03x05 - Aretha: Young, Gifted and Black

[bunniefuu]

NAMETAG:
Previously on Genius...

JERRY: What kind of music do you
really want to make, Miss Franklin?

-I want to make hits, Mr. Wexler.
-You'll get there,

when you realize you're
Aretha Franklin and nobody else.

I can help you find your sound.

That's what I do.

I'd like to join your tour, Dr. King.

We'd love to have you.

Detroit needs its favorite daughter now.

DR. DR. KING: Your daughter's a star
of international prominence,

and that comes with
a certain responsibility.

Why is there a second crib here
with C.L.'s name on it?

PAM: Oh, I'm sure it was just a mistake.

[BARBARA CRYING] I always had suspicions.

But at your core,

I thought you were a good, loving man.

ARETHA:
"Her mother deserted the family and d*ed."

Our mother never deserted us.

How the hell did he know all this sh*t?

-Did you speak to him by yourself?
-He called me, yeah.

He was only acting friendly,

-and you fell for it?
-We all fell for it.

-You know he don't treat you right.
-He never has.

CURTIS: You think you need him,
but he knows, deep inside, you don't.

TED: Look, we've been through a lot,
we always figure it out.

Not this time. You have one choice.

You can leave or I can.

-You need me, Re.
-The hell I do.

[SEAGULLS SCREECHING]

Cannonball!

Shark att*ck!

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Would you go on and take that
over there now, please?

[LAUGHS]

This is what I'm thinking for
my album cover.

"Baby Dynamite." It's gorgeous.

Any chance you'd write the liner notes?

It'd be a help.

Is Erma still mad that I released
Son of a Preacher Man?

Well, you did say
you weren't gonna release it.

Well, she recorded it and it didn't chart.

And now she feels like
you stole her thunder.

This is a crazy business.
We all just out here trying to make it.

NEWS ANCHOR:
[ON TV] A riot broke out today...

-All right.
-...in California's Soledad State Prison.

I'll write your liner notes. No sweat.

-...three n*gro inmates...
-Thank you.

while engaged in
what several reports say was a fistfight,

were sh*t and k*lled by prison guards.

Some think the v*olence is related to
the racially-charged riots

that have rocked several American cities

-over the past few years...
-Let me turn this off.

-Don't.
-Most fervently in the months of 1967.

The world is going crazy,
but you can only do so much.

Well, the least I can do is listen.

Mass incarceration,

racial injustice,
it just makes me want to holler.

I hear that.

But you're always getting tangled up in
other people's messes. Don't.

[CHATTERING HAPPILY]

ARETHA: They sh**t us down like dogs.

-Oh.
-Got it.

Like our lives ain't worth nothing.

Ready or not, here I come!

I'm gonna record a protest album.

It's time to take a stand.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

Well, Re, you wanted to meet
the man who made my medallion?

Ken Cunningham,
meet my sister Aretha Franklin.

-Pleasure to meet you.
-It's an honor.

I'll leave you two.

ARETHA: Should we sit?
CUNNINGHAM: Sounds good.

-These are your designs?
-Well, yes, ma'am.

CUNNINGHAM: Our designers
are brothers and sisters

who work with jewelers
and seamstresses in Harlem.

Everything is gorgeous.

Yes, indeed. Gorgeous, comfortable
and in step with the time.

Now, we gonna be in runways, in magazines,
and we got good word of mouth.

And now you need investors.

Cecil says that you're
a self-made businessman

who's socially conscious.

-Well, thank you, Cecil.
-Mm, well, I like to empower people.

But I have to thoroughly
check up on people

before I meet with them.

Well, I certainly hope I rate.

So far.

Can I have a Scotch, please?

Uh, just water for me, thanks.

Hey, I have a gift for you.

If you would allow me
to flip to the back page.

[SIGHS] This, this is from Ghana.

Now if you look here,
the white symbolizes goodness,

and the gold is for prosperity.

I thought it would be perfect for you.

Hmm.

Thank you. You got to come to the studio,
see how I run my business.

[PIANO PLAYING
BORDER SONG [HOLY MOSES] INTRO]

ARETHA: And after that, I come in.
You got it?

Arif, I know I've been talking
a mile a minute.

Are you getting everything down?

Just like you laid it out.

Hot off the press.

Billy, can you give us more feel?

