Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin

(born March 25, 1942, Memphis, Tenn., U.S.) U.S. popular singer. Franklin's family moved from Memphis to Detroit when she was two. Her father, C.L. Franklin, was a well-known revivalist preacher; his church and home were visited by musical luminaries such as Clara Ward, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, and Dinah Washington. Franklin made her first recording at age 12. At first she performed only gospel music, but at age 18 she switched from sacred to secular music. After struggling for a number of years to achieve crossover success, in 1967 her powerful and fervent voice took the country by storm as she began to release a string of songs including I Never Loved a Man, Respect, Chain of Fools, Think, and Natural Woman. Her rousing mixture of gospel and rhythm and blues defined the golden age of soul music of the 1960s. In 1987 she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

For more information on Aretha Louise Franklin, visit Britannica.com.

Aretha Franklin

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Aretha Franklin (born 1942) had a modest beginning as a gospel singer in Detroit before becoming known as the "Queen of Soul."

When asked by Patricia Smith of the Boston Globe how she felt about being called the "Queen of Soul," Aretha Franklin's reply was characterized by grace but no false modesty. "It's an acknowledgment of my art," she mused. "It means I am excelling at my art and my first love. And I am most appreciative." Since she burst onto the public consciousness in the late 1960s with a batch of milestone recordings, Franklin has served as a standard against which all subsequent soul divas have been measured.

The combination of Franklin's gospel roots and some devastating life experiences have invested her voice with a rare - and often wrenching - authenticity. "It was like I had no idea what music was all about until I heard her sing," confessed singer-actress Bette Midler, as cited in Ebony. Though Franklin's work in later decades has rarely matched the fire - or the sales figures - of her most celebrated singles, she has remained an enduring presence in contemporary music. The release of several CD retrospectives and the announcement in 1995 that she would publish an autobiography and start her own record label seemed to guarantee that her influence would continue unabated.

Franklin was raised in Detroit, the daughter of famed minister C. L. Franklin and gospel singer Barbara Franklin, who left the family when Aretha was small and died shortly thereafter. The singer told Ebony's Laura B. Randolph, "She was the absolute lady," although she admits that memories of her mother are few. The Reverend Franklin was no retiring clergyman; he enjoyed the popularity and, to some degree, the lifestyle of a pop star. He immediately recognized his daughter's prodigious abilities, and offered to arrange for piano lessons. However, the child declined, instead teaching herself to play by listening to records.

Gospel Roots

Franklin's talent as a singer allowed her to perform with her father's traveling gospel show. She sang regularly before his congregation at Detroit's New Bethel Baptist Church as well, where her performance of "Precious Lord," among other gospel gems, was captured for posterity. She was 14 years old but already a spellbinding performer. Producer Jerry Wexler - who shepherded Franklin to greatness on behalf of Atlantic Records some years later - was stunned by the 1956 recording. "The voice was not that of a child but rather of an ecstatic hierophant [a priest in ancient Greece]," he recalled in his book Rhythm and the Blues.

Franklin's life was no church social, however. She became a mother at age 15 and had her second child two years later. "I still wanted to get out and hang with my friends," she recollected to Ebony's Randolph, "so I wanted to be in two places at the same time. But my grandmother helped me a lot, and my sister and my cousin. They would babysit so I could get out occasionally."

Although first inspired by gospel music, Franklin soon became interested in non-religious music. After receiving her father's encouragement, she traveled to New York in 1960, embarked on vocal and dance lessons, and hired a manager. She then began recording demonstration tapes. Like singer-songwriter-pianist Ray Charles, who has often been credited with the invention of "soul music," Franklin brought the fire of gospel to pop music, her spiritual force in no way separated from her earthy sexuality.

Collaborations Launched Career

Celebrated Columbia Records executive John Hammond was so taken by Franklin's recordings that he signed her immediately. Her first Columbia album was issued in the fall of 1960. While a few singles made a respectable showing on the charts, it was clear that the label wasn't adequately showcasing her gifts, either in its choice of material or production. "I cherish the recordings we made together," remarked Hammond in Rhythm and the Blues, "but, finally, Columbia was a white company [that] misunderstood her genius."

Wexler brought Franklin to the Florence Alabama Music Emporium (FAME) studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to record with a unique group of musicians adept in soul, blues, pop, country, and rock. This crew was stunned by Franklin's power and prowess. Accompanying herself on piano, she deftly controlled the tone and arrangement of the songs she performed. Backing vocals were provided either by her sisters Carolyn and Erma or by the vocal group the Sweet Inspirations, which featured Cissy Houston, mother of future singing star Whitney Houston. Wexler also brought in young rock guitarists Duane Allman and Eric Clapton for guest spots.

Unfortunately, only one of two songs - "I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)" - was finished when White and one of the musicians had a drunken row; White grabbed Franklin and they vanished for a period of weeks. Wexler balanced jubilation with anxiety, as radio programmers around the country embraced "I Never Loved a Man," and distributors clamored for an album. But the artist was nowhere to be found. At last she surfaced in New York, where she completed the unfinished "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," and in Wexler's words, "the result was perfection."

Franklin's first album for Atlantic, I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You), was released in 1967, and several hit-filled LPs followed. During this crucial period she enjoyed a succession of smash singles that included the rollicking "Baby I Love You," the pounding groove "Chain of Fools," the supercharged "Think," (which she wrote), the tender "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman," and a blistering take on Otis Redding's "Respect." The latter two would become Franklin's signature songs.

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

Franklin's version of "Respect," coming as it did at a crucial point for black activism, feminism, and sexual liberation, was particularly potent. Wexler noted that Franklin took Redding's more conventional take on the song and "turned it inside out, making it deeper, stronger, loading it with double entendres." What's more, he noted, "The fervor in Aretha's magnificent voice" implied not just everyday respect but "sexual attention of the highest order," as implied by the "sock it to me" backup chorus she and her sisters devised.

Writer Evelyn C. White, in an Essencepiece, referred to "Respect" as a revolutionary force in her own life. Franklin's "impassioned, soulful licks and sly innuendos about sexual pleasure made me feel good about myself," she wrote, "both as a black American and as a young girl about to discover sex." Eventually, the song would become an American pop standard. At the time of its release, however, it served primarily as a fight song for social change, and went on to score two trophies at that year's Grammy Awards.

Franklin's voice was crucial to the soundtrack of the era, and not just as a record playing on the radio. Franklin's father was a close friend of civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his family. When the crusading minister was assassinated in 1968, Franklin was enlisted to sing at his funeral. Wexler described her performance of "Precious Lord" as "a holy blend of truth and unspeakable tragedy."

Franklin also sang the National Anthem at the Democratic Party's riot-marred 1968 convention in Chicago. Yet even as her soulful wail soothed a number of difficult national transitions and transformations, Franklin's own changes were hidden from view. "I think of Aretha as 'Our Lady of Mysterious Sorrows,"' Wexler wrote. "Her eyes are incredible, luminous eyes covering inexplicable pain. Her depressions could be as deep as the dark sea. I don't pretend to know the sources of her anguish, but anguish surrounds Aretha as surely as the glory of her musical aura."

Despite her inner turmoil, Franklin enjoyed phenomenal commercial success during these years. A number of other blockbuster Atlantic albums followed her debut on the label, and she proceeded to take home Grammys every year between 1969 and 1975. Instead of slowing down after all her overwhelming success, she continued to explore rock and pop records for new material and recorded cover versions of songs by the Beatles, Elton John, the Band, Paul Simon, Jimi Hendrix, and many others. "She didn't think in terms of white or black tunes, or white or black rhythms," noted Wexler. "Her taste, like her genius, transcended categories."

