“I wanna take you back to 1967” – Aretha Franklin announced before proceeding to give a jaw-dropping rendition of her signature title track from her critically acclaimed 1967-released album, “I Never Loved A Man the Way I Love You.’
Introduced to stage by Robert De Niro, who addressed her as “The” female singer of the generation, the actor spoke in high praise of the Queen of Soul before welcoming her on stage for her show-stopping moment.
“We’ve never met. and yet I feel as though I know her and that speaks to the power of her music,” the actor stated. “Her music is part of the soundtrack of most of our lives and the real tribute to her tonight is that she has connected to so many of us.”
The year was 1993, and the TV special, entitled ‘Aretha Franklin: Duets’ saw some of the most memorable performances by the Queen of Soul through her on-stage duets with the likes of Smokey Robinson, Rod Stewart, Gloria Estefan, Elton John and more.
But Aretha’s ability to tell a story through her songs shone the brightest when she took a solo route during the event, tearing the stage into a thousand pieces with her goosebumps-inducing rendition of ‘Never Loved A Man’
Her impeccable improvisations, soulful grunts and growls and the little ‘praise dance’ she did in-between, took the audience straight to Church – and it does the same to you as you hear the performance even today.
When Franklin sings that her man ‘got his hooks’ on her, you really feel that he did. That was the power and the beauty of her artistry. And as the audience gave her a standing ovation towards the end, the legendary songstress was too much in the spirit of the song to finish it off that easily, as she continued to harmonize with her background singers.
The song ends in as much grandeur as it started in.
Watch the phenomenal improvised take of her classic below:
‘I Never Love A Man’ was the first big hit by Franklin during the time of its release – peaking at #1 on the Rhythm and Blues chart and on #9 at the Pop charts. The iconic album was cited by the Rolling Stones magazines as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time, which also included her signature classic, ‘Respect’ – among other iconic recordings like ‘Dr. Feel Good’ and ‘Do Right Woman, Do Right Man.’
Her 1993 show was only further proof of the already established longevity of her artistry and appeal; and also of the fact that, several decades into the biz, Aretha could still blow it out of the park with that voice.