Sisters That Sing Along
On Carolyn Franklin and family genius
I first learned about Carolyn Franklin when I was reading Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin by David Ritz. While I have a lot of issues with the structure of the book and the editorial choices, I appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the Franklin sisters. Carolyn Franklin was a gifted singer, songwriter, and arranger. One of the most beautiful songs that she wrote is Ain’t No Way.1
Being part of a large family, with obvious stars and big personalities, sometimes it’s easy for us to overlook how good some of the siblings can be, and how much of a gift their voices are. Carolyn Franklin’s Sunshine Holiday is a song sung with the ease and confidence of someone that knows their vocal range, and how to slide into the pocket of a groove and deliver a great song. But she deserves more credit than the reductive act of simply comparing her to her sister, Aretha Franklin. Men didn’t give women production credit in the 60s, and even now, go on any stage or into a studio, and the women producing and arranging the music are only the few with the courage and cleverness to prove that they have a high musical IQ.
When you consider the complexity of the song structure, the use of harmony, and the fact that she not only wrote the charts, but knew them well enough to teach them to her sister and other musicians? It shows a command of her talent and a clarity of vision that few people are able to achieve in such a short timespan. Carolyn Franklin died at age 43, but the power of her vision and the prowess of her pen continue to inspire generations.
I think of her as the predecessor to so many sisters that we see carving their own lane in talent, from Solange, to Tamar Braxton, to Janet Jackson, their contributions to the culture matter and their legacies should not be forgotten.
The full version of Ain’t No Way