In 1972 Franklin sang at the funeral of gospel giant Mahalia Jackson, which suggested her stature in the gospel world; it was no surprise when Amazing Grace, an album of church music she recorded with Wexler, soared up the pop charts that year. At the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter in 1977, she provided an a capella rendition of "God Bless America."

Triumphed Despite Turmoil

Having parted ways with husband/manager Ted White some years earlier, Franklin married actor Glynn Turman in 1978. They divorced six years later. By the end of the 1970s, her record sales had dwindled, but she took an attention-getting turn in the Blues Brothers movie, in which she both acted and sang. The film and the Blues Brothers albums, recorded by Saturday Night Live funnymen and blues and soul fanatics Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, helped fuel a new mainstream interest in 1960s soul.

In 1980 Franklin elected to leave Atlantic and sign with Arista Records. The label's slick production and commercial choice of material earned greater sales than she had enjoyed for some time, particularly for the single "Freeway of Love." She earned three more Grammys during the decade. Nonetheless, Dave DiMartino of Entertainment Weekly grumbled that most of her hits at Arista "have been assembled by big-name producers like Narada Michael Walden and might have easily featured another singer entirely - like, say, label mate Whitney Houston" ; DiMartino also objected to the relentless pairing of Franklin with other stars for much-hyped duets, remarking, "Like … Aretha Franklin needs a gimmick?"

In 1979 Franklin's father was shot by a burglar in his home and fell into a coma. He died several years later, having never regained consciousness. As Ebony's Randolph wrote, "When you've said as many goodbyes as Aretha, it's impossible not to be palpably shaped by loss." The singer cited a point during her father's hospitalization as the most difficult decision of her life. "We had to have a trach [a tracheotomy, a procedure that involves cutting through the vocal chords]," she confided, "and we were afraid it would affect his voice, which was certainly his living."

But beyond this and other painful incidents, further triumphs lay ahead for Franklin. She was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, won a Grammy for best soul gospel performance, was the subject of an all-star documentary tribute broadcast on public television, sang at the inauguration of another president, Bill Clinton, in 1993, and won a lifetime achievement Grammy in 1995. Franklin might not have been the commercial powerhouse that some of her younger acolytes, like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, but she definitely had become an institution.

Franklin - who moved back to the Detroit area in the mid-1990s - announced plans for an autobiography and also made public her intention to start a record label, which would be called World Class Records. "I'm looking for space," she told the Boston Globe. "I'm the CEO." She continued to perform, her band by that time featuring two of her sons, Kecalf Cunningham and Teddy Richards.

Other projects, including film and television appearances, were also in the works. "I just strive for excellence pretty much across the board, whether it's as a producer, songwriter or singer," Franklin proclaimed to Boston Globe writer Smith. "I give people what I feel is best, not just what everyone says is 'hot.' I want to do things that are going to be meaningful and inspiring to them one way or another." Asked by the Detroit Free Press if she ever got tired of singing "Respect," the Queen of Soul replied, "Actually, no. I just find new ways of refreshing the song." Similarly, Franklin's voice continues to refresh new listeners.

Aretha Franklin

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singer; songwriter; gospel singer; actor

Personal Information

Born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, TN; daughter of Clarence L. (a Baptist minister) and Barbara Franklin (a gospel singer); married Ted White (a businessman and music manager), 1961 (divorced); married Glynn Turman (an actor), 1978 (divorced, 1984); children: Clarence, Edward, Teddy Richards, Kecalf Cunningham.

Career

Performed with father's touring revue, recorded gospel music for Chess label, 1950s; singer and songwriter, 1960-; Columbia Records, recording artist, 1960-67; Atlantic Records, recording artist, 1967-80; actress, 1980-; Arista Records, recording artist, 1980-.

Life's Work

When asked by Patricia Smith of the Boston Globe how she felt about being called the "Queen of Soul," Aretha Franklin's reply was characterized by grace but no false modesty. "It's an acknowledgment of my art," she mused. "It means I am excelling at my art and my first love. And I am most appreciative." Since she burst onto the public consciousness in the late 1960s with a batch of milestone recordings, Franklin has served as a standard against which all subsequent soul divas have been measured.

The combination of Franklin's gospel roots and some devastating life experiences have invested her voice with a rare--and often wrenching--authenticity. "It was like I had no idea what music was all about until I heard her sing," confessed singer-actress Bette Midler, as cited in Ebony. Though Franklin's work in ensuing decades has rarely matched the fire--or the sales figures--of her most celebrated singles, she has remained an enduring presence in contemporary music. The release of several CD retrospectives in the 1980s and 1990s, her 1999 autobiography, and her celebrated 2003 tour seemed to guarantee that her influence would continue unabated.

Birth of a Gospel Singer

Franklin was born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee. She was raised in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of famed minister C. L. Franklin and gospel singer Barbara Franklin, who left the family when Aretha was small and died shortly thereafter. "She was the absolute lady," the Queen of Soul told Ebony's Laura B. Randolph, while at the same time admitting that her memories of her mother are few. For his part, the Reverend Franklin was no retiring clergyman; indeed, he enjoyed the popularity and, to some degree, the lifestyle of a pop star. He immediately recognized his daughter's prodigious abilities, offering to arrange for piano lessons; the child declined, instead teaching herself to play by listening to records.

Franklin's talent as a singer was such that her father took her on the road with his traveling gospel show. She sang regularly before his congregation at Detroit's New Bethel Baptist Church as well, and it was there that her performance of "Precious Lord," among other gospel gems, was captured for posterity. She was 14 years old but already a spellbinding performer. Producer Jerry Wexler--who shepherded Franklin to greatness on behalf of Atlantic Records some years later--was stunned by the 1956 recording. "The voice was not that of a child but rather of an ecstatic hierophant [a priest in ancient Greece]," he recalled in his book Rhythm and the Blues.

Franklin's life was no church social, however. She became a mother at age 15 and had her second child two years later. "I still wanted to get out and hang with my friends," she recollected to Ebony's Randolph, "so I wanted to be in two places at the same time. But my grandmother helped me a lot, and my sister and my cousin. They would babysit so I could get out occasionally."

Though she was first and foremost inspired by gospel music--the performance of "Peace in the Valley" by family friend Clara Ward at a funeral was a seminal influence on her desire to sing--Franklin soon became interested in non-religious music. Rather than dissuade her from this secular path, as some might have expected, her father encouraged her. In 1960 she traveled to New York, embarked on vocal and dance lessons, and hired a manager. She then began recording demonstration tapes.

Marriage of Gospel and Pop

While the R&B stars of Detroit's Motown label won a crossover, or white, audience by tempering their wicked grooves with a playful elegance, their southern counterparts never bothered to tone down the raw physicality of the music. Like singer-songwriter-pianist Ray Charles, who has often been credited with the invention of "soul music," Franklin brought the fire of gospel to pop music, her spiritual force in no way separated from her earthy sexuality.

Celebrated Columbia Records executive John Hammond was so taken by Franklin's recordings that he signed her immediately. Her first Columbia album was issued in the fall of 1960. While a few singles made a respectable showing on the charts, it was clear that the label wasn't adequately showcasing her gifts, either in its choice of material or production. "I cherish the recordings we made together," remarked Hammond in Rhythm and the Blues, "but, finally, Columbia was a white company [that] misunderstood her genius."

Franklin's manager at the time, Ted White, was also her husband; they agreed that she should pursue other options when her contract expired. Wexler leapt at the opportunity to sign her to Atlantic; he originally intended to send her to Memphis to record with the staff of the legendary Stax/Volt studios, who'd already made landmark recordings with the likes of Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett. Wexler himself had his hands full with other projects, but the task of producing Franklin's first Atlantic sides ultimately fell to him, Arif Mardin, and Tom Dowd.

