I just finished a book by David Ritz called “Respect.” It’s a biography on Aretha Franklin that was written and published after the book he ghost wrote with her called “From These Roots”

“The survival of Aretha’s career, both artistically and commercially, is nothing short of remarkable.” – No truer words were ever written. To hear the stories directly from Reverend James Cleveland, her sisters Carolyn and Erma and brothers Cecil and Vaughn, Jerry Wexler, booking agent Ruth Bowen, musical peers Billy Preston, Etta James, Ray Charles, Carmen McRae, and Luther Vandross make the book wroth reading.

I will go back and read her own autobiography next. She is just an amazing musician and icon. I will also have to go back and check out Amazing Grace from 1972. I hear that this is the record that is one of her best. It’s too bad this footage probably won’t be seen until long after she passes on. I’d love to actually see this:

 

Attorneys for Aretha Franklin and producer Alan Elliott are asking for “breathing room” to resolve their legal dispute over footage from Elliott’s documentary “Amazing Grace,” which was pulled from the Telluride Film Festival after she challenged its release in court.

On Monday, reps for Franklin and Elliott asked a federal court in Denver to enter a preliminary injunction prohibiting Elliott from screening the movie without her consent, with the stipulation that the case can be reopened as they try to work on a settlement.

Franklin had sued Elliott for using the footage from the 1972 gospel concert without authorization, and it was pulled from Telluride after a federal judge ruled in her favor.

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/aretha-franklin-amazing-grace-case-injunction-alan-elliott-1201724206/