ML & UL Band Director Featured in Aretha Franklin Biopic

By Head of Community Engagement Gordon Mathis

Respect, the Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jennifer Hudson, opened on August 13 with a very special Galloway connection: Middle Learning and Upper Learning band director Daniel Solammon accompanies Jennifer Hudson as a saxophonist in several scenes.

Mr. Solammon received a phone call in January 2020 from the film’s musical director - would he like to play in the band for an upcoming movie - and keep his participation secret until the movie opens? He didn’t have to think twice; he said yes.

He estimates he put in 102 hours for less than five minutes of screen time, performing at three Atlanta locations: at the Fox Theater to imitate a concert in Augusta, at the Infinite Energy arena to accommodate multiple cameras on cranes for Madison Square Garden scenes, and at Screen Gems studio to recreate the Muscle Shoals studio. As The Wall Street Journal described that scene, “The scenes with the Muscle Shoals studio musicians with whom Aretha creates her first real hit … are a magical portrayal of artistic creation and collaboration.”

From the props to the costumes and hairstyles of the early Sixties, Mr. Solammon was amazed by the attention to historical detail that created the authenticity of the film. One of the props was a vintage saxophone - “a piece of work,” according to Mr. Solammon. He exchanged it for a Galloway saxophone, which he plays in the movie. 

About Jennifer Hudson? “She was the most approachable person ever - she did not want to be treated like a superstar. I was blown away by how such an extremely talented person was so hard-working and meticulous,” he recounts.

Above all, Mr. Solammon will have many stories to share with his students this school year about the pay-off of hard work and dedication to one’s craft and the reality of performance on film.