No Stones unturned in Motown

DETROIT — Leave it to the Rolling Stones to remain unfazed by the spectacle of the Super Bowl.

The NFL flew the Bad Boys of rock 'n' roll in Thursday for one of two Super Bowl halftime news conferences at the Renaissance Center. Pregame performers — Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Aaron Neville, John Legend, Joss Stone and India.Arie — appeared in the other.

A bit of a controversy had brewed earlier when Motown's own musicians were spurned in favor of the Rolling Stones for the halftime show. When Aretha Franklin found out, let's just say she wasn't exactly thrilled. Given how many music legends emerged from Detroit, Franklin played a familiar card.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

"The thing about the NFL is that they run a good show but occasionally they make a mistake like everybody, but they were quick to rectify it," said Mick Jagger. "Motown is pretty well represented."

Wonder, who also is from the area, says he has no problem with the Stones — after all, "they recorded two of my songs," he said. And now that Motown has been included, Franklin's happy. The league is happy. The Stones are happy. And Detroit wins.

"It comes at the optimum moment for the city," Franklin said, sounding very much like a civic tour guide. "It certainly means revenue for Detroit. It means good national and world relations. We're here to welcome everyone."

With respect restored, Franklin could talk about the song itself. She never knew so many sports teams would use it as a battle cry. But she wrote the song with another idea in mind.

"Just the old male-female relationships more than anything," Franklin said. "But it took on a life of its own. It evolved into a battle cry and a mantra for the civil-rights movement as well."

It was one of the few serious moments in the rollicking news conferences that were filled to the brim with photographers and reporters, probably the largest gathering since Tuesday's Media Day swarm at Ford Field. Neither the Stones nor Steve Wonder would release the song list, wanting to keep it a Super Bowl surprise. Wonder will play a 12-minute set before the game, and Franklin will join Neville, Dr. John and a 150-member Detroit-based choir for the national anthem. The Stones will also play for 12 minutes.

"They thought Aretha Franklin was going to strip while doing the 'Star Spangled Banner,' " Jagger said. "They needn't worry about it. Calm down, take life as it comes."

Some other highlights from the news conferences:

• Which team are they rooting for? Stone said she "could go both ways." Jagger said he was mostly a soccer fan. And Neville quipped: "I'll let you know at halftime."

• Someone asked Jagger about how the Stones and American culture have changed over the years, where they'd each come closer together. "We've grown up with American culture changes," Jagger said, recalling 40 years ago when the band appeared on Ed Sullivan. "Hopefully both of us still have our core values intact."

• In a response to a Seattle radio personality, New York Vinnie, who asked how they write their songs and how Jagger stayed so young: "What a sweetheart," Jagger said, laughing at Vinnie. "We used to write songs hurriedly on the road, wake up over a cup of coffee. Now we lock ourselves up for weeks on end, but basically it's the same theme."

• Franklin showed she was not a football fan when she was asked if she thought the Super Bowl would ever return to her hometown, given that the 1982 game was nearly derailed by an ice storm. "I never knew it came the first time," she said.

• The most poignant moment came from Neville, whose home was damaged by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Asked about how the rebuilding effort is going, Neville said, "It's not going. We're waiting for something to happen. It's like sitting in limbo ... Right now they have people displaced all over the country. We don't want it to go away — like out of sight, out of mind. Because there are people suffering ... It's crazy. Nothing is being done."

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com