Wexler brought Franklin to the Florence Alabama Music Emporium (FAME) studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to record with a unique group of musicians adept in soul, blues, pop, country, and rock. This able crew was stunned by Franklin's power and prowess. Accompanying herself on piano, she deftly controlled the tone and arrangement of the songs she performed; this was an integral part of Wexler's strategy to capture her natural brilliance on tape. Backing vocals were provided either by her sisters Carolyn and Erma or by the vocal group the Sweet Inspirations, which featured Cissy Houston, mother of future singing star Whitney Houston. Wexler also brought in young rock lions like guitarists Duane Allman and Eric Clapton for guest spots.

Unfortunately, only one of two songs--"I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)"--was finished when White and one of the musicians had a drunken row. White grabbed Franklin and they vanished for a period of weeks. Wexler balanced jubilation with anxiety; radio programmers around the country embraced "I Never Loved a Man," and distributors clamored for an album, but the artist was nowhere to be found. At last she surfaced in New York, where she completed the unfinished "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man"; in Wexler's words, "the result was perfection."

Earning R E S P E C T

Franklin's first album for Atlantic, I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You), was released in 1967, and several hit-filled LPs followed. During this crucial period she enjoyed a succession of smash singles that included "I Never Loved a Man," the rollicking "Baby I Love You," the pounding groove "Chain of Fools," the supercharged "Think," which she wrote, the tender, anthemic "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman," and a blistering take on Otis Redding's "Respect." The latter two would become Franklin's signature songs. With "Natural Woman," according to the Boston Globe's Smith, "She gathers broken women in the circle of her arms, stitches our wounds with a wondrous thread."

Writer Evelyn C. White, in an Essence piece, referred to "Respect" as a revolutionary force in her own life. Franklin's "impassioned, soulful licks and sly innuendos about sexual pleasure made me feel good about myself," she wrote, "both as a black American and as a young girl about to discover sex." Eventually, the song would become an American pop standard; its spelling out of the title word would be referenced in countless articles and commercials. At the time of its release, however, it served primarily as a fight song for social change. It scored two trophies at that year's Grammy Awards.

Franklin's voice was crucial to the soundtrack of the era, and not just as a record playing on the radio. Franklin's father was a close friend of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., and as a result, she herself was close to King and his family. When the crusading minister was assassinated in 1968, Franklin was enlisted to sing at his funeral. Wexler described her performance of "Precious Lord" as "a holy blend of truth and unspeakable tragedy."

Franklin also sang the National Anthem at the Democratic Party's riot-marred 1968 convention in Chicago. Yet even as her soulful wail soothed a number of difficult national transitions and transformations, Franklin's own changes were hidden from view. "I think of Aretha as 'Our Lady of Mysterious Sorrows,'" Wexler wrote. "Her eyes are incredible, luminous eyes covering inexplicable pain. Her depressions could be as deep as the dark sea. I don't pretend to know the sources of her anguish, but anguish surrounds Aretha as surely as the glory of her musical aura."

Despite her inner turmoil, Franklin enjoyed phenomenal commercial success during these years. A number of other blockbuster Atlantic albums followed her debut on the label, and she proceeded to take home Grammys every year between 1969 and 1975. Still, she did not rest on her laurels; rather, she constantly explored rock and pop records for new material and recorded cover versions of songs by the Beatles, Elton John, the Band, Paul Simon, Jimi Hendrix, and many others. "She didn't think in terms of white or black tunes, or white or black rhythms," noted Wexler. "Her taste, like her genius, transcended categories."

In 1972 Franklin sang at the funeral of gospel giant Mahalia Jackson, which suggested her stature in the gospel world; it was no surprise when Amazing Grace, an album of church music she recorded with Wexler, soared up the pop charts that year. At the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter in 1977, she provided an a capella rendition of "God Bless America."

A Period of Decline

Having parted ways with husband/manager Ted White some years earlier--stories circulated in the press charging that he'd struck her in public--Franklin married actor Glynn Turman in 1978. They divorced some six years later. By the end of the 1970s, her record sales had dwindled, but she took an attention-getting turn in the Blues Brothers movie, in which she both acted and sang; the film and the Blues Brothers albums, recorded by Saturday Night Live funnymen and blues and soul fanatics Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, helped fuel a new mainstream interest in 1960s soul.

In 1980 Franklin elected to leave Atlantic and sign with Arista Records; the label's slick production and commercial choice of material earned greater sales than she had enjoyed for some time, particularly for the single "Freeway of Love." She earned three more Grammys during the decade. Nonetheless, Dave DiMartino of Entertainment Weekly groused that most of her hits at Arista "have been assembled by big-name producers like Narada Michael Walden and might have easily featured another singer entirely--like, say, label mate Whitney Houston." DiMartino also objected to the relentless pairing of Franklin with other stars for much-hyped duets, remarking, "Like ... Aretha Franklin needs a gimmick?" Most critics agree that Franklin's 1980s recordings do not stand up to her earlier or her later work.

In 1979 Franklin's father was shot by a burglar in his home and fell into a coma. He died several years later, having never regained consciousness. As Ebony's Randolph wrote, "When you've said as many goodbyes as Aretha, it's impossible not to be palpably shaped by loss." The singer cited a point during her father's hospitalization as the most difficult decision of her life. "We had to have a trach [a tracheotomy, a procedure that involves cutting through the vocal chords]," she confided, "and we were afraid it would affect his voice, which was certainly his living."

The Queen Is Still On

Despite the difficulties of the early 1980s, further triumphs lay ahead for Franklin. She was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, won a Grammy for best soul gospel performance in 1988, and was the subject of an all-star documentary tribute broadcast on public television. She also sang at the inauguration of president Bill Clinton in 1993 and 1997, and won a lifetime achievement Grammy in 1995. Franklin might not have been the commercial powerhouse that some of her younger acolytes, like Houston and Mariah Carey, had become, but when she appeared in the VH1 television program "Divas Live: The One and Only Aretha Franklin" in 2001, she confirmed that she truly was one of the great entertainers of the century.

Franklin moved back to the Detroit area in the mid-1990s and began to assert more control over her musical career. She announced her intention to start a record label, which would be called World Class Records. "I'm looking for space," she told the Boston Globe. "I'm the CEO." With her new label she was able to promote the musical careers of her sons, Kecalf Cunningham, Eddy Richards, and Teddy Richards.

In 1998 Franklin released a new album, A Rose Is Still a Rose. With tracks produced by rising stars Sean "Puffy" Combs (later known as P. Diddy) and Lauryn Hill, the album showed that Franklin could keep up with current hip-hop sounds. Critics hailed the album as her best effort in many years, and she followed it in 2003 with So Damn Happy, which featured collaborations with contemporary stars Mary J. Blige and Troy Taylor, and music veterans like Burt Bacharach. Though the albums proved that Franklin could keep up with musical trends, what made them stand out was the thing that had always made Franklin great: her voice. The producers seemed to understand what Franklin's fan always knew: that her voice was a natural treasure.

Franklin had always performed occasionally, but in 2003 she set out on an extensive tour to sold-out dates across the country. Though many wondered if "The Queen Is On" tour would be her last, Franklin told Jet: "I'm going to always be singing. Singing is definitely my thing...."

Awards

15 Grammy awards, including 1995 lifetime achievement award; honorary Doctor of Law degree, Bethune-Cookman College, 1974; American Music Award, 1984; Ebony magazine, American Black Achievement Award, 1984; declared "natural resource" of home state of Michigan, 1985; first woman inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1987; Entertainment Weekly magazine, named one of the greatest entertainers of the twentieth century, 1999; Black Entertainment Television (BET), Walk of Fame Award, 2003.

