Sisters Are Doin 'It for Themselves

Sisters Are Doin 'It for Themselves
Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin
publication	October 1985
length	4:30
Genre (s)	Contemporary R&B
Author (s)	Dave Stewart , Annie Lennox
album	Be Yourself Tonight (Eurythmics) Who's Zoomin 'Who? ( Aretha Franklin )

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Singles

Sisters Are Doin 'It for Themselves   DE 22nd 11/18/1985 (12 weeks)   CH 20th December 22, 1985 (6 weeks)   UK 9 11/02/1985 (12 weeks)   US 18th October 19, 1985 (15 weeks)

Sisters Are Doin 'It for Themselves is a Contemporary R & B song can, by the members of the British pop - duo Eurythmics Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox was written. It is a vocal duet by Annie Lennox and Aretha Franklin and was released by both the Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin on their 1985 albums.

Emergence

The song, written by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, was originally intended to be a duet with Tina Turner . However, she considered the lyrics to be too daring, the feminist message did not fit her opinion with her newly acquired image . So she declined the request and the Eurythmics asked Aretha Franklin. This too had problems with the hearty text, whereupon Lennox revised the text and defused overly rough passages. To record the song, the Eurythmics flew to Detroit , where Franklin lived. The relationship between the Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin was purely business, but was portrayed as harmonious for press purposes. Both artists paid respect to each other in official press releases, but also indicated that their musical views are different. There were personal differences between Annie Lennox and Aretha Franklin both during the recording and while shooting the music video .

Musicians from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers took part in the recording of the song : Mike Campbell ( lead guitar ), Stan Lynch ( drums ) and Benmont Tench ( keyboard instruments ). The gospel choir comes from the Charles Williams Singers.

publication

The song was initially available in a 5:54 minute version on both the Eurythmics album Be Yourself Tonight (May 1985) and the Aretha Franklin album Who's Zoomin 'Who? (July 1985) included. The single was released at the end of October 1985 in a radio version shortened to 4:30 minutes, on the B-side was I Love You Like a Ball and Chain by the Eurythmics. The single had four different record covers, each showing black and white photos of women in different professional situations: a racing driver , a soldier , a secretary and three giggling workers . Furthermore, a maxi single with the album version and a 7:56 minute long extended version was released . In 1996 the song was part of the soundtrack to the film The Devil's Club .

Music video

The music video was recorded at the Detroit Music Hall. It's mixed in with clips from old black and white films, including Just A Touch of Bliss from 1962.

reception

The song is known as a “women's anthem”, it “celebrates feminine independence and strength”. Stewart Mason from Allmusic thinks the song is by far the weakest on the album Be Yourself Tonight . Annie Lennox's singing doesn't match Aretha Franklin's, and Franklin didn't do himself a favor with the song either. Mason also criticizes the lack of expression of the melody and the production , the song seems screwed up .

literature

• Bryony Sutherland, Lucy Ellis: Annie Lennox: The Biography . Omnibus Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0-7119-9192-7 , pp. 261-263 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Charts DE Charts CH Charts UK Charts US
2. ↑ Liner Notes for the studio album Be Yourself Tonight , RCA Records 1985.
3. ↑ Heather Lehr Wagner: Aretha Franklin . Infobase Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4381-3419-2 , pp. 72 .

Web links

• Sisters Are Doin 'It for Themselves at Allmusic (English)