Aretha Franklin — “Won’t Be Long”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 31, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,161) Aretha Franklin — “Won’t Be Long”

Released on December 23, 1960, this A-side was Aretha’s first charting song (#76 and #7 R&B) and the first track on her first album. It displayed “wanton exuberance in the (broken) mold of Ray Charles’ ‘I Got a Woman’” (Raoul Hernandez, https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2011-07-29/aretha-franklin-take-a-look-aretha-franklin-complete-on-columbia/), with Aretha “locked into pianist and bandleader Bryant’s easygoing groove while pushing her voice beyond its borders”. (Keith Phipps, https://www.gq.com/story/aretha-franklin-30-underrated-songs) This song — by an 18 year old Aretha! — all by itself dispatches the received wisdom that Aretha’s Columbia work didn’t reach the heights of what she produced in her Atlantic years. And it is one of the all-time great railroad songs and songs of romantic longing.

“Baby, here I am By the railroad tracks Waiting for my baby Because he’s coming back Coming back to me On the 503 And it won’t be long No, it won’t be long”

Now, Adam Gustafson, trying to prove his ultra-feminist bona fides, writes:

As much as the song rocks, it plays into the same male fantasy of girls pining away for boys who have run off.  “I get so lonesome since the man has been gone,” she sings, echoing a tired trope. Despite the message, it’s Franklin’s voice – jubilant and strong – that takes over. By the end, the meaning no longer matters. What’s left is Franklin, who clearly doesn’t seem all that bothered about the idea of her man staying or leaving.

https://theconversation.com/how-aretha-franklin-asserted-control-over-her-career-paving-the-way-for-female-musicians-101708

God forbid that a girl pines away for a boy, or that a boy pines away for a girl, for that matter. Adam, baby, loosen up!

As to the Columbia-Atlantic battle, Richie Unterberger takes the conventional position:

Franklin ended up with Columbia, to which she was signed by the renowned talent scout John Hammond. Franklin would record for Columbia constantly throughout the first half of the ’60s, notching occasional R&B hits (and one Top 40 single . . . ) but never truly breaking out as a star. The Columbia period continues to generate considerable controversy among critics, many of whom feel that Franklin’s true aspirations were being blunted by pop-oriented material and production. In fact, there are a number of fine items to be found on the Columbia sides, including the occasional song . . . where she belts out soul with real gusto. It’s undeniably true, though, that her work at Columbia was considerably tamer than what was to follow, and suffered in general from a lack of direction and an apparent emphasis on trying to develop her as an all-around entertainer, rather than as an R&B/soul singer. When Franklin left Columbia for Atlantic, producer Jerry Wexler was determined to bring out her most soulful, fiery traits. . . . [M]uch of . . . her ’60s work would be recorded with the Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section . . . . The combination was one of those magic instances of musical alchemy in pop: the backup musicians provided a much grittier, soulful, and R&B-based accompaniment for Franklin’s voice, which soared with a passion and intensity suggesting a spirit that had been allowed to fly loose for the first time.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/aretha-franklin-mn0000927555#biography

Mark Harrington counters:

Soul meets Jazz in the fresh sounding 18 year old Aretha’s debut lp. The Ray Bryant trio are augmented as songs require, with a bluesy rhythm guitar behind most tracks, and selective inclusion of r&b styled Tenor sax . . . & Trombone . . . . The myth we were all fed was that the Columbia sides were all a bit tame, and that her arrival at Atlantic unleashed a raw side to her, and maybe in fact there is some reining in to the later Columbia’s, but here, this is gutsy and stripped back . . . . Every bit as effective is her own piano accompaniment as she sings . . . “Won’t Be Long” . . . . In fact it seems to drive the gospel edge to her embellishments, giving plenty of depth and variety to a quite astonishingly accomplished first album for a teenage woman just stepping away from the Church door. This is at least the equal of any album in her distinguished career.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/aretha-1961–mw0000956146

Keith Phipps tries to bridge the divide:

Franklin made her breakthrough in 1967 at the age of 24 with “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Loved You),” her first single for Atlantic and the first time producer Jerry Wexler teamed her with a team of red-hot musicians based in Muscle Shoals and Memphis who understood how to follow Franklin’s lead. The single’s success, and the success of its follow-ups, effectively relegated everything she’d recorded before to prehistory, but Franklin had already cut nine albums for Columbia by that point, after signing with the label at the age of 18. Yet despite the resources of a major label and the guidance of producer John Hammond — who’d already played key roles in the careers of Billie Holiday, Count Basie and many others and would later do the same for Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen — Franklin never enjoyed more than moderate success at Columbia. The main problem: Columbia didn’t quite know what to do with her or whether she would be their next great jazz artist, an R&B star, or a blues singer. The answer was all of the above but also none of the above. But while Franklin’s defining work as the Queen of Soul still lay ahead of her, there’s much to enjoy from her Columbia years. Though she sometimes lacked direction and had to settle for questionable material, Franklin’s voice and interpretive skills were already evident.

https://www.gq.com/story/aretha-franklin-30-underrated-songs

Here are two incredibly amazing live versions. The first is from the Steve Allen show. “This is as near to perfection as you will ever hear from a live tv performance. Aretha was 22 here!! An unbelievable performance. It sounds like a f*cking studio track. All hail the absolute Queen.” (misterspigot88, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93S2e_ceelg “We remember Aretha for her incredible vocal talent but do we remember how good a piano player she was?” (avbove88, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93S2e_ceelg):

Live again:

Here is Dusty Springfield:

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