-I'll take us all to church.
-Cornell, I want you to keep it greasy.

Deep-fried and laid to the side.

And Chuck and Ray won't rush?

-I'm in.
-Copy that.

-Ladies?
-Oh, we're good to go.

[BACKUP SINGERS HARMONIZING]

ARETHA: Wait a minute, wait a minute.

Okay, let's take it from the top.

We'll make a hit.

All right.

[PLAYING BORDER SONG [HOLY MOSES] INTRO]

Wait a minute, now.

There was a-a pizza box on the piano.

Where is it?

There was a pizza box on the piano.
Where is it?

-What, you want to order dinner?
-It makes the piano sound different.

[LAUGHS SOFTLY]

-Sorry.
-RAY: Chop-chop.

Thought it was garbage.

Let's take it from the top.

[PLAYING INTRO]

Holy Moses

I have been removed

I have seen the specter

He was been here, too

Distant cousin from down the line

Brand of people who ain't my kind

Holy Moses

I have been removed

-How political is she gonna get?
-She hasn't said.

She's been listening to anti-w*r songs,
migrant farmer songs.

Hasn't she earned the right
to do what she wants?

Now the wind has changed directions

I think I'll have to leave

JERRY: I just don't want people
to boycott her.

You know, she could play
the Fillmore West instead.

You know, peace and drug-loving
hippies, they're radical,

but not in a way that
would alienate her fan base.

Think hippies would get her?

Why wouldn't they get her?

What she should do is
play the Fillmore and make this album.

Yes, I have now

I'm going back to the border

Where my affairs,
my affairs ain't been abused

Going back

I can't take any more bad water

I've been poisoned from my head

Down to my shoes

Yeah, I don't know
that this song is gonna resonate

-with her hardcore fans.
-Well, it resonates with me.

Well, if they all sound like this, great,

but if not, we got a dud on our hands.

You know, she thinks
those Soledad Brothers are folk heroes,

but I'm not so sure her fan base does.

Look, it's not easy on my end, either.

Last summer she sparks a riot in Denver

-and then she cancels in Las Vegas.
-Yep.

I'm having trouble booking her.

Who's this guy she's with?

CECIL: It's Ken Cunningham.

Social activist, businessman.

Solid. I've checked.

The divorce with Ted come through yet?

[ARETHA VOCALIZING]

Great.

Holy Moses

Can we live in peace?

Let us strive to find a way

To make all hatred cease

There's a man standing over there

What's his color, do you care?

Holy, holy, holy

Holy Moses

Can we live in peace?

Lord help them now

Holy, holy, holy Moses

Can we live in peace?

My brother, holy, holy, holy Moses

Can we live

[MUSIC FADES]

I wonder, can we

Can we

Can we live

[RESUMES PLAYING PIANO]

In peace?

[SONG PLAYS ON RECORDER]

[MUSIC STOPS]

I'm writing a new song.

-What's it called?
-I don't know yet, but it's, uh,

it's gonna hit you hard.

Get under your skin,
right down to the bone.

-I'm loving it already.
-Mm-hmm.

It's gonna be a protest song.

Message gonna be there,
but it's gonna be quiet.

It's gonna be fun to dance to.

-Subversive.
-Yeah, that's right.

Anybody aside from me

following what's going on
over there at Soledad?

Angela Davis is speaking out.

'Cause incarceration's been unjust
and unwarranted from the jump.

Angela Davis has my vote.

Maybe you could do a concert at Folsom.

Johnny Cash did,
and B.B. King is planning to do one.

I also like that idea about the Fillmore.

It's nice to know that the world

doesn't turn off when a singer
starts telling it like it is.

I mean, I... I'd sing any gig.

-I miss the energy of the audience.
-I'll work on it.

JERRY: Okay, uh, just a reminder
that music is a business.

All right? What do you think
pays for your vacation home?

Or my boat in Miami?

-Hit records do.
-All right.

-So, my protest album's gonna be a hit.
-Okay.

I tell you what, if you can't
get your head around

this concept album, Jerry,

I'll produce it myself.

[SCOFFS] Okay.

-Ooh.
-Oh-ho. Whoa, whoa.

[RUTH LAUGHS]

-You okay?
-Mm-hmm.

JERRY: I'm just trying to be
the voice of reason.

