sense, but
wonder if she’s smothering “Saving Meghan,” a novel by Another doctor feels it’s all ily together and her daugh- it’s unpredictable and
D.J. Palmer.
Meghan. Associated Press in her mind, and the con- ter alive even though the unforgettable.q