"Sexual circus" is a term coined by two great soul stars, Ray Charles and Billy Preston, describing in two words how the greatest gospel musicians spent their free time in the 1950s. Aretha Franklin and other artists first singed to God in the church and then indulged in dissolute carnal pleasures.
Prayer first, then full game
Ray Charles loved gospel from an early age and admired musicians singing in churches. Charles at the beginning of his musical career dealt with many gospel bands, as their touring locations often overlapped. The place of accommodation was also the same, as blacks were restricted to overnight stays in special guesthouses run by locals, as hotels still had no entry for "coloreds".
Although Ray Charles was never a saint and had frequent orgies with two or three women, he felt that gospel musicians beat him on the head in sexual debauchery. Charles claimed that men ended up in bed with men, women with women, and then made exchanges, so they had fun. Even some pastors joined the musicians playing in these boarding houses.
Aretha Franklin with father C. L. Franklin and sister Carolyn
An apple is falling far from an apple tree
The Reverend C. L. Franklin, the gospel star and father of Aretha, was known to show love directly to many parishioners. He also toured and performed in churches, for which he received remuneration from the congregation, and also gained additional profits from the sale of recordings. Aretha was only twelve when her father began taking her on what she called "traveling religious ministries." She has performed with two other soloists:Sammy Brant and Lucy Branch. Their singing preceded the reverend's sermons.
From an early age, Aretha liked to perform in public, and she did not like school, to put it mildly, so she was delighted to receive offers from her father to take part in a musical tour. Aretha saw this period as a stage in the transformation from a girl to a woman. As Ruth Bowen, the first black agent of the stars, claimed:
Aretha couldn't wait to turn into a woman. She didn't like being a girl. She wanted to be a lady, and talent made that change possible before she even became a teenager.
"Sexually Overactive" Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin gave birth to her first child when she was only thirteen, the second was born two years later ... This situation can easily be combined with the dissolute life of the gospel stars of the time. The legend of soul and gospel, Etta James, returned after many years with memories of the teenage years:
I understand Aretha chose not to talk about it. Who will readily admit that she was praising the Lord at 8 p.m. and an hour later serving some handsome singer from the band? Aretha and I started out as teenagers. It was the first time we got out of our homes and wanted to try everything.
I wouldn't say we were "sexually active". Rather "sexually overactive." We couldn't wait because sex meant adulthood. Aretha was as impatient as I was. I know she did it often and without scruples. In these matters, she turned out to be the same as all of us, young singers. And the fact that her father was a famous pastor had nothing to do with it. Besides, the children of preachers were known to be licentious. They were expected to act this way and not otherwise, so they rebelled and did against it.
Reverend C. L. Franklin, Aretha Franklin's father
Ruth Bowen also made no secret of the fact that the entire gospel community and Aretha herself led an indecent lifestyle:
All that culture was dissolute and Aretha was its product. Her prodigy child. Wonderful children believe that they have the right to everything. And that's true in any case:Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor or Dinah Washington. Great talent makes them feel they have the right to do as they please, especially when it comes to sex. They start their careers at a very young age and have to work hard. This distinguishes them from other children. Such people know they are special. All these tiresome journeys, performances, money they earn for their parents or sponsors give them the right to think that they deserve all the pleasures.
Etta James remembers her and Aretha Franklin's childhood spent in a gospel milieu as definitely abnormal:
I am aware that I did not develop like the average child. I didn't go through the usual stages of growing up. One day I was a girl, the next a mature woman. It was weird and it messed up my life, no doubt. Are you too. We were thrown into a world full of attractions and too early exposed to an excess of stimuli.
Etta James
Archbishop Carl Bean, founder of the Unity Fellowship of Chris Church, strongly associated with the world of gospel music, was a supporter of separating the question of faith and praise of the Lord in the church from sexuality and leisure activities:
Does the rampant sexuality associated with the gospel environment undermine the authenticity of our sacred message? Of course not. If this were the case, then any religious teaching expressed through man would be defective, for every human being is a transmitter of weakness. Those wiser than me said, "You can trust the message without trusting the messenger." God speaks through man, and man in almost every cultural setting is a victim of fate.
But could loud flaunting of deep faith in God justify the lack of any sexual inhibition? Is it simply hypocrisy, especially since the gospel stars were admired by children and young people attending the services? I leave this issue for the attention of the readers ...
Bibliography:
1. Jerry Wexler, David Ritz, Rhythm and the Blues, St. Martin’s Press 1994
2. David Ritz, Respect. The Life of Aretha Franklin, Black 2015