-Mm-hmm.
-Is that a crime?

Nope.

So, Ken, was it?

You two, uh, talk politics a lot?

Well, no, Mr. Wexler,
I ain't puttin' no ideas in her head,

if that what you was thinkin'.

Hmm.

[LOW CHATTER]

[RETCHING]

[RETCHING]

[SPITS AND COUGHS]

[TOILET FLUSHING]

[WATER RUNNING]

[WATER STOPS]

[TOWEL DISPENSER RATTLING]

[PAPER RUSTLING]

I'mma call my album
Young, Gifted and Black.

That's the title of
Nina Simone's hit song.

-And Hansberry's hit play.
-ARETHA: Mm-hmm.

JERRY: Okay, now you want to
be like Nina Simone.

Can I remind everybody that
Nina Simone is a head case.

Let me remind you that Nina Simone
fired her record label. You know why?

'Cause she wanted to do
what the hell she wanted to.

And you know,
maybe I might fire you, Jerry,

so I could do
whatever the hell I want to do.

'Cause, you know, you don't own me.

You know that?

-[PICKS UP GLASS]
-[DISTANT SIREN WAILING]

'Cause I'm free.

JERRY: You're drunk.

I'm free.

You hear me?

I am free.

I'm free, g*dd*mn it. I'm free.

NEWS ANCHOR [ON TV]: In response to
events at the California prison,

where inmates have been charged with
the retaliation k*lling of a prison guard,

Professor Angela Davis has joined
the Soledad Brothers Defense Committee

to advocate for the n*gro prisoners.

DAVIS [ON TV]:
This demonstration was organized

by the Soledad Brothers Defense Committee

in order to bring to light, the public,

the case of the Soledad Brothers,

and in order to begin to move on

changing the oppressive conditions in
the penal system in this state.

[APPLAUSE ON TV]

[GENTLE PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]

CUNNINGHAM: Well, you know the way to

-a man's heart, I see.
-[ARETHA LAUGHS]

So, you like my "pigs' feet a la Re."
[CHUCKLES]

I must admit, I've never been offered
pig feet at a business meeting.

Well, see, you wanted to
take me to Sylvia's,

and I say, why go outside
for something you can get at home?

[CUNNINGHAM CHUCKLES]

[SIGHING] Ah.

Now, I hope you don't mind me asking,

who picks your songs?

Well, I do.

I hear something I want
and I give the idea to the guys,

and I pick the musicians,
I pick the singers, and...

Jerry has input, too. So does Tom,
but I can't sing something I don't feel,

so, I have to arrange it so I can feel it.

Mm. Well, what does the other guy do?

-Arif?
-Mm-hmm.

He's a producer. A great producer.

Well, sounds like
you're the producer, too.

No, I'm the artist. I'm the talent.

Well, no, from what you just described,
it sounds like you're calling the sh*ts,

you're running the show,
you're making the arrangements,

you're setting up the music,
you deserve a producer credit too, sugar.

You're thinking what I'm thinking.

Yeah, the Movement starts at home.

-With you, Re.
-Mm.

You got to claim your power.

Well, all right, um...

-Tomorrow...
-Uh-huh.

I'mma walk into Jerry's office...

-Okay.
-I'mma... [CLEARS THROAT]

-Roll up my sleeves...
-I can dig it.

All right, I'mma puff up my chest...

-Uh-huh.
-And I will say, "Jerry..."

-Yeah.
-"I am a producer.

"Aretha Franklin is now a producer."

-Get down!
-Yes.

[BOTH LAUGH]

I'll tell ya, I would pay top dollar
to be able to be in there

to see them uppity honkeys'
faces when you say that.

[LAUGHS] Me, too.

-That would be something, I tell you.
-Uh-huh.

[BOTH LAUGH]

[CUNNINGHAM SIGHS]

Now, I try not to listen to
everything I hear,

but the word is, you're still married.

Well, the word is wrong.
I'm getting divorced.

Well, the word is quite similar
to my word,

-because I'm getting a divorce, too.
-[LAUGHS] Oh.

Very good to know.

That wouldn't stop anything,
now, would it?

Absolutely not.

Well...

I happen to be very, very serious.

-Mm.
-Just so you know.

[DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE]

BARBARA [QUIETLY]: Okay.

[EXHALES]

You're my heart.