Works

Selected works

Discography

The Great Aretha Franklin, Columbia, 1960.
The Electrifying Aretha Franklin, Columbia, 1962.
The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin, Columbia, 1962.
Aretha Franklin's Greatest Hits, Columbia, 1967.
I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You) (includes "I Never Loved a Man [the Way I Love You]," "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," "Baby I Love You," and "Respect"), Atlantic, 1967.
Aretha Arrives (includes "[You Make Me Feel Like a] Natural Woman" and "Chain of Fools"), Atlantic, 1967.
Take a Look, Columbia, 1967.
Lady Soul, Atlantic, 1968.
Aretha Now, Atlantic, 1968.
Aretha in Paris, Atlantic, 1968.
Soul '69, Atlantic, 1969.
Aretha's Gold, Atlantic, 1969.
This Girl's in Love with You, Atlantic, 1970.
Spirit in the Dark, Atlantic, 1970.
Aretha Live at Fillmore West, Atlantic, 1971.
Young, Gifted and Black, Atlantic, 1972.
Amazing Grace, Atlantic, 1972.
The Beginning/The World of Aretha Franklin 1960-1967, Columbia, 1972.
Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky), Atlantic, 1973.
Let Me in Your Life, Atlantic, 1974.
Everything I Feel in Me, Atlantic, 1975.
Ten Years of Gold, Atlantic, 1977.
Sweet Passion, Atlantic, 1977.
Almighty Fire, Atlantic, 1978.
La Diva, Atlantic, 1979.
Aretha, Arista, 1980.
Jump to It, Arista, 1982.
Get It Right, Arista, 1984.
Who's Zoomin'Who? (includes "Freeway of Love"), Arista, 1985.
Aretha, Arista, 1987.
Love All the Hurt Away, Arista, 1987.
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, Arista, 1988.
Through the Storm, Arista, 1989.
What You See Is What You Sweat, Arista, 1991.
Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings, Atlantic, 1992.
Greatest Hits: 1980-1994, Arista, 1994.
A Rose Is Still a Rose, Arista, 1998.
So Damn Happy, Arista, 2003.

Films

The Blues Brothers, 1980.
Blues Brothers 2000, 1998.

Recordings with other artists

Curtis Mayfield, Sparkle (soundtrack), 1976.
"Think," The Blues Brothers (soundtrack), 1979.
"Jumpin'Jack Flash," Jumpin'Jack Flash (soundtrack), 1986.
George Michael, "I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)," Columbia, 1987.
"If I Lose", White Men Can't Jump (soundtrack), EMI, 1992.
All Men Are Brothers: A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield, 1994.

Television

"Aretha," 1986.
"Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul," 1988.
"Duets," 1993.
"Divas Live: The One and Only Aretha Franklin," VH1, 2001.

Writings

Aretha: From These Roots (autobiography; with David Ritz), Villard, 1999.

Aretha Franklin

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Franklin, Aretha, 1942-, American singer, b. Memphis. She began singing in the choir of her father's church. Known as the "Queen of Soul," she recorded such hits as "Respect," "Chain of Fools," and "Who's Zoomin' Who," "(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman," and "Highway of Love."

Bibliography

See her autobiography (with David Ritz, 1999).

Quotes By:

Aretha Franklin

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Quotes:

"I've always felt rock and roll was very, very wholesome music."

"If a song's about something I've experienced or that could've happened to me it's good. But if it's alien to me, I couldn't lend anything to it. Because that's what soul is all about."

Gale Musician Profiles:

Aretha Franklin

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For The Record...

Born March 25, 1942, in Memphis, TN; daughter of Clarence L. (a Baptist minister) and Barbara Franklin (a gospel singer); married Ted White (a businessman and music manager), 1961 (divorced); married Glynn Turman (an actor), 1978 (divorced, 1984); children: Clarence, Edward, Teddy Richards, Kecalf Cunningham.

Performed with father’s touring revue, recorded gospel music for Chess label, 1950s; signed with Columbia Records and released debut album The Great Aretha Franklin, 1960; signed with Atlantic Records and released I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You), 1967; performed at funeral of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1968; performed at Democratic National Convention, 1968; performed at inauguration of President Jimmy Carter, 1977; appeared in film The Blues Brothers, 1980; signed with Arista Records and released Aretha, 1980; appeared in television specials “Aretha,” 1986, “Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul,” 1988, and “Duets,” 1993; performed at inauguration of President Bill Clinton, 1993; signed contract with Villard publisher for autobiography, 1995; contributor to The Songs of West Side Story, 1996.

Awards: 15 Grammy awards, including 1995 lifetime achievement award; honorary Doctor of Law degree, Bethune-Cookman College, 1974; American Music Award, 1984; American Black Achievement Award, Ebony magazine, 1984; declared “natural resource” of home state of Michigan, 1985; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1987.

Addresses: Record company —Arista Records, 6 West 57th St., New York, NY 11019; 9975 Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Singer, songwriter

When asked by Patricia Smith of the Boston Globe how she felt about being called the "Queen of Soul," Aretha Franklin’s reply was characterized by grace but no false modesty. "It’s an acknowledgment of my art," she mused. "It means I am excelling at my art and my first love. And I am most appreciative." Since she burst onto the public consciousness in the late 1960s with a batch of milestone recordings, Franklin has served as a standard against which all subsequent soul divas have been measured.

The combination of Franklin’s gospel roots and some devastating life experiences have invested her voice with a rare—and often wrenching—authenticity. "It was like I had no idea what music was all about until I heard her sing," confessed singer-actress Bette Midler, as cited in Ebony. Though Franklin’s work in later decades has rarely matched the fire—or the sales figures—of her most celebrated singles, she has remained an enduring presence in contemporary music. The release of several CD retrospectives and the announcement in 1995 that she would publish an autobiography and start her own record label seemed to guarantee that her influence would continue unabated.

Franklin was raised in Detroit, the daughter of famed minister C. L. Franklin and gospel singer Barbara Franklin, who left the family when Aretha was small and died shortly thereafter. The singer told Ebony’s Laura B. Randolph, "She was the absolute lady," although she admits that memories of her mother are few. The Reverend Franklin was no retiring clergyman; he enjoyed the popularity and, to some degree, the lifestyle of a pop star. He immediately recognized his daughter’s prodigious abilities, and offered to arrange for piano lessons. However, the child declined, instead teaching herself to play by listening to records.

Gospel Roots
Franklin’s talent as a singer allowed her to perform with her father’s traveling gospel show. She sang regularly before his congregation at Detroit’s New Bethel Baptist Church as well, where her performance of "Precious Lord," among other gospel gems, was captured for posterity. She was 14 years old but already a spellbinding performer. Producer Jerry Wexler—who shepherded Franklin to greatness on behalf of Atlantic Records some years later—was stunned by the 1956 recording. "The voice was not that of a child but rather of an ecstatic hierophant [a priest in ancient Greece]," he recalled in his book Rhythm and the Blues.

Franklin’s life was no church social, however. She became a mother at age 15 and had her second child two

years later. "I still wanted to get out and hang with my friends," she told Ebony’s Randolph, "so I wanted to be in two places at the same time. But my grandmother helped me a lot, and my sister and my cousin. They would babysit so I could get out occasionally."

Alhough first inspired by gospel music, Franklin soon became interested in non-religious music. After receiving her father’s encouragement, she traveled to New York in 1960, embarked on vocal and dance lessons, and hired a manager. She then began recording demonstration tapes. Like singer-songwriter-pianist Ray Charles, who has often been credited with the invention of "soul music," Franklin brought the fire of gospel to pop music, her spiritual force in no way separated from her earthy sexuality.

Collaborations Launched Career
Celebrated Columbia Records executive John Hammond was so taken by Franklin’s recordings that he signed her immediately. Her first Columbia album was issued in the fall of 1960. While a few singles made a respectable showing on the charts, it was clear that the label wasn’t adequately showcasing her gifts, either in its choice of material or production. "I cherish the recordings we made together," remarked Hammond in Rhythm and the Blues, "but, finally, Columbia was a white company [that] misunderstood her genius."

