Overview

Aretha was private. I respected this and she trusted me. Linda Solomon met Aretha Franklin in 1983 when she was just beginning her career as a photo journalist and newspaper columnist. Franklin's brother and business manager arranged for Solomon to capture the singer's major career events-just as she was coming back home to Detroit from California-while Franklin requested that Solomon document everything else. Everything. And she did just that. What developed over these years of photographing birthday and Christmas parties in her home, annual celebrity galas, private backstage moments during national awards ceremonies, photo shoots with the iconic pink Cadillac, and more was a friendship between two women who grew to enjoy and respect one another. The Queen Next Door is a book full of firsts as Solomon was invited not only to capture historical events in Aretha'smusic career showcasing Detroit, but to join in with the Franklin family's most intimate and cherished moments in her beloved hometown. From performance rehearsals with James Brown to off-camera shenanigans while filming a music video with the Rolling Stones, from her first television special to her first time performing with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, to her last performance with her sisters at her father's church and her son's college graduation celebration. In the book's afterword, Sabrina Garrett Owens, Franklin's niece, honors her aunt, a woman who wasan over whelming supporter of civil rights, women's rights, and fundraising campaigns that helped to benefit her hometown. There was a time in her career-when Franklin was more in demand than ever before-when she insisted that if someone wanted her to perform, they had to come to Detroit. During this time all of her majorconcerts, national television specials, music videos, and commercials would happen in Detroit. Aretha Franklin showed her respect for the people in the city who championed her from the very beginning when she started singing as a young girl in the church choir. Franklin used to say, """"I am the lady next door when I am not on stage."""" The Queen Next Door offers fans a personaland unseen look at an extraordinary woman in her most natural moments-both regal and intimate-and highlightsher devotion to her family and her hometown Detroit-""""forever and ever.

Full Product Details

9780814347287

Table of Contents

Reviews

mention on The Detroit News https: //www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/movies/2019/03/25/aretha-franklin-amazing-grace-premiere-detroit/3213402002/ -- (03/24/2019)

Aretha and I grew up together. She was the sister I never had. Her parents were parents of both of us. She is more than a Queen of Soul. She's a Queen of Caring, a Queen of Social Justice. She stood with Dr. King and she stood for Nelson Mandela. This beautiful book captures her essence.-- (06/17/2019) Linda Solomon is a Michigan treasure. She photographs celebrities and friends with equal enthusiasm, all the while devoting much of her time teaching others to enjoy the profession she loves.-- (06/17/2019) I feel like I've known Linda all my life. She intuitively seems to know how to catch that d?j? vu moment with her camera lens-giving the pictures a unique and special touch like no other. She amazes me.-- (06/17/2019) Linda's got 'it' -what a great artist!--Tony Bennett entertainer (06/17/2019) To most, Aretha Franklin is an icon. But to Linda, she was also a friend. And Linda's intimate photographs of Aretha reveal the true lady beyond the legend. What a gift for all her fans!-- (06/17/2019) A picture is worth a thousand words, and with Linda no words were needed with she and Aretha. A powerful, emotional journey of photos that are beyond words and inspires us all to 'say a little prayer.' Thank you, Linda Solomon!-- (06/17/2019) Her voice, her presence lives and breathes in her music which is kicking it to this day in my world. And now add some beautiful visuals. Thanks Linda for the wonderful images of the Queen of Soul.-- (06/17/2019) No one but Linda Solomon could have captured in moving words and photographs the real Queen, the Aretha Franklin who was sister-mama-daughter-friend, the woman who was larger-than-life star in her career, but down-to-earth Detroiter at home. Linda has given those who loved Ms. Franklin an intimate and needed tour of life off the stage.-- (06/17/2019) I met Linda Solomon in the early eighties while enjoying one of the Queen's lavish parties. Linda was very charming and so professional in capturing that perfect and special moment. Linda will be always be special to all of us in the Queen's court.-- (06/17/2019) In The Queen Next Door, Linda Solomon gives us a rare photojournalistic glimpse into the life, lady, and legacy of one of the greatest talents of all time, Aretha Franklin-the Queen of Soul. Like Motown, Aretha Franklin is synonymous with the city of Detroit; she represented Detroit royalty and realness at the same time. While Aretha never signed to Motown Records, she was undoubtedly part of the Motown family and, like my grandmother, Esther Gordy Edwards, founder of the Motown Museum, Aretha used her celebrity to elevate the city she loved, Detroit.-- (06/17/2019) Aretha Franklin trusted very few journalists-a handful of us were lucky enough to be in that number, and that includes Detroit-based photojournalist Linda Solomon. You can see in the Queen of Soul's soft, unguarded expressions in Linda's photographs in The Queen Next Door that she was at ease with her. Linda had unprecedented access, but she didn't overwhelm Aretha with a barrage of shots, instead capturing sensitive, evocative photos of a woman with the mystique of an icon, who was also the down-home woman 'next door.' This trove of beautiful images is a must for fans of the Queen.-- (06/17/2019)

Author Information

Linda Solomon is an award-winning photojournalist and author. She is known for her natural light portraits ofcelebrities and her nonprofit foundation, Pictures of Hope, which provides cameras to children living in shelters in the United States. Linda is a member of the prestigious Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame and the author of The Key: Celebrated People Unlock Their Secrets to Life.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available