The Aretha/Whitney collaboration "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (1989)-anyone else disappointed by it?
Let me say I'm a huge fan of both ladies and love a lot of their songs. They were 2 of the best and most powerful popular singers ever. How did their collaboration end up being so lackluster? I can't believe this was the song they teamed up for. They could have really blown the roof off with a better song. It's a silly song too much dialogue and dumb lyrics. Aretha was also 47 years old at the time and the subject matter is something teens or 20-somethings would sing about.
The most entertaining part about the song is that allegedly Aretha re-recorded her part multiple times after she heard what Whitney did in the studio because she didn't want to be upstaged and wasn't used to being upstaged. Whitney had her shook. Aretha typically liked to record all her songs with just 1 take but not this time.
Even producer Narada Michael Warden couldn't save the song from stalling at #41 on the hot 100.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 6 | August 20, 2018 1:26 AM
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they didn't even spend much time or money on the video either
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 1 | August 19, 2018 11:24 PM
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Sounds so dated with the electronic 'claps' and sounds like someone is slamming a door down a hallway. Word!
by Anonymous | reply 2 | August 19, 2018 11:49 PM
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I didn’t like the song when it came out but, over the years, I’ve grown to love it. It’s a nice cat fight
by Anonymous | reply 3 | August 20, 2018 12:15 AM
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I’m surprised this song was officially released. I don’t think I heard it much on the radio. I’ve never seen the video above (doesn’t look like it’s a real video for a new song—it a cut and paste of existing footage).
Aretha was a washed up artist by that time. She had a come back around that time, but mainly in the R&B world.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | August 20, 2018 12:22 AM
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Oh, good. Aretha thread #137. We needed another new one.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | August 20, 2018 12:33 AM
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I suppose they were hoping for another duet hit after Aretha's collaborations with Eurythmics and George Michael did so well. Like r4, I never heard this on the radio or saw the video on MTV or anywhere. I remember seeing the cassette single in music stores at the time though.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | August 20, 2018 1:26 AM
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