Franklin and her husband/manager, Ted White, agreed that she should pursue other options when her contract expired. Wexler leapt at the opportunity to sign her to Atlantic, and eventually he, Arif Mardin, and Tom Dowd produced Franklin’s first Atlantic sides.

Wexler brought Franklin to the Florence Alabama Music Emporium (FAME) studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to record with a unique group of musicians adept in soul, blues, pop, country, and rock. This crew was stunned by Franklin’s power and prowess. Accompanying herself on piano, she deftly controlled the tone and arrangement of the songs she performed. Backing vocals were provided either by her sisters Carolyn and Ermaor by the vocal group the Sweet Inspirations, whichfeatured Cissy Houston, mother of future singing star Whitney Houston. Wexler also brought in young rock guitarists Duane Allman and Eric Clapton for guest spots.

Unfortunately, only one of two songs—"I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)"—was finished when White and one of the musicians had a drunken row; White grabbed Franklin and they vanished for a period of weeks. Wexler balanced jubilation with anxiety, as radio programmers around the country embraced "I Never Loved a Man," and distributors clamored for an album. But the artist was nowhere to be found. At last she surfaced in New York, where she completed the unfinished "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," and inWexler’s words, "the result was perfection."

Franklin’s first album for Atlantic, I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You), was released in 1967, and several hit-filled LPs followed. During this crucial period she enjoyed a succession of smash singles that included the rollicking "Baby I Love You," the pounding groove "Chainof Fools," the supercharged "Think," (which she wrote), the tender" (You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman," and a blistering take on Otis Redding’s "Respect." The latter two would become Franklin’s signature songs.

Franklin’s version of "Respect," coming as it did at a crucial point for black activism, feminism, and sexual liberation, was particularly potent. Wexler noted that Franklin took Redding’s more conventional take on the song and "turned it inside out, making it deeper, stronger, loading it with double entendres." What’s more, he noted, "The fervor in Aretha’s magnificent voice" implied not just everyday respect but "sexual attention of the highest order," as implied by the "sock it to me" backup chorus she and her sisters devised.

Writer Evelyn C. White, in an Essence piece, referred to "Respect" as a revolutionary force in her own life. Franklin’s "impassioned, soulful licks and sly innuendos about sexual pleasure made me feel good about myself," she wrote, "both as a black American and as a young girl about to discover sex." Eventually, the song would become an American pop standard. At the time of its release, however, it served primarily as a fight song for social change, and went on to score two trophies at that year’s Grammy Awards.

Franklin’s voice was crucial to the soundtrack of the era, and not just as a record playing on the radio. Franklin’s father was a closef riend of civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his family. When the crusading minister was assassinated in 1968, Franklin was enlisted to sing at his funeral. Wexler described her performance of "Precious Lord" as "a holy blend of truth and unspeakable tragedy."

Franklin also sang the National Anthem at the Democratic Party’s riot-marred 1968 convention in Chicago. Yet even as her soulful wail soothed a number of difficult national transitions and transformations, Franklin’s own changes were hidden from view. "I think of Aretha as ‘Our Lady of Mysterious Sorrows, ’" Wexler wrote. "Her eyes are incredible, luminous eyes covering inexplicable pain. Her depressions could be as deep as the dark sea. I don’t pretend to know the sources of her anguish, but anguish surrounds Aretha as surely as the glory of her musical aura."

Despite her inner turmoil, Franklin enjoyed phenomenal commercial success during these years. A number of other blockbuster Atlantic albums followed her debut on the label, and she proceeded to take home Grammys every year between 1969 and 1975. Instead of slowing down after all her overwhelming success, she continued to explore rock and pop records for new material and recorded cover versions of songs by the Beatles, Elton John, the Band, Paul Simon, Jimi Hendrix, and many others. "She didn’t think in terms of white or black tunes, or white or black rhythms," noted Wexler. "Her taste, like her genius, transcended categories."

In 1972 Franklin sang at the funeral of gospel giant Mahalia Jackson, which suggested her stature in the gospel world; it was no surprise when Amazing Grace, an album of church music she recorded with Wexler, soared up the pop charts that year. At the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter in 1977, she provided an a capella rendition of "God Bless America."

Triumphed Despite Turmoil
Having parted ways with husband/manager Ted White some years earlier, Franklin married actor Glynn Tur-man in 1978. They divorced six years later. By the end of the 1970s, her record sales had dwindled, but she took an attention-getting turn in the Blues Brothers movie, in which she both acted and sang. The film and the Blues Brothers albums, recorded by Saturday Night Live funnymen and blues and soul fanatics Dan Ayk-royd and John Belushi, helped fuel a new mainstream interest in 1960s soul.

In 1980 Franklin elected to leave Atlantic and sign with Arista Records. The label’s slick production and commercial choice of material earned greater sales than she had enjoyed for some time, particularly for the single "Freeway of Love." She earned three more Grammys during the decade. Nonetheless, Dave DiMartino of Entertainment Weekly grumbled that most of her hits at Arista "have been assembled by big-name producers like Narada Michael Walden and might have easily featured another singer entirely—like, say, label mate Whitney Houston" DiMartino also objected to the relentless pairing of Franklin with other stars for much-hyped duets, remarking, "Like… Aretha Franklin needs a gimmick?"

In 1979 Franklin’s father was shot by a burglar in his home and fell into a coma. He died several years later, having never regained consciousness. As Ebony’s Randolph wrote, "When you’ve said as many goodbyes as Aretha, it’s impossible not to be palpably shaped by loss." The singer cited a point during her father’s hospi-talization as the most difficult decision of her life. "We had to have a trach [a tracheotomy, a procedure that involves cutting through the vocal chords]," she confided, "and we were afraid it would affect his voice, which was certainly his living."

But beyond this and other painful incidents, further triumphs lay ahead for Franklin. She was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, won a Grammy for best soul gospel performance, was the subject of an all-star documentary tribute broadcast on public television, sang at the inauguration of another president, Bill Clinton, in 1993, and won a lifetime achievement Grammy in 1995. Franklin might not have been the commercial powerhouse that some of her younger acolytes, like Houston and Mariah Carey, but she definitely had become an institution.

Franklin—who moved back to the Detroit area in the mid-1990s—announced plans for an autobiography in 1995 and also made public her intention to start a record label, which would be called World Class Records. "I’m looking for space," she told the Boston Globe. "I’m the CEO." She continued to perform, her band by that time featuring two of her sons, Kecalf Cunningham and Teddy Richards.

Other projects, including film and television appearances, were also in the works. "I just strive for excellence pretty much across the board, whether it’s as a producer, songwriter or singer," Franklin proclaimed to Boston Globe writer Smith. "I give people what I feel is best, not just what everyone says is ‘hot.’ I want to do things that are going to be meaningful and inspiring to them one way or another." Asked by the Detroit Free Press if she ever got tired of singing "Respect," the Queen of Soul replied, "Actually, no. I just find new ways of refreshing the song." Similarly, Franklin’s voice continues to refresh new listeners.

