First of all, I loved this article. Secondly, I still have faith in the future of artistry, and I’m not sure what you mean by ‘time of disrespect’. I agree that we don’t give enough respect to people behind the scenes, like Jerry Wexler, who produced Aretha’s records in the 60s, along with Wilson Pickett, and later Led Zeppelin. He died in 2008 with little notice outside of the music industry. And yes, there are artists who are not very talented, yet very popular, but nobody is forcing you to listen exclusively to the Top 40. That’s always been the nature of popular music- to appeal to the masses. (And even a fair amount of the Top 40 is good). While the internet certainly breeds attention to a great amount of mediocrity, it also exposes listeners to so many great otherwise unknown artists who dedicate their life to their passion. Anyone who is as successful as Aretha Franklin sacrifices ALOT. An artist of that stature and talent still has to work their ass off to stay on top. So she has earned every bit of respect that she gets. The band at my university in Arkansas just performed a tribute to her at a football game. Aretha Franklin is in my opinion the greatest singer of all time, although I don’t see her as a bookend, but rather a giant milestone in the history of American music and civil rights. I believe there will always be innovators and artists who keep pushing boundaries, through ‘startling audacity and hard-earned labor’. And the next generation will likely say that they will never see the likes of them again, and so on…