-And you're mine.
-Mm.

-Love you.
-I love you, too.

Is it past my bedtime yet?

Yes. Your brother and sisters
are already in bed.

-Go and head on upstairs.
-[BOTH LAUGH]

CLARENCE: Where's my favorite womenfolk,

who make me the most blessed man
in the whole wide world?

-Mm.
-[BOTH MOANING]

Uh-huh. See you later.

Are you planning
your pastor's anniversary?

Yes, I am. With Sister Helen
and a few others.

It's not too bad for
a little country preacher,

now running a big Detroit,
Michigan church.

BARBARA: New Bethel's blessed to have you.

They've improved themselves
quite a bit since you took over.

Indeed they have.

I'll see you later.

-Mm.
-You gonna wait up for me?

-[LAUGHING] Mm-hmm.
-Mm-hmm.

-Mm-hmm.
-I'll have something for ya.

-[LAUGHS]
-Little Re, I'll see you later.

ARETHA: Bye, Daddy.

Can I stay up till Daddy comes back?

-[HORN HONKING OUTSIDE]
-He won't be back until late.

[DOOR CLOSES]

But can I wait up with you?

I'd like that.

-[CRIES SOFTLY]
-ARETHA: What's Daddy doing?

[CRYING] Oh.

[EXHALES]

ARETHA: Mommy?

-[FABRIC RIPS]
-Mom?

Uh, Mommy, can I help you?

No, sweetie. Just sit down and stay quiet.

-Where are we going?
-Stay quiet, I said.

Is Daddy coming with us?

No, and we're gonna be gone
before he gets here.

How come we have to be gone
before Daddy comes back?

BARBARA: I said, hush!

Mommy!

-Oh.
-CAROLYN: What is happening?

-Come here.
-Carolyn.

ARETHA: What is...

-[BARBARA WHIMPERS]
-What the hell is going on here?

What are you doing?

Where the hell is she taking you?

You ain't gonna answer me?

I'm tired of washing
your dirty laundry, Frank.

Tired of making sure
your mess looks clean.

Going to live with my sister,
and I'm taking the children with me.

You don't like me spending time
with Sister Helen.

She just my, uh, secretary.

Your tongue ought to be forked,
you lie so much.

-Uh... [MUTTERS]
-You made a vow to me

when Aretha Louise was born.

Yeah, for what, so that
all the neighborhood can hear?

I don't care who hears me!

You just need us to be a storybook family.
That ain't who we are, baby.

Don't put that on me.

It is Pastor Franklin
who needs to look good,

or else you'll get run out of town.

You're gonna lose your church.

Just like in Memphis,
they're gonna kick you out,

and you're gonna have to leave town again

with your tail between your legs,
dragging your family behind you!

Shout it, girl! Shout it! Yeah, shout it!

You like everybody hear you.

Well, why don't you run
down the street shouting?

Come on. Run down the street shouting.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey,
everybody, hey, hey!

You done, uh, took a stand.

You take your children,
but do you ever stop and think about

how you're gonna provide
for them children?

You ain't got no money,
you ain't got no job,

you ain't got no home,
you ain't got no g*dd*mn sense.

You broke my heart.

And I won't let you treat me like this,
and I won't let the children... Quit it!

If you think that I would
let you take my damn children.

-Never! You done put that down!
-CAROLYN: No, Mommy.

-No!
-Put them clothes down!

No! Mommy! No!

[OVERLAPPING, MUFFLED SHOUTING]

-[SHOUTING]
-No! No!

[overlapping shouting, screams]

-CLARENCE: Huh? No.
-Re!

-CLARENCE: No! No!
-[CRYING]

-Leave me alone! Mommy.
-No! No!

No!

[YELLING] No! No!

-No!
-CLARENCE: Stop that. Stop that crying!

-CLARENCE: Children.
-No! No! No! Mommy!

CLARENCE: Leave her be! Leave her be!

ARETHA: Don't let go of me!
Don't let go of me!

[BARBARA SOBBING]

Stop that crying, or I'm gonna
give you something to cry about.

-Stop that crying.
-[BELT SNAPS]

[BARBARA SOBBING]
I got to leave your father.

I can't live otherwise.

-[SOBBING] But I would never leave you.
-ARETHA: Take me.

I would never leave my babies, ever.