Selected discography
The Great Aretha Franklin, Columbia, 1960.
The Electrifying Aretha Franklin, Columbia, 1962.
The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin, Columbia, 1962.
Aretha Franklin’s Greatest Hits, Columbia, 1967.
I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You), Atlantic, 1967.
Aretha Arrives, Atlantic, 1967.
Take a Look, Columbia, 1967.
Lady Soul, Atlantic, 1968.
Aretha Now, Atlantic, 1968.
Aretha in Paris, Atlantic, 1968.
Soul ’69, Atlantic, 1969.
Aretha’s Gold, Atlantic, 1969.
This Girl’s in Love with You, Atlantic, 1970.
Spirit in the Dark, Atlantic, 1970.
Aretha Live at Fillmore West, Atlantic, 1971.
Young, Gifted and Black, Atlantic, 1972.
Amazing Grace, Atlantic, 1972.
The Beginning/The World of Aretha Franklin 1960-1967, Columbia, 1972.
Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky), Atlantic, 1973.
Let Me in Your Life, Atlantic, 1974.
Everything I Feel in Me, Atlantic, 1975.
Ten Years of Gold, Atlantic, 1977.
Sweet Passion, Atlantic, 1977.
Almighty Fire, Atlantic, 1978.
La Diva, Atlantic, 1979.
Aretha, Arista, 1980.
Jump to It, Arista, 1982.
Get It Right, Arista, 1984.
Who’s Zoomin’ Who?, Arista, 1985.
Aretha, Arista, 1987.
Love All the Hurt Away, Arista, 1987.
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, Arista, 1988.
Through the Storm, Arista, 1989.
What You See Is What You Sweat, Arista, 1991.
Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings, Atlantic, 1992.
Greatest Hits: 1980-1994, Arista, 1994.

With other artists
Curtis Mayfield, Sparkle (soundtrack), 1976.
"Think," The Blues Brothers (soundtrack), 1979.
"Jumpin’ Jack Flash," Jumpin’Jack Flash (soundtrack), 1986.
George Michael, "I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)," Columbia, 1987.
"If I Lose", White Men Can’t Jump (soundtrack), EMI, 1992.
All Men Are Brothers: A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield, 1994.

Sources
Books
Rees, Dafydd, and Luke Crampton, Rock Movers&Shakers, Billboard, 1991.
Wexler, Jerry, and David Ritz, Rhythm and the Blues: A Life in American Music, Knopf, 1993.

Periodicals
Boston Globe, June 14, 1991, p. 39; March 21, 1994, p. 30; September 29, 1995, p. 55.
Detroit Free Press, June 10, 1994, p. 3D; June 18, 1994, p. 2A.
Ebony, April 1995, pp. 28-33.
Entertainment Weekly, May 15, 1992, p. 64.
Essence, August 1995, pp. 73-77.
Jet, August 21, 1995, p. 33.
People, February 19, 1996, p. 22.

AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:

Aretha Franklin

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Genres: Rhythm & Blues

Biography

Aretha Franklin is one of the giants of soul music, and indeed of American pop as a whole. More than any other performer, she epitomized soul at its most gospel-charged. Her astonishing run of late-'60s hits with Atlantic Records -- "Respect," "I Never Loved a Man," "Chain of Fools," "Baby I Love You," "I Say a Little Prayer," "Think," "The House That Jack Built," and several others -- earned her the title "Lady Soul," which she has worn uncontested ever since. Yet as much of an international institution as she's become, much of her work -- outside of her recordings for Atlantic in the late '60s and early '70s -- is erratic and only fitfully inspired, making discretion a necessity when collecting her records.

Franklin's roots in gospel ran extremely deep. With her sisters Carolyn and Erma (both of whom would also have recording careers), she sang at the Detroit church of her father, Reverend C.L. Franklin, while growing up in the 1950s. In fact, she made her first recordings as a gospel artist at the age of 14. It has also been reported that Motown was interested in signing Aretha back in the days when it was a tiny start-up. Ultimately, however, Franklin ended up with Columbia, to which she was signed by the renowned talent scout John Hammond.

Franklin would record for Columbia constantly throughout the first half of the '60s, notching occasional R&B hits (and one Top 40 single, "Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody") but never truly breaking out as a star. The Columbia period continues to generate considerable controversy among critics, many of whom feel that Aretha's true aspirations were being blunted by pop-oriented material and production. In fact, there's a reasonable amount of fine items to be found on the Columbia sides, including the occasional song ("Lee Cross," "Soulville") where she belts out soul with real gusto. It's undeniably true, though, that her work at Columbia was considerably tamer than what was to follow, and suffered in general from a lack of direction and an apparent emphasis on trying to develop her as an all-around entertainer, rather than as an R&B/soul singer.

When Franklin left Columbia for Atlantic, producer Jerry Wexler was determined to bring out her most soulful, fiery traits. As part of that plan, he had her record her first single, "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," at Muscle Shoals in Alabama with esteemed Southern R&B musicians. In fact, that was to be her only session actually at Muscle Shoals, but much of the remainder of her '60s work would be recorded with the Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section, although the sessions would actually take place in New York City. The combination was one of those magic instances of musical alchemy in pop: the backup musicians provided a much grittier, soulful, and R&B-based accompaniment for Aretha's voice, which soared with a passion and intensity suggesting a spirit that had been allowed to fly loose for the first time.

In the late '60s, Franklin became one of the biggest international recording stars in all of pop. Many also saw Franklin as a symbol of black America itself, reflecting the increased confidence and pride of African-Americans in the decade of the civil rights movement and other triumphs for the black community. The chart statistics are impressive in and of themselves: ten Top Ten hits in a roughly 18-month span between early 1967 and late 1968, for instance, and a steady stream of solid mid- to large-size hits for the next five years after that. Her Atlantic albums were also huge sellers, and far more consistent artistically than those of most soul stars of the era. Franklin was able to maintain creative momentum, in part, because of her eclectic choice of material, which encompassed first-class originals and gospel, blues, pop, and rock covers, from the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel to Sam Cooke and the Drifters. She was also a fine, forceful, and somewhat underrated keyboardist.

Franklin's commercial and artistic success was unabated in the early '70s, during which she landed more huge hits with "Spanish Harlem," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and "Day Dreaming." She also produced two of her most respected, and earthiest, album releases with Live at Fillmore West and Amazing Grace. The latter, a 1972 double LP, was a reinvestigation of her gospel roots, recorded with James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir. Remarkably, it made the Top Ten, counting as one of the greatest gospel-pop crossover smashes of all time.

Franklin had a few more hits over the next few years -- "Angel" and the Stevie Wonder cover "Until You Come Back to Me" being the most notable. Her Atlantic contract ended at the end of the 1970s, and since then she's managed to get intermittent hits -- "Who's Zooming Who" and "Jump to It" are among the most famous. Many of her successes were duets, or crafted with the assistance of contemporaries such as Luther Vandross. In 1986 Franklin released her follow-up to Who’s Zoomin’ Who?, the self-titled Aretha, which saw the single “I Knew You Were Waiting for Me,” a duet with George Michael, hit the top of the charts. There was also another return to gospel in 1987 with One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism. Franklin shifted back to pop with 1989’s Through the Storm, but it wasn’t a commercial success, and neither was 1991’s new jack swing-styled What You See Is What You Sweat.

