When Alfreda Gerald was a teenager, she’d sit in the parking lot at CoMMA and dream about dazzling Morganton with a performance on its stage.
And this Friday, Gerald will get a chance to do just that.
“Alfreda Sings Aretha!” hits the stage at CoMMA Performing Arts Center on Friday, with the show set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Gerald is a Morganton native who has been singing since she was 3 years old when her mother called her up to sing with a choir she directed.
“She just called my name up there to sing because she knew that I could sing, so I got up there and I brought the house down,” Gerald said. “I was 3, and that was it. That sealed the deal.”
Her love for singing blossomed throughout her childhood, and in seventh grade, her chorus teacher at Morganton Junior High told her parents she should start taking formal voice lessons.
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“I was a big star in high school, I went to Mars Hill College, which is now Mars Hill University, and I studied a double major in music education and performance,” Gerald said. “Then I started singing opera professionally.”
Her real passion, though, was R&B. Her dad didn’t want her to perform that style of music, but when he passed away, Gerald said she left opera and launched her R&B career – a journey she’s still on today.
“I had so many things happen in my career,” Gerald said. “I moved to Asheville to be in a band, and there was no work there. So we, as a band, moved to Atlanta back in 1986 and started playing around town.”
She ended up getting a gig at the biggest nightclub in town at the time – Rupert’s. Stars like Elton John and Antonio “LA” Reid and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds of LaFace Records, which signed artists like TLC, Usher and Ciara, would hang out and party at the club.
“They heard me singing, and that’s how I got my start as a background singer,” Gerald said. “They heard me singing and hired me on Elton John’s tour, I sang with Cher, because of that, Celine Dion, Chaka Khan … Yanni, that was my biggest tour ever. Got my start from them hearing me sing at Rupert’s in Atlanta.”
As the years went on and her clients’ live performances ended, Gerald decided to branch out on her own. She said she didn’t think she would be a good fit for new performers like Beyoncé.
When Aretha Franklin passed away, Gerald knew she could sing her music and honor her career.
The show will feature the Freedom High School Chamber Singers, The Voices of Inspiration and Willette McIntosh. She’ll also feature a gospel segment to highlight the Queen of Soul’s first love.
“It is a walk down memory lane on a lot of levels … everyone will be together under one roof, and a lot of generations will be celebrated that night,” Gerald said. “And it is a memorial to my parents, Alfred and Virginia Gerald.”
Gerald said the band is the same instrumentation as Franklin’s band and is as close to her band as she can get.
“Actually, members of my band were in her original band,” Gerald said. “They played with Aretha Franklin, so I have coined this the Aretha Franklin Orchestra, that’s what I call them. A lot of star power there. Really, it’s just as close to the Aretha Franklin experience without being an impersonator is what I’m doing … if you like the music of Aretha Franklin, you’ll love the music of Alfreda Sings Aretha.”
She said it was at an expo that someone from CoMMA heard her performance and wanted to book her in Morganton – without ever even knowing she was a native. When Gerald’s manager told them about her connection to Morganton, it was a done deal.
“She (the CoMMA representative) said, ‘We want you to come home to Morganton, will you come and sing at CoMMA?’” Gerald said. “I burst into tears, my sister was with me, so that’s how this happened. For me to come back there, I used to sit in the parking lot of the CoMMA building and just stare at it. I wanted to sing in the CoMMA building, and you know it’s right up from Morganton Junior High School, where it used to be.
“Just to come back there as a headliner, it’s a dream come true. It means more to me than Madison Square Garden or Wembley Stadium. There’s no place I’d rather be than at the CoMMA building.”
To get tickets for the show Gerald believes will be like no other to ever have been performed in Morganton, visit www.commaonline.org or call 828-433-SHOW. Tier 1 tickets are $43, Tier 2 tickets are $33 and student or group tickets are $28.
Chrissy Murphy is a staff writer and can be reached at cmurphy@morganton.com or at 828-432-8941. Follow @cmurphyMNH on Twitter.