A Spirit in the Dark: Aretha Franklin at Fillmore West, 1971

IT WAS A NIGHT of nights. Tower of Power set the mood: 'You Got To Funkify', and then King Curtis and his Kingpins and the Memphis Horns and Billy Preston, and after that, Aretha Franklin for an hour and a half, and then if your soul could stand it, Ray Charles and Aretha, and all of the above on one stage gathered, rocking, reeling, rolling, and tumbling with the dark spirit of music. It was Sunday, March 7, 1971, the excited eve of the Ali-Frazier fight, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. The moment was recorded forever on inch-wide magnetic tape and is available on disc and tape as Live at Fillmore West. It happened simply.