-[BARBARA CRYING]
-[CLARENCE GRUNTS]

Don't you ever just wait
for something bad to turn good.

-[ARETHA SCREAMS]
-[CLARENCE GRUNTS]

-[BOY CRYING] No.
-BARBARA: No.

[BARBARA SOBS]

[CRYING] Mommy.

CAROLYN: Mommy!

-Mommy!
-CLARENCE: Stop that crying!

-[SOBBING]
-[INDISTINCT MURMURING]

[CRYING] Mommy.

[SOBBING, MURMURING]

[CAROLYN CRYING]

[CRYING] Don't leave.

Come back.

ARETHA: Mm.

-James Baldwin.
-Mm-hmm.

-Zora Neale Hurston.
-Yup.

-Frantz...
-Fanon.

-Fanon.
-Uh-huh.

Frantz Fanon, and Lorraine Hansberry.

These are some of the essentials.

-I'm gonna be a scholar. Hmm.
-[LAUGHING]

And a revolutionary.

Right on, sister.

-I'll get you some more books.
-Thank you.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

You didn't have time to come
with me to the Gay Pride march.

That's all cool, but now you up here
trying to save the world.

And you've been AWOL in the studio.

And I didn't write your liner notes
for your record.

Daddy wrote them. They turned out great.

I'm sorry. Really.

MAN 1: Welcome to Harlem, Queen!

MAN 2: Yeah, she is the Queen.

-Can I get your autograph?
-Yeah, of course you can.

You've got two Franklin sisters
for the price of one.

-Have a good day, now.
-You, too.

Thank you. Hey.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[OFFICER OVER SPEAKER]:
Detroit PD. Step out of the car.

Now, you know this is an illegal search.
Come on, now.

-This is an illegal search.
-OFFICER: You ran a stop sign.

Y'all need to call somebody,

and you ain't need to
come here and get me.

-What did I do?
-Keep your hands visible, sir.

It's because I'm... [GRUNTS]

It's because I'm C.L. Franklin, huh,

Aretha Franklin's father,
you gonna do that to me.

This is ridiculous!

Oh, see, now, you done planted that.
You done planted that.

You don't never want to see
a Black person succeed.

-You're always trying to drag us down!
-Quiet. Quiet.

-[HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
-You know this ain't right!

-JERRY: I like your haircut. It suits you.
-Thank you.

But you've been AWOL for two whole months.

-Yeah.
-[SIGHS]

I've been dealing with family stuff.

My dad was in jail. I had to bail him out.

-Yeah, I heard.
-Black people, everyone from

my father to the Soledad Brothers,

are under the thumb of a system
that's completely rigged.

That's what I've been focusing on.

JERRY: "The hypocrisy of justice."

"Black folks can't get a fair shake."

[SIGHS] I hear you.

Is your dad gonna be all right?

-He always lands on his feet.
-Hmm.

You know,
supporting Dr. King was one thing,

but I don't know, these times feel...

More risky.

You know, Nina recorded
Mississippi Goddam,

it was a great song,
but then the radio stations boycotted her,

and then people
went into the record stores,

and they smashed her albums to bits.

I'm not drinking.

Look, make me a producer on my new album.

Let the world everywhere
read in the trades

that Atlantic has named
Aretha Franklin a producer

on Young, Gifted and Black.

Okay, I'll think about that.

But three sessions in a row
I organized for you,

on dates that you chose,
and you missed them all.

And last year you were a no-show
in Las Vegas, at Caesars Palace,

for crying out loud,
and how much did that cost you?

A hundred grand.

[LAUGHS] A hundred grand.

And Ruth says she's got to
jump through hoops to book you,

'cause people say you are a problem.

People are just bad-mouthing me
to try and keep me in my place.

And what are you doing
to prove them wrong?

Give me a real seat at the table,

and I can show you
how I can prove them wrong.

Aretha, you're out there
acting like a hothead.

You're worrying about
these young men in jail,

when you should be
worrying about the bottom line.

In what universe are you a producer?

I do all the work.

[CHUCKLES] You don't know
half of what I do.

Well, I do know that
I deserve more credit,

and that you are standing in my way.

I'm stand... I...

[TAKES DEEP BREATH]

Look, I'm glad
you're laying off the sauce,

and I'm very glad you're back.

But you like me better
when I'm drinking, don't you?

No, I don't. And that's not fair.

If I don't get what I need from you,
I'm gonna find a way to get it myself.

I'm gonna do what I gotta do.

[ROCK STEADY INTRO PLAYING]

♪ Rock steady, baby

♪ That's what I feel now

♪ Let's call this song exactly what it is

♪ Step and move your hips

♪ With a feeling from side to side

♪ Sit yourself down in your car

♪ And take a ride

♪ And while you're movin', rock steady

♪ Rock steady, baby

♪ Let's call this song exactly what it is

♪ What it is, what it is, what it is

-♪ It's a funky and low-down feeling
-♪ What it is ♪

♪ Move your hips from left to right

-♪ What it is ♪
-♪ What it is, is I might be doing

-♪ What it is ♪
-♪ This funky dance all night

[VOCALIZING]

♪ Put your hands up in the air

♪ Got a feeling and ain't got a care

♪ What fun to take this ride

-♪ Rock steady will only slide ♪
-♪ Rock steady

♪ Rock steady, baby

♪ Rock steady

♪ Rock steady, baby

♪ Step and move your hips
with a feeling from side to side

♪ Sit yourself down in your car

♪ And take a ride

♪ And while you're movin', rock steady

♪ Rock steady, baby

♪ Let's call this song exactly what it is

♪ What it is, what it is, what it is

♪ It's a funky and low-down feeling

-♪ What it is
-♪ In your hips from left to right

-♪ What it is
-♪ What it is, is I might be doing

-♪ What it is
-♪ This funky dance all night

[VOCALIZING]

♪ What it is, what it is, yeah!

♪ Got a feeling and ain't got a care

[VOCALIZING]

♪ What fun to take this ride

♪ Rock steady will only slide

♪ Rock steady, baby

♪ Rock steady, baby, rock steady

♪ Rock

♪ Steady

♪ Rock

♪ Steady

-♪ What it is
-♪ It's a funky and low-down feeling

-♪ What it is
-♪ In your hips from left to right

-♪ What it is
-♪ What it is, is I might be doing

-♪ What it is
-♪ This funky dance all night

[VOCALIZING]

♪ What it is, what it is, yeah!

♪ Got a feeling and ain't got a care

[VOCALIZING]

♪ What fun to take this ride

♪ Rock steady will only slide

♪ Rock steady

♪ Steady, baby

♪ Rock

♪ Rock steady, baby

♪ Baby

♪ What it is... ♪

Okay, say something, Re, or gimme.

Baby, tell Mama about your piano playing,
or your singing.

Has your father let you
solo in church yet?

ERMA: Uh, she ain't soloed yet, Ma.

-ARETHA: Give it to me!
-CECIL: Say something.

CAROLYN:
I want my turn. I miss you, Mommy.

Big Mama pressed my hair.

Aretha Louise, I bet you look so pretty.

Do you like living in Buffalo
better than Detroit?

Erma, you ask me that every week.

Well, than how come you're staying there
if you don't like it?

-[CECIL GRUNTING]
-Cecil...

Will you come home for spring
so we can have a picnic?

Or we could go to a ball game!

-How desperate. Just give...
-Give it to me!

I can hear you breathing, Mommy.

I hear you, too, baby.

ERMA: Well, we love you, Mommy, okay?

-Lots and lots!
-[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]

We'll speak with you next week, honey.

-Yes, ma'am.
-All right. Goodbye.

-Love you, Mommy!
-[MUMBLING]

[LINE CLICKS]

[SIGHS]

I want to go live with Mommy in Buffalo.

You already live here, baby.

You're not being fair.

The world ain't fair, Aretha.

[SUITE: JUDY BLUE EYES PLAYING]

Can I get a glass of water?

-Yes, ma'am. Just water?
-Mm-hmm.

Thank you, honey.

MAN: Hey, hey, hey. Take our photo here.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Oh, yeah, oh.

Better yet, let's get
all four of you together.

-Great.
-Here we go.

-Great. Thank you.
-Mm-hmm.

So badly, I must cry out loud

Thanks for being here.

I'm trying to show up
in more ways than one.

Nobody like me seems to have come.

Yeah, well, these industry parties
are boring as hell.

But if you'd have ditched it,

it might not look like
we were on the same team.

