My internet radio last Wednesday night included a special birthday tribute to Aretha Franklin. The undisputed Queen of Soul was 71 a couple of days earlier and my tribute consisted of playing a some of her classic tracks as well as  saying a few words about what a truly amazing artist she has been, and continues to be. Her career spans six decades and she has had hits records in 5 of them. She has recently been in the recording studio working on new album with the great songwriter and producer Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds, so we can’t rule out the possibility of her having more hits in the 2010s.

I find Aretha’s voice, style and story enchanting. I still have a vivid memory of when I discovered and fell in love with her, which all happened in the same moment. To protect the other party involved I won’t go too much into the detail, but suffice to say I was in my teens and it was one of those do we 'make up or break up?' situations. I thought it was time to break up so she sent me a TDK C90 cassette tape with just one song recorded on it in a 90 minute loop.  That song was Aretha’s Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do) and after hearing that, of course, we made up.

Among the great things about Aretha, and something I think we can all learn from, has been her versatility and her ability to move and change with the times. During her long and illustrious career she has proved herself to be equally at home in the gospel, blues, jazz, doo-wop, rhythm and blues, soul, pop, dance and modern R ‘n’ B idioms. She also has a scary ability to ‘own’ the song every time, no matter who the original was by or how successful it had been. Dionne Warwick’s I Say A Little Prayer is a great example of this. Aretha’s version started out as something she sang for fun in between recordings while in the studio working on her 1968 Aretha Now album. A decision was eventually taken to record the track and release it as a B side. It went on to reach No. 4 in the UK charts.

Aretha has worked with an amazing and diverse array of  great 20th century artists including George Benson, Curtis Mayfield, Annie Lennox, George Michael, Luther Vandross and Mary J. Blige. Bearing all of this in mind, I think it’s fair to say that Aretha is not only the Queen of Soul, she is also a Queen of Reinvention.

Just in case you’re wondering, DJ Pascoe’s top 10 tunes by Aretha are:

1.   Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What’s I’m Gonna Do) – Let Me into Your Life, 1974

2.   (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman - Lady Soul, 1968

3.   I Say A Little Prayer – Aretha Now, 1968

4.   Respect - I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You, 1967

5.   Jump To It – Jump To It, 1882

6.   You Send Me - Aretha Now, 1968

7.   No Matter What, So Damn Happy 2003

8.   Giving Him Something He Can Feel - Sparkle, 1976

9.   Angel – Hey Now Hey (The Otherside Of The Sky) 1973

10.  Day Dreaming - I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You, 1967

Tune in to DJ Pascoe’s Groove Control Experience radio show, Wednesdays, 10 – midnight @ www.soulradiouk.com

Hi there. I have received some great feedback from various people who have seen preview copies of Top 10 Tunes. One of the best things about the feedback I’ve had is that the word “fun” keeps cropping up in the way people describe their initial reaction to flicking through the book. Those who have seen it, including from a few friends, people who contributed to it and some of the clients I regularly DJ for, have also enjoyed the stories and insights about the nature of DJing. 

This was the key theme of a presentation I gave to the National Association of DJs (NADJ) London branch a few weeks ago. My message to fellow DJs was all about encouraging them to find ways to tell their stories as a way of explaining and promoting the value of what we do, and of debunking some of the misconceptions and stereotypes about our profession.

While the main focus and practical value of Top 10 Tunes is that it contains some great playlists (if I say so myself), I am quite excited about the stories that it will inspire and create once it’s published. A great example already exists in the ‘Your Top 10s’ forum on this site which was submitted by someone called DJ Froggy who I’ve never met but would really like to think for his great feedback.  Just in case you don’t check out the forum or if you missed this particular contribution I thought I should share the main parts of it on my blog.

In DJ Froggy’s words:

I can hardly wait myself.

Hey people, welcome to Top 10 Tunes.co.uk. It’s great to finally have this website up and running, even though it is still very much a work in progress. The site should be properly ready by the beginning of February and, with a good wind behind us, I expect the book to be officially published in early March, with a PDF version available in the next few weeks. It’s taken a bit longer than I had hoped, but I’m still pretty impressed with myself and all of those who helped to make this happen (you know who you are…thank you!) because that’s still less than six months from conception to publication.

When it does come out I hope and believe DJ Pascoe’s Top 10 Tunes (For All Occasions) will create a lot of discussion, debate, disagreements and arguments. It’s not that I don’t like seeing people get along, but I’m convinced the human spirit thrives on having its emotions properly shaken and stirred every now and then. So, knowing just how passionate people can get about their opinions on music, it seems inevitable that the face to face and virtual conversations the book should spark will leave some metaphorical blood on the dance floor.

I’ve set the ball rolling, but I really need your to help to keep things moving and growing.  I’m soooooo looking forward to seeing the other peoples’ Top 10s across the full range of genres and categories of music featured in the book, as well as some new ones. While you’re here please take a moment to submit yours, as many as you want, and help create a massive database of different selections.

My Top 10s are based on a combination of my personal likes, ‘must play’ and ‘play if you can’ lists I always ask my clients to send me before I play for them, and some expert advice from a few friends and fellow DJs. Although I’ve been DJing for many years now and have entertained audiences in a huge variety of different types of party, I find I am always learning new things about the music that gets people going. I have certainly learnt a lot through the process of producing this book. So, as well as setting off a passionate debate, I really hope the book and this website will prove to be a useful resource to DJs, both the experienced and budding, which in turn will mean it is of real benefit to the great party going public of the world.