Aretha Franklin feat.Duane Allman - The Weight (1969)

Aretha Franklin looks on from the back of the control room during the playbacks of "The Weight" sessions. Producers Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin, engineer Tom Dowd and session guitarist Duane Allman are also in the New York studio on January 9th, 1969.

                                                                  

Fifty years ago, this set of photographs was captured showing the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, recording The Weight.  You might remember it as the anthem penned by members of The Band: “I pulled into Nazareth, just a feelin’ ’bout a half past dead…”

Released on her Soul ’69 album, the song also featured the slide guitar of Duane Allman, of Allman Brothers fame.

 

 

The session took place on January 9th, 1969 in the New York City studios of Atlantic Records, Aretha’s home since 1966. Prior to that, the prodigiously talented singer had been arguably miscast, recording a range of jazz and pop albums for another label, none of which allowed her to shine.

 

But Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler had a different idea: “I took her to church, sat her down at the piano, and let her be herself.”

And what Wexler discovered—a fact often overshadowed by her formidable voice—was that Franklin was also a highly talented pianist and musical arranger. She went into vast written detail about the sound she was seeking, and how to achieve it. The Queen of Soul, yes, but also The Queen of the Studio.