Now solidly an iconic figure and acknowledged as one of the best singers of her generation no matter what her record sales were, Franklin contributed songs to several movie soundtracks in the next few years before releasing the R&B-based A Rose Is Still a Rose in 1998. So Damn Happy followed five years later in 2003 and again saw disappointing sales, but it did generate the Grammy-winning song “Wonderful.” Franklin left Arista Records that same year after 23 years and started her own label, Aretha’s Records, two years later in 2005. A duets compilation, Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen, was issued in 2007, followed by her first holiday album, 2008’s This Christmas Aretha, originally as a Borders exclusive and then distributed by DMI. The first release on her own label, Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love, appeared in the spring of 2011. Despite sometimes poor health, she continued to select new projects to work on, ever the institution, her reputation secure as one of the best singers of the modern era. ~ Richie Unterberger & Steve Leggett, Rovi

Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Aretha Franklin

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Aretha Franklin
Franklin performing at President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Aretha Louise Franklin
Born	(1942-03-25) March 25, 1942 (age 70) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genres	Soul, jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, funk, rock
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, pianist
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	1956–present
Labels	Columbia (1960–1966) Atlantic (1967–1979) Arista (1980–2003) Aretha Records (2004–)
Associated acts	Sweet Inspirations, Carolyn Franklin, Erma Franklin, Cissy Houston, Whitney Houston, George Benson, George Michael, Michael McDonald, Eurythmics, Luther Vandross

Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and pianist. In a recording career that has spanned over half a century, Franklin's repertoire has included gospel, jazz, blues, R&B, pop, rock and funk. Franklin is known as one of the most important popularizers of the soul music genre and is referred to as the Queen of Soul, a title she was given early in her career. Franklin, the daughter of prominent Baptist minister and activist C. L. Franklin, began her singing career singing in her father's church at the age of ten and started recording four years later. After several years in the gospel circuit and with her father's blessing, she formed a secular pop music career at the age of eighteen, signing with Columbia Records, where she was branded by its CEO John Hammond as his most important act since Billie Holiday. Franklin's Columbia period wasn't as successful as hoped and in late 1966, Franklin switched over to Atlantic Records, where she began recording a string of popular hits including "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Think", "Chain of Fools" and what later became her signature song, "Respect".

After a brief lull in 1969, Franklin continued to record a string of popular singles throughout the early 1970s, reaching her peak as an albums artist with 1970's Spirit in the Dark, 1971's Young, Gifted & Black and the 1972 gospel record, Amazing Grace, which later became one of the best-selling gospel albums of all time and was the biggest-selling album in gospel music for over 25 years. Franklin's success in Atlantic peaked after the release of the singles, "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)", "I'm in Love" and "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" and the 1976 soundtrack to the movie, Sparkle and Franklin left the label in 1980 to sign with Clive Davis' Arista Records label where she switched over from soul and funk music to a more conservative urban adult contemporary sound in the albums, Aretha and Love All the Hurt Away, before regaining commercial success with the 1982 album, Jump to It, produced by R&B hitmaker Luther Vandross. In 1984, Franklin added modern day pop rock and dance elements to her sound, which was integral to the success of her 1985 album, Who's Zoomin' Who?, which spawned the hits "Freeway of Love", "Who's Zoomin' Who" and the Eurythmics featured "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves". The 1986 release of Aretha featured her last number-one hit single with the George Michael duet "I Knew You Were Waiting for Me". Afterwards Franklin returned to a lull in her career until the release of 1998's A Rose Is Still a Rose, which incorporated modern day contemporary R&B and which the title track returned Franklin to the top 40 of the pop charts.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" list,^[1] as well as the ninth greatest artist of all time.^[2] She has won 18 Grammys and received two honorary Grammys. In 1987, Franklin became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Franklin is planned to be inducted to the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame in August 2012.

Early life (1942-1960)

Aretha Franklin's birthplace at 406 Lucy Ave. in Memphis, Tennessee.^[3]

Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Barbara (née Siggers) and Clarence LaVaughn Franklin. Franklin's father, Clarence, otherwise known as "C. L." Franklin, was a rising itinerant preacher, who moved to Memphis from Shelby, Mississippi. Within two years after Aretha's birth, however, Franklin's father again moved, this time up north to Buffalo, New York. The initial reasoning behind Franklin's move to Buffalo was because Franklin sought to find better opportunities and reach a bigger church audience as compared to the South. However, it was debated Franklin moved after word reached about him impregnating a teenage member of his Memphis church and he moved north to avoid the scandal and a possible court case.

Franklin wasn't six yet when her father moved to and eventually settled in Detroit where he built his own church, the New Bethel Baptist Church. Following the move, Franklin's parents separated after a contentious marriage, with Barbara Franklin settling in Buffalo, New York where she became a nurse. Aretha would later recall spending time with her mother at her house in Buffalo during summertime visits though it had been debated Franklin's mother had abandoned her, a charge Franklin has constantly denied. Franklin wasn't yet ten when her mother died suddenly in Buffalo. While she and her siblings attended her funeral, it was said their father either couldn't or refuse to attend. Shortly after her mother was buried, Aretha started singing solos at her father's church.^[4] Her father's local celebrity in Detroit helped to attract attention to Franklin's home. Franklin remembered seeing several celebrities and prominent public figures at her house. Among those that would later influenced her music and vocal style included gospel musicians Mahalia Jackson, Clara Ward and The Caravans founder Albertina Walker, while other musicians such as Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson and fellow preacher Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. also became prominent visitors. Franklin began playing the piano at a young age and knew much of how to play by ear. Franklin recalled that when it came to musical taste, her father wasn't strict, allowing Franklin to listen to a variety of genres including blues, jazz and R&B.

By the mid-fifties, Franklin's father was recording for JVB Records, becoming one of the few preachers to record an album full of sermons, which also included musical performances by the minister along with his choir. In 1956, Franklin started bringing his daughter with him to perform on the gospel circuit. That year, Franklin's father recorded his 14-year-old daughter's gospel performances at a local church and helped Franklin reach a deal with JVB Records where she recorded the album, Songs of Faith, and also released her first single, "Never Grow Old", which would later be reissued by Checker Records numerous times. Franklin's performances on the gospel circuit continued until she reached 17, by then Franklin had a desire to record pop music, something always frowned upon in the ministry. However, her father C. L. approved of her decision, and did the same with his eldest daughter Erma, and helped both daughters reach deals with several record labels outside of Detroit. Prior to signing her first deal, Motown CEO Berry Gordy pursued both Erma and Aretha to sign with Motown. C. L. Franklin, however, passed on the offer thinking the label was too local to promote their talents. Eventually, Aretha settled for Columbia Records.

Music career

Early recordings (1960-1966)

Franklin's first Columbia single, "Today I Sung the Blues", was released in September 1960, becoming her first charted success, it eventually reached #10 on Billboard's R&B chart. Her debut album Aretha followed in January of the following year, recorded with the Ray Bryant Combo. Franklin's second single, "Operation Heartbreak", repeated the R&B chart success of Franklin's debut single, reaching #7, followed by another R&B top ten single, "Won't Be Long". Franklin's recordings were often compared to that of Dinah Washington and Billie Holiday, singers Franklin admired. Columbia CEO and founder John Hammond, upon hearing Franklin, felt she had what it took to be the next Billie Holiday and recorded Franklin strictly in jazz-influenced pop.

Later Hammond acknowledged that he felt the label didn't understand Franklin's background in gospel music and failed to bring that aspect out in her first secular recordings.^[5] Later in 1961, Franklin had her first top 40 single on the pop chart with a ballad rendition of "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody". While Franklin would later say she enjoyed her tenure on Columbia Records, most of the records were considered to be not artistically satisfying to Aretha's style and would later be forgotten about following Franklin's rise to stardom with her earthier R&B recordings with Atlantic. Franklin was placed on the list of jazz magazine Downbeat's top ten best jazz vocalists in 1961, 1962 and 1963. One of her most significant recordings during her early Columbia period was the ballad, "Skylark", recorded in 1962. The song previewed what was to come of Franklin as parts of her gospel singing was showcased in the song.

After a well received tribute album to Dinah Washington, Columbia Records switched paths from their early hopes of jazz stardom to more commercial pop music for Franklin as well as some blues music. The latter music showed up in Franklin's 1964 hit, "Runnin' Out of Fools". Afterwards, Franklin was given covers of Motown hits and other girl group sounding hit singles to record as well as original songs such as "One Step Ahead" and "Cry Like a Baby", which was a top 30 R&B recording and was one of the first hits written by the team of Ashford & Simpson. Following this, Franklin and Columbia opted not to renew their contract. Under the advice of her then-husband and manager, Ted White, Franklin decided to sign with top R&B label, Atlantic Records, signing with them in December 1966. Following her success with Atlantic, Columbia began reissuing Franklin's Columbia material and releasing Columbia recordings that Franklin hadn't released before she left the label in an attempt to capitalize on her success.

