Aretha Franklin: "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" (1970)

Aretha Franklin is one of the most recognizable singers in history. Born in Memphis, both of her parents were gospel singers but her mother abandoned the family and later died while Aretha was very young. Her dad would become a famous pastor in Detroit and Aretha sang in church and recorded gospel at 14. Smokey Robinson knew the family. and introduced her to Berry Gordy Jr. at Motown. The result? Eighteen Grammy's, Seventeen top ten (Hot 100) hits and Twenty no. 1 hits on the R & B charts. Aretha was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" is a song written by Ahmet Ertegün and Betty Nelson and first recorded by soul singer Ben E. King in 1962. It would reach as high as  #2 on the U.S. R&B singles chart and #11 on the pop chart. The songwriter Ahmet Ertegun may ring a bell with you as he was the founder of Atlantic Records and established the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Aretha Franklin (The Queen of Soul) covered the song for her twenty-first album, Spirit in the Dark, released on Atlantic Records. Her version, performed with the Dixie Flyers, was released as a single in 1970. Franklin's version was certified gold with sales of over a million copies. In the United Kingdom it reached #13. This was the first of two covers Franklin did of songs made popular by King. The other was her cover of "Spanish Harlem" in 1971.

"Don't play that song for me 
'Cause it brings back memories 
Of days that I once knew 
The days that I spent with you 
Oh no, don't let him play it
It fills my heart with pain 
Please stop it right away 
I remember just-a what he said"

This song is powerful and you can feel Aretha's anguish throughout the song. This really comes through towards the end of the song. The horns give it a rousing lift and by the time she starts shouting "You lied!", you want to find whoever did this to her and slap them. Of all her songs, this is the one you hear the least, despite it being one of her best...

Other acts who have recorded or performed the song include Adriano Celentano (in 1977) and Mariah Carey. It was also performed to great acclaim on American Idol by Kelly Clarkson---the eventual winner---in the first season. More recently Sam Moore duetted the song with Bekka Bramlett on his 2006 album Overnight Sensational.

Here is Aretha showing her piano chops in performing the song live on the Cliff Richards Show. Note that she is crossing her legs and beating time with her left leg as she plays the pedals with her right...




An additional note: Staff at Monahan's Song of the Week believe some of her finest performances are on her completely overlooked album "Aretha Sings the Blues". You can find it on Amazon for $5.99. Buy it! We give it a 5M rating!