![]() Also, let there be credit due: Gerry Goffin wrote that lyric from the viewpoint of a woman.Īnd the writing-on-assignment thing was something both Jamie and I are attuned to, For this new song, we got in the head of Aretha, and we got in your head, after you gave us all those wonderful thoughts. I didn’t realize that I would at the time. You want to write it?” “Uh, yeah.” We went home and we listened to WNJR, which was the R&B station emanating from Jersey, where we actually lived at the time, and that’s when we wrote “Natural Woman.” … I’m glad I had an important role in her life. You’ve heard the story of “Natural Woman”: Jerry Wexler is in his limo on Broadway as Gerry Goffin and I are walking, and he pulls up alongside us and says, “Hey, I got a title for a song for Aretha. King: I got my start writing on assignment. ![]() I feel like we both came from an honest place of our experience with her. I think that stemmed from their relationship. It’s like, how can you have a voice that everyone hears and uses and is influenced by, but it’s not necessarily your own? So for her to be able to find her place and who she became, which rested in her voice, that was to me the narrative at the heart of “Respect.” And Miss King could have not done a better job putting it into words. … I just felt that was necessary for the narrative of the underlying story. What she overcame in her background - her personal background, and in the background of the Black community - and didn’t even realize that she had the power to do until she found it. Her mom respected her, but her mom passed away so young. She didn’t even know what it was, I don’t think. … She was an incredible person with so many incredibly painful experiences, and being not heard and being ignored… “Respect” is so the appropriate title of the movie, because she did not even have that. Jennifer really contributed so much about Aretha and her understanding of the little girl Aretha that wasn’t heard. King: It was Zeke Lewis, your A&R, who brought us together, right, Jen? He’s with Epic and thought that this would be a great combination, and the three of us just clicked at that first meeting, when we talked about ideas. I have the same feeling at times when I sing or when I write, but I know that you are blessed to be an instrument. I don’t have the vocal chops that you have. Not all of us have your range or your gift. King: Jennifer, I’m going to hold you to that. ![]() And guess what? The song I can play the most is “Natural Woman,” so far. Those things helped me embody character at times, because clothing can make you feel like the character you’re portraying. Or, a lot of my own personal wardrobe now is things that resemble things that she would wear - a lot of fluffy, furry little jackets with leopard prints and things like that. Sometimes, coming off of the film, while taking pictures with someone, I’m like, “Oh wow, I’m smiling like Aretha.” Or “That response was more Aretha-like.” You identify little things like that in yourself that are still there. Jennifer Hudson: She’s still with me, almost every day in some way. Did you take her home with you after you shot? The end-titles theme they co-wrote with Jamie Hartman, “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home),” ties up Franklin’s story, but though they’re too humble to say so, it’s their theme, too - two greats in their own right whose paths homeward have just happened to pass through Aretha’s shadow.Ĭarole King: Jen, you inhabited Aretha. ![]() Hudson, as everyone knows, was handpicked by the late legend to portray her on-screen. King, of course, co-wrote the blockbuster ballad “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman,” which, if it wasn’t the star-making breakout for Aretha, was certainly her star- cementing song back in 1967. 13.īesides possible time spent at awards podiums in the near future, something these two artists share is having co-written an original song for “Respect” that brings something new out of their eras-spanning connections to the Queen of Soul. Hudson, who won a supporting actress Oscar in 2007 for her first film role, in “Dreamgirls,” is being talked up as a serious contender in the upcoming awards races for her starring turn as Aretha Franklin in the long-awaited biopic “ Respect,” which reaches theaters Aug. King will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a performer at the next ceremony in October, after previously qualifying as a songwriter. Jennifer Hudson and Carole King each have a lot to celebrate this year. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |