Friday May 21, 2021 “Until You Come Back to Me “ (Aretha) Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Two superstars connected by a similar name, Aretha Franklin and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, although one of them doesn’t sing, publicly.
To say that FDR grew up privileged would be understatement. He learned to ride, shoot, row, and play polo and lawn tennis as a youngster. He took up golf in his teen years, becoming a skilled long ball hitter, and learned to sail early. When he was 16, his father gave him a sailboat. Nice.
FDR was also a remarkable president at an important moment in the country’s history. He pulled the nation out of the worst depression in its history with his "relief, recovery, and reform programs,” rebuilt the banking system, established regular “Fireside Chats” to create what would later be called transparency, created the Works Progress Administration...but he didn’t chart nearly as many hits as Aretha.
So you can compare their stats, Aretha Franklin recorded 112 charted singles on Billboard, including 77 Hot 100 entries, 17 top-ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries, and 20 number-one R&B singles. She sold more than 75 million records. She was named the Queen of Soul for her musical contributions and Aretha Franklin is the first woman to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Today’s song was co-written by Stevie Wonder who would record it after Aretha’s version but with much less success.
Stay safe and well...and I wonder what FDR’s version of this would sound like, or what kind of a president Aretha might have made.