Well, maybe we're not.

Congratulations, Arif!
Well-deserved producer credit.

Don't Play That Song
wouldn't have had that sound

-without your touch.
-Uh, plus Spirit in the Dark,

the whole album is brilliant.

Beautiful singing,
Miss Franklin, as always.

-She's amazing.
-Your touch made it timeless.

Well, I wasn't in there alone, guys.

I mean, Jerry was in there with me.

-Oh, yeah.
-Come on, man.

We heard the roughs for, uh, Border Song.

The sound you got
with the keys... [EXHALES]

We heard you put
an empty pizza box on top of a piano?

That was my idea.

-Wow.
-Hmm.

Great. And Rock Steady, it's really hot.

Where's my producer credit, Jerry?

[AWKWARD CHUCKLING]

You're talent.

You're the artist.

No artist gets producer credit.

Not the Who, not the Stones,
not even the Beatles.

It just isn't done.

You full of sh*t.

I'm the type of person
that brings people together.

I don't divide them.

So, why am I being left out
on the outside?

I can't give you something
just because you want it.

This is the world, okay?
I can't change the rules.

You want me to think that you hear me.

You want me to think that you care.

I do.

But you don't. Not really.

Not for real.

Would you like something to drink?

I'm not drinking.

[MUSIC DISTORTING AND FADING]

[DISTORTED POPPING OF FLASHBULB]

A young man, George Jackson,
was thrown in the jail

on a trumped-up charge.

His kid brother, Jonathan, does everything
he can to get him a fair trial,

but the world just ain't fair for us.

[SHOUTING INDISTINCT]

They said George stole
$70 from a gas station,

and after years
of not being granted parole,

they accused George of
k*lling a prison guard.

-MAN: That ain't right.
-So he gets locked up for life.

What does his little brother Jonathan do?

Freeze!

-[GASPING]
-My brother George

is locked up for no good reason.

ARETHA: He smuggles g*ns into
the courthouse, demanding justice...

-[g*nshots]
-And gets k*lled.

Other folks were k*lled, too.

ARETHA: Change is not going to come.
It's already here.

AUDIENCE: Yeah!

Angela was trying to help

the Soledad Brothers,
and now I'm trying to help Angela.

She was charged with m*rder,
kidnapping and conspiracy,

and I'm here in support
of inmate number 02G0964.

You know her as Professor Angela Davis.

-You're joining her legal defense team?
-I'm offering to post her bail.

-You'll contribute to her legal fund?
-I'll do anything I can to help her.

Do you believe in Communism?

Are you suggesting we riot
against the Establishment?

I believe in freedom,

and I believe in the right of Black people
to assert their rights.

Angela Davis must go free.

Black people will be free.

You've got to disturb the peace

-when you can't get no peace.
-[SHOUTING AND CHEERING]

I'm going to see her free

if this court system has
any justice at all.

Not because I believe in Communism,
but because she is a Black woman

who believes in
the freedom of Black people.

I intend to use all my money and power
that my people have given to me

to free Angela.

Are you afraid of alienating your fans?

Are you advocating v*olence
against the Establishment?

I have said all I need to say. Thank you.

[REPORTERS CLAMORING]

CLARENCE: How the hell
can you do this to me?

ARETHA: 'Cause it ain't about you.
It's about doing what's right.

You're supporting a Communist
who buys g*ns for criminals.

Angela didn't mean
for them to get her g*ns.

-You believe that?
-George Jackson was not supposed to

be in jail in the first place.
He was wrongfully incarcerated.

But the newspapers are saying...

I'm doing what you taught me to do.
To stand up for our people.

I never stood up for no criminal.

Except for those hotheads that
walked into the church with g*ns

and sh*t out with police.

And you raked me over the coals for that
for involving you in that.

I'm involved in this because I want to be,
not because of you.

I get to support who I want to,
on my terms.

You make me look bad in the process.

You can do that all by yourself.

You know, you talk about
Black empowerment,

but when I suggested you use
one of my sermons

in your protest record,
you turned your nose up.

And I've been protesting
since before you were born.

Carolyn asked you to write
the liner notes in her new record,

and you ain't got the time to empower her.

When you heard Erma was
recording Preacher Man,

you went and released your own version
to undercut her chances.

How much help do y'all need from me?

You just got to flaunt your power,
don't you?

