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In her 20s, Franklin made Otis Reddings Respect her own.
In her 70s, she made Adeles Rolling in the Deep look as carefree and easy as hopscotch.
Aretha loved to sing, but she didnt necessarily enjoy the politics of celebrity.
This has made the business of documenting the singers life a prickly one.
Green-lighting an Aretha season ofNatGeosGeniusseriesafterher death in 2018was something of a shock, and the familyaskedthe audience to boycott.
But she doesnt necessarilyfeellike Aretha.
If its not C.L.
telling her what to do, its Ted White, her first husband and manager.
But the series never stops getting in its own way.
When Ree gets pregnant at 16, C.L.
never shamed her for being a young mother.
If you dont know Arethas story, its easy to blink and miss a chyron and get lost.
When it handles this business delicately,Genius: Arethais a joy.
