‘I’m a soul singer’
Sheryl Renee pays tribute to Aretha Franklin
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Once a month at the ProArts Playhouse in Kihei, Sheryl Renee has presented a cabaret production she calls "Sheryl Renee Salutes," where she has paid tribute to various music legends from Stevie Wonder to Carole King. On June 26, she will perform some of Aretha Franklin's most beloved songs accompanied by pianist Rod Antoon.
"I have a special connection to Aretha Franklin because my mother, Katie Love and her group Katie Love and the Four Shades of Black recorded at Muscle Shoals with the Swampers (session musicians) who backed Aretha," Renee explains. "Aretha's music was always a part of our lives. I'm a soul singer. I sing a little bit everything but if I had to pick one style of music that really represents me it would be soul music. I'm singing 15 of Aretha's greatest hits and it's a hard show to pick 15."
Asked about her favorite Aretha song, she cites called "Ain't No Way" from the album "Lady Soul."
"Aretha was the only singer that could make me cry when I was young," she says. "I would listen to her records and I could just feel Aretha. So these songs are special to me."
On July 24 she will pay tribute to Nina Simone, followed by Luther Vandross on Sept. 25 and Ella Fitzgerald on Nov. 27. Shows in 2025 will salute Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Frank Sinatra, Earth Wind & Fire, and Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole.
"I tell the life story of the artist while I'm singing the songs and start chronologically from their beginning of their career to the end of their career," she says. "What's so great about the show at ProArts is because it's a theater I'm able to bring the theatrical part of myself more into the show. This is truly a cabaret."
Singing professionally for about 45 years, Renee moved to Maui two years and as a very talented artist she has been in demand. "I find that I'm rejuvenated here," she says. "There are so many great musicians and singers. I've been coming here and working with Bryant Neal and Jazz Maui since 1998. But I didn't know I'd be working like I am. I didn't know that I would fall in love again with the music business and entertaining."
Besides the ProArts show, Renee performs on June 27 at Longhi's Kaanapali with the "Shell Yeah!" dinner show, and on June 30 with the Island Soul Band at Mulligan's on the Blue.
"Sheryl Renee Salutes…Aretha Franklin" takes place on June 26 at 7 p.m. at the ProArts Playhouse. Tickets range from $20 to $35.