Yes.

Maybe I do.

'Cause I'm my mother's daughter.

Don't you start about your mother.

And she waited too long
to stand up for herself

and it k*lled her,
and I refuse to let that be me.

So, yes.

Even if it makes you look bad.

[DOOR CLOSES]

Fighting the power begins at home, huh?

Still, glad you brought me here
to meet him.

[CHUCKLES]

Seems like we fighting all the time.

Maybe wanting to help Angela is...

-Not the smartest move.
-Hey.

Standing up for what you believe in

is always the right call.

Now, I may not be royalty, like you...

But I can help.

[DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES]

My daughter and I
don't always see eye to eye.

Hmm.

But I'm glad you're visiting with us.

I thank you for that welcome,
Reverend Franklin.

CLARENCE: Bless you.

You have a good evening.

-Bye, Daddy.
-Mm-hmm.

I'm performing at the Fillmore West.

-Huh. Are you, now?
-Come with me?

-[CHUCKLES] Yes, indeed.
-[CHUCKLES]

I will be there.

CUNNINGHAM: Hmm.

This is beautiful.

Mm, it's all right.

So are you.

Come here.

Uh...

What?

What's wrong?

I don't know how to...

I love you.

[THUNDER ROLLS IN DISTANCE]

[BARBARA PLAYING MINUET IN G MAJOR
BY BACH ON PIANO]

[FINISHES PIECE]

What's the matter, sunshine?

It's just that...

This time tomorrow,
our bus will be headed back to Detroit.

But you've enjoyed your visit, right?

Me, and Erma, and Cecil, and Carolyn,

we all want to stay here.

With you.

Your daddy's going to let you
visit this summer.

For the whole summer?

We'll have to see.

When we're at home, we miss you.

What's the matter?

[VOICE SHAKING] I'm just tired.

And I miss you all, too.

[EXHALES]

[CHUCKLES]

Let's play "Make it up as we go."

Okay.

-[IMPROVISING ON PIANO]
-[ARETHA HUMMING]

[PLAYING AND HUMMING ENDS]

[PHONE RINGS]

Hello?

Mm-hmm.

[CLOCK TICKING]

Thank you.

Mama?

[ARETHA PLAYING HOPSCOTCH]

Re?

[EXHALES]

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

[SOFTLY] No.

[VOICE SHAKING] No.

[CRYING AND SNIFFLING]

[ARETHA SOBBING]

I know.

[SOBS]

[SNIFFLING]

[CONTINUES CRYING]

You want something to eat, honey?

No, Sister Helen.

Your mother loved her children
more than anything else in this world.

Your mother's in a better place now.
She's with the Lord, child.

You don't need to talk to me.

I'm sure your daddy gave your mama
a beautiful home-going speech.

Daddy didn't go to Mama's funeral.

We buried her in Buffalo,
and he wasn't even there.

And you best leave me be.

[CROWD CHEERING AND WHOOPING]

Ladies and gentlemen, right,

I would like to say before we leave

that you have been much more

than I have... Could have ever expected.

I'd like to leave you, saying...

♪ Reach out and touch

♪ Somebody's hand

♪ Make this a better world

♪ If you can

♪ We love you

♪ Reach out and touch

♪ Somebody's hand

WOMAN: Love you, Aretha!

♪ Why don't you make it a better world

♪ If you can

Turn around and touch your brother.
Touch your sister.

-♪ Reach out and touch
-♪ Touch

Extend your hand.

♪ Somebody's hand

♪ Make this a better world

-♪ If you can
-♪ If you can

-♪ Reach out and touch
-♪ Reach out and touch

-♪ Somebody's hand
-♪ Somebody's hand

♪ Make this a better world

ARETHA: Need I say more than that?

Need I say more? No.

Reach out and touch.

♪ Reach out and touch

♪ Wherever you are, somebody's hand

♪ Go on and make it a better world

♪ I love you

She really does bring people together.

She's at her best out there.

I love you.

And I love you.

Call me.

Call me, if you need a hand.

-I love you.
-I love you.

♪ Go on and reach out

[SONG CONTINUES]

[ARETHA WHOOPING]

[VOCALIZING]

[CONTINUES VOCALIZING]

[SONG CONTINUES]

[SONG CONTINUES]

[SONG ENDS]