Success with Atlantic (1967-1976)

After signing with Atlantic, Franklin was sent to the FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record her first songs with the label alongside the respected Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. It was in Muscle Shoals that Franklin cut her first Atlantic recording, the blues ballad "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)".^[5] While busy recording another song at the studio, Franklin's husband and one of the musicians got into a drunken argument over Franklin, leading to the couple returning to their house in New York, where they hid for several weeks. Eventually, Franklin returned to record at New York's Atlantic Studios to finish her vocals on the song, "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man". "I Never Loved a Man" would be released in February 1967 and become Franklin's first significant hit single, reaching #9 on the pop chart and #1 on the R&B chart. The b-side, "Do Right Woman", helped Aretha's first Atlantic single to become a double-sided hit on the R&B chart, where it peaked at #37.

In April, Atlantic issued her second single, the Otis Redding song, "Respect"^[5], which was re-arranged by the song's producers Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin and Aretha into a gospel-sounding shouter with Franklin later incorporating call and response vocals with her two sisters, Erma and Carolyn present. With Wexler's allowance, Franklin added in the ad-lib, "r-e-s-p-e-c-t, find out what it means to me, r-e-s-p-e-c-t, take care, TCB", which led to her sisters afterwards shouting out, "sock it to me" repeatedly. Franklin would later insist the song's alleged sexual overtones were not what people insisted saying it was simply a female's response to her lover to show her respect. The song became a simultaneous #1 hit on the pop and R&B charts. Both songs helped its parent album, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, to reach the top ten of the pop albums chart. Franklin's version of "Respect" later was hailed as a 1960s anthem. Franklin's hit streak continued throughout 1967 and 1968 with songs such as "Baby I Love You", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and "Chain of Fools".^[5] "Respect" later won Franklin her first two Grammys. She eventually won eight consecutive Grammys under the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category.^[6]

During a 1967 performance in a Chicago dance, deejay Pervis Spann crowned Franklin a tiara and announced her as "Lady Soul". Franklin's hit streak continued with songs such as "Think" (also referred sometimes as "Freedom" due to Franklin's repeats of the word), "Ain't No Way", "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone", "The House That Jack Built" and "I Say a Little Prayer". Due to Franklin's earthier hits, her rendition of the latter song generated mild controversy due to her recording what had been strictly a sweet pop song recorded by Franklin's friend Dionne Warwick, however, the song turned out to be a huge success, eventually becoming a bigger hit in the UK where it reached #4. Franklin's albums such as Lady Soul (taken from the title she was given to in 1967) and Aretha Now became successful albums with Lady Soul boasting three top ten singles. Though she wouldn't take no part in the civil rights movement of that time period, Franklin's songs, including "Respect" and "Think", were often used as a means of protest. Franklin insists however that she recorded the songs for fun as she was allowed to freely experiment with vocal styles in the studio. Around this time, Franklin used other background singers, including New Jersey backing group The Sweet Inspirations, to help her on recordings.

Franklin's hit streak was more modest throughout 1969 while Aretha battled personal problems including her filing for divorce from Ted White after eight years of an acrimonious marriage. After a break from the studio, she returned in mid-1969 and recorded "Share Your Love with Me" and the self-penned composition "Call Me", which was released in late 1969 and early 1970 respectively and returned Franklin to #1 on the R&B chart. Franklin also reinvented her style of dress and, as was the trend at the time, she wore an Afro hairstyle and adapted traditional African garb, influenced by the black nationalist movement that had started in the late 1960s. Franklin's success continued with her hit renditions of rock songs such as "The Weight", "Let It Be" and "Eleanor Rigby". Franklin's next album, Spirit in the Dark, included the hits "Spirit in the Dark" and "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", which became a hit in the UK where Franklin promoted the single. The following year, Franklin became the first black artist to perform at Bill Graham's Fillmore West^[7] where she later released a live album from the performance. Following these triumphs, Franklin was beginning to be referred to as "The Queen of Soul", a title which she's kept since.

Following the release of the 1971 hits, "Spanish Harlem" and the self-penned number "Rock Steady", Franklin issued the acclaimed Young, Gifted and Black album in early 1972 and had a follow-up hit with the ballad, "Day Dreaming". The album was also noted for Franklin recording the first cover of an Elton John song with Elton's song, "Border Song". Later in 1972, Franklin released her first gospel album in sixteen years with the Amazing Grace album, which became her most successful album in Atlantic Records, later reportedly selling over two million copies making it at that time the best-selling gospel album of all time. That record has since passed but Franklin's album still remains a huge seller. Franklin's success continued the following year with the release of the ballad, "Angel", which was co-penned by her sister Carolyn. The song was co-produced by Franklin and Quincy Jones, who together produced the concept album, Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky), which had initially started off as a jazz album. Though some noted the album for its risky experimentation of different styles, it wasn't totally received well by the Atlantic staff and some fans didn't know what to make of its direction. Following its release, Franklin began producing her own Atlantic albums after a renegotiation of her contract with the label. One of the first albums she released following her new deal was Let Me In Your Life, in 1974. The album returned Franklin, who was now adapting a more glamorous figure, to the top 40 thanks to the hits, "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" and "I'm in Love" and a sensual cover of the Marvin Gaye single, "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing".

By the release of 1974's With Everything I Feel in Me and 1975's You, however, Franklin's success had started to peak. Having relocated to Los Angeles, Franklin's recordings suffered from dismal promotion and changing musical tastes as soul music started to lose its popularity with pop fans in the emergence of different genres such as hard rock, heavy metal, funk and disco. The albums weren't hits and no song from any of those albums were huge hits, leading to a fallout between Franklin and Atlantic Records, which had started with the label's embrace of British hard rock group Led Zeppelin and softer R&B vocalist Roberta Flack, no longer making Franklin the top priority artist she had been since signing with the label. To make matters worse, in 1976, her eight-year streak of winning a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, was broken by Natalie Cole. However, that year, Franklin found renewed success with the Curtis Mayfield production, Sparkle, which spawned the #1 R&B hit, "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" and going gold.

Fallout with Atlantic and first Arista recordings (1977-1984)

However, the success wouldn't last long. Franklin's next three albums, the Lamont Dozier and Carole Bayer Sager-produced Sweet Passion, the Mayfield produced Almighty Fire and the Van McCoy-produced La Diva tanked on the charts and no single released from those albums charted on the Hot 100 during this tumultuous period. Franklin continued performing in the US and worldwide but was now building a reputation on living comfortably off royalties so that she only performed on occasion rather than as normal procedure. Aretha would later win the masters off her post-1974 Atlantic recordings. Following the release of La Diva in 1979, Atlantic decided not to renew her contract.

In 1980, Franklin gained something of a new audience after a cameo appearance in The Blues Brothers film where she appeared as the wife of Matt "Guitar" Murphy and engages in a brief war of words with Dan Aykroyd's and John Belushi's characters Elwood and Jake Blues, over Murphy leaving his restaurant to perform with them again in which Franklin afterwards performed "Think". Afterwards, Franklin signed a contract with Clive Davis' Arista Records label. Later in 1980, she issued the Aretha album, which featured a minor hit, "United Together", which became a #3 R&B hit. The music on Aretha and its 1981 follow-up, Love All the Hurt Away, furthered Franklin away from earthy soul and into a more glossier and conservative form of R&B music labeled as urban contemporary. The title track off her 1981 album produced another R&B hit with duet vocals provided by George Benson.

In 1982, Franklin returned to the top of the R&B charts with the Jump to It album boasted by the success of the title track, which