The Greatest Cont.
It's interesting to note that Sam vs. Marvin actually has a constituency for debate. Can the same be said for Aretha Franklin? Among the possibilities, I think Chaka Khan is the most respectable. But are there others? Whitney, maybe? She had the voice, but not the songs. And is this a reflection of the "male-ness" of soul music?
I think the closest you're going to get to Aretha, is probably Etta James. This is just killer. It's funny, I thought Beyonce really honored Etta in Cadillac Records. That may be my favorite movie in the last five years. Some of the best acting, by a cast of black folks, that I've seen in a while.
About the Author
Ta-Nehisi Coates is a former national correspondent for The Atlantic. He is the author of The Beautiful Struggle, We Were Eight Years in Power, The Water Dancer, and Between the World and Me, which won the National Book Award for nonfiction.