Mary Jane Jones, known professionally as Vickie Jones, was arrested on fraud charges on 15th February, 1969 after successfully impersonating soul legend Aretha Franklin during multiple sold-out shows across Florida.

When her case ended up before a judge, Jones maintained her innocence, insisting that she had been press-ganged into the deception by conman, kidnapper and semi-professional James Brown impersonator, Lavelle Hardy. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look at the surprising similarities between the lives of Jones and Franklin; discuss why audiences in the 1960s couldn’t tell real performers from fake ones; and ponder whether Jones deserves a little more R.E.S.P.E.C.T…  

Further Reading:

• ‘An Aretha Franklin Impersonator Fooled Fans (Then Became A Star)’ (Cracked, 2022): https://www.cracked.com/article_34398_an-aretha-franklin-impersonator-fooled-fans-then-became-a-star.html 

• ‘The Counterfeit Queen of Soul’ (Smithsonian magazine, 2018): 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/counterfeit-queen-soul-180969340/ 

• ‘The Bizarre Story of the Imitation Queen of Soul’ (Today I Found Out, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mqmEN9RcdU 

#60s #Person #Music #Strange #US

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

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