Aretha Franklin If i had a hammer

[TheWarscoming]

what a great remake from trini lopez, i think this versions got more soul for sure,brill!

[READY4REVELATION]

This is my favorite version of this song....until i heard Aretha do it i really didn't care for it. Aretha can take the yellow pages and make them sound good to me.

[poetryselite]

Man did Aretha take this and embody this treasured gem as her own??? My favorite version is still Sam Cooke's, but this right here is really just as good, wow. Aretha isn't the queen of soul for nothin and it's also obvious to see why "Rolling Stone" magazine coined as the "#1 singer/vocalist of all-time"... she's as gifted a vocalist as there ever was.

[mendy11954]

Hey Pete Seeger says go with your favorite version.

[StevenCarinci]

Hey ingrates, she took this song and made it her own. Superlatively, I'll add.

[buickman100]

I didn't know Aretha sang this song, I liker her twist of soul to it.

[baxwest]

So many unique versions of this song. And most of them are great!

[josiejj11]

@charlesmdoglas she sings soul not jazz jeasus

[radiosiesta]

Numer One Version !

[sano0011]

Nice version

[charlesmdouglas]

The first time I heard this song by Areath was on the ablum "YEAH" I recently purchase the CD from Amazon.com. This is a must for any jazz lovers. Enjoy!

ziggy

[MrStyle23]

Wonderful! In 1965 Aretha was a huge fan of Sam Cooke and doing a lot of the songs he covered. She hadn't really come into her own yet. Give her 2 years and in 1967 she would rocket off into her own planet.

People this is Aretha just feeling herself around. She wasn't the developed mega-star you see today. This is the Columbia years of Jazz and standards. Not the Atlantic years of Soul and Respect.

[TonygMus2]

OMG! I love this!!!!!

[TheKNexWeasel]

I actually like how many folk songs are versatile enough to be arranged like this. And the main thing is it still conveys the same kind of message, just in a different way, and no less recognizable.

[plasticnapoleon22]

she (like an annoyingly countless number other black artists) oversyncopated the melody, and made all the chords major.

respect i have for aretha, but I don't like what she did to this song

[zaputzaput1]

I love Aretha, but this rendition, stinks to all hell! The best version is Trini Lopez. I'm black and love her, but what the hell was she thinking!

[Nilsosmar]

I have the deepest respect for Aretha Franklin, but re: the version.... was she drunk? stoned? dead on her feet? Had she never bothered to learn the words? Are you "interpreting" the song if you forget half of the words and sing the rest out of order?

[wemonk]

She has the credibility to get away with it

[TheQueenAretha]

Excuse me! I believe Aretha was quite aware that she had changed the lyrics, she did it on purpose, she didn't forget anything. The meaning of "interpreting" is to put it in your own words, to bring your point of view to something. That is the genuis of Aretha, being her message across to a song.

[zyruemusic]

There R NO copyrights to a musical arrangement...only on the lyrics or pre-recording...By her changing the lyrics the publisher of the original could not sue her according to law.

[mohigney1]

2 b played bnp convensions lol.........

[jamie2628]

jamie2628-I think she's great. A lot of soul, style and grace.

[wendydale1]

None better than Trini Lopez, even Marys verson.

[whoelerm]

She is not that bad but Peter, Paul, & Mary are so much better RIP Mary :(

[TimCarrie]

Up there at the top, there is no "better". They're all the best at what they do.

[TheQueenAretha]

Their is nothing bad about Aretha or her version of this song. THis is much better interpretation in my opinion.

[plasticnapoleon22]

she oversyncopates it, and puts all those jazz chords in the background. not the deep, solid chords of Peter Paul and Mary's version. Also, her voice just overpowers the accompaniment, and all that melodic acrobatics distracts from the song. for the last half she just says "fuck this" and starts singing the chorus over and over again. the melody was fine before! why scew it up like that? the peter paul and mary version blows this out of the water a million times.

[TheQueenAretha]

@plasticnapoleon22 This isn't Peter, Paul and Mary's version, this is Aretha interpretation. If you don't like it go listen to theirs. This is an amazing interpretation, she doesn't overpower a thing. This was a very well aranged song, flawless in every way. This is Aretha interpretation. She isn't going to sing it like anyone else. That is stupid and so are you. And lastly Aretha kills all three of them with this version.

[plasticnapoleon22]

she oversyncopates it, and puts all those jazz chords in the background. not the deep, solid chords of Peter Paul and Mary's version. Also, her voice just overpowers the accompaniment, and all that melodic acrobatics distracts from the song. for the last half she just says "fuck this" and starts singing the chorus over and over again. the melody was fine before! why scew it up like that? the peter paul and mary version blows this out of the water a million times.

[Dukey453]

@plasticnapoleon22 /I am so happy that you did not make the final decision on how music is suppose to sound or we America would be lost country. What Aretha does to this song and many others has changed the fabric of American Music forever and if you don't understand the interpretation of soul, its most like you don’t have one.

[DiazdelVivar]

a looooooooot better... this is like another different song... I don't care if she has powerfull voice, I didn't like this version at all... Mary is the one to sing this song...

[TheQueenAretha]

This is the thing thought, if you didn't like it then why listen to it. And music is about expression and this was perfectly done.

[plasticnapoleon22]

she (like an annoyingly countless number other black artists) oversyncopated the melody, and made all the chords major.

it seems a bit shallower, and less meaningful.

respect i do have for aretha, but I don't like what she did to this song

[TheQueenAretha]

@plasticnapoleon22 That is such as racist thing to say! What does her race have to do with anything. That is a god damn lie and she doesn't do anything but make a song her and she mad it BETTER. She brings more expression to this than them.

[plasticnapoleon22]

she (like an annoyingly countless number other black artists) oversyncopated the melody, and made all the chords major.

it seems a bit shallower, and less meaningful.

respect i do have for aretha, but I don't like what she did to this song

[theprankster100]

she sings SO easy, CLEAR, powerful and BEAUTIFUL here. I love he voice when she was young, it seems to me she tries to SING too hard in more recent times.

[zeeahbella]

Powerful voice..lots of respect.. Ben Perkins opinion

[comicalk]

'YEAH!!!', 'YEAH!!!', 'YEAH!!!' .. (one of my more worn out Aretha records)

thanks for uploading this. The great thing about Aretha's Columbia material were the live studio recordings. I believe this is the only track that Aretha accompanies herself on.

[matteur11]

Rita Pavone's song!

[cinedeguerrilla]

Really, is a Trini Lopez song.

[Lawton008]

Pete Seegar's, actually. :)

[stacynewyork]

sock it to me baby!!!

[miceypoo]

I like this version, never heard it

[paulotomaso]

Thank you so much for this. Another of her terrific Columbia songs. Awesome! She really does sing circles around anything

[MrStyle23]

You can really hear the influence of Sam Cooke on Aretha in this performance.