http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/05/arts/david-ritz-opens-up-about-aretha-franklin-and-others.html 2014-11-04 23:24:21 David Ritz Opens Up About Aretha Franklin and Others The writer David Ritz reflects on his career of helping celebrities, often recording artists, put their lives on the page. === David Ritz was deep in his element one recent afternoon, taking the measure of a complex life and its cherished music at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. The occasion was Telling tales, hearing voices, bearing witness: These are the stocks in trade for Mr. Ritz, who has carved out a niche as a kind of hip American Boswell, a confessional bard of rhythm and blues. He’s the credited ghostwriter behind popular memoirs by Ray Charles, Etta James, Smokey Robinson and Buddy Guy, This year, he has five new books, including Joe Perry’s “Rocks: My Life in and out of Aerosmith,” which just spent two weeks in the top 10 on the New York Times hardcover best-seller list. Mr. Ritz’s latest, “Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin,” published by Little, Brown and Company last week to Ms. Franklin, the incandescent Queen of Soul, happens to be another of Mr. Ritz’s former collaborators: They worked together on her 1999 autobiography, “From These Roots.” But that book, a self-idealized account “I tried to leave it alone,” Mr. Ritz elaborated over a cup of herbal tea in the dining concourse at Mr. Ritz, 70, lives in Los Angeles and cuts a striking, elfin figure: bald, bespectacled, colorfully tattooed. “I’ve had a number of books where I could not attain the intimacy that I needed,” Mr. Ritz said with a pragmatic air, “and it showed in the book.” Noting the direct correlation between unguardedness and public response, he added: “All the good books are by people who open their hearts. Because, in turn, that touches the hearts of readers.” He has written just three conventional biographies, each born of a reluctant Plan B. Jimmy Scott had humbly demurred on the prospect of a ghostwritten memoir. “Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye” came about after plans for an autobiography were dashed by the artist’s untimely death in 1984. (Mr. Ritz, fortunately, spent enough time with him to write a knowing and sympathetic portrayal, and to contribute to the creation of “ “Respect” now comes with more potential for controversy: Ms. Franklin, who recently had her strongest chart success in more than 30 years with “ Mr. Ritz paints a vivid picture of the Detroit gospel landscape that was so formative for her as a daughter of the influential, flamboyantly successful Rev. C. L. Franklin. “A key element in Aretha’s artistic life was the fact that her father was a progressive,” Mr. Ritz said. “In Marvin Gaye’s case, there was a war between God and sex. One reason Aretha has been comfortable with all genres is because her father said, ‘It’s all God.’ Of course, she had other kinds of conflict, which are emotional and personal and familial.” Among the many firsthand sources that enliven “Respect” are Ms. Franklin’s siblings, notably her sisters, Erma and Carolyn, both soul artists themselves (and both now deceased). “Aretha was not one to verbally express her feelings,” Erma says in a typical flicker of insight. “She kept everything inside until it was time to sing. Then she put her every last emotion smack in your face. This served her art but it did not serve our sisterhood.” (Among Mr. Ritz’s revelations: Ms. Franklin’s 1976 album, “Sparkle,” with songs and production by Curtis Mayfield, had originally been intended for Carolyn.) The chorus of voices in the book includes Ms. Franklin’s gimlet-eyed booking agent, Ruth Bowen; a roll call of her producers, like Clyde Otis, Jerry Wexler and Luther Vandross; and peers like the jazz singer Carmen McRae. Their testimony, gathered over many years of interviews, is what imbues the book with its granite authority, as Mr. Ritz freely allows. “Part of what makes this book so different,” he said, “is that even though it’s not ghostwritten, it’s written by a guy who is primarily a ghostwriter.” Mr. Ritz emphasized that “Respect” was a true departure for him, rather than a new direction. “I really love being a ghostwriter,” he said. “I’m still a ghostwriter. Because I think it’s an art form, and I love it. I’m just getting used to the fact that people are now hearing my voice.” And yet, he added, with a sly grin: “My voice is in every book I’ve ever written. And people who know me really well hear me. Now, that’s the mystical part.”