Music mogul Clive Davis says he helped singer Aretha Franklin overcome a mid-career slump.
He told WOR’s “Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning” that after being a huge success, Franklin was approaching 40 and she was struggling to find hit songs.
“Music had changed. She was doing a dance album that didn’t quite make it,” Davis said.
He said they had dinner together and talked into the night. Davis said that turned into three decades of collaborations
“Could she still compete? Could she still really reign the way that she had. Frankly, she believed it. I believed it,” Davis said.
The first song he handpicked for Franklin was “United Together.”
“It was Aretha at her best. It was a great song. It made great progress,” Davis said.
Davis is now organizing an effort to hold a tribute concert at Madison Square Garden for Franklin on November 14th. Davis said the tribute concert was actually being planned before Franklin’s death. He said it will now be a memorial concert.
A list of performers hasn’t been announced yet.
(Photo Credit: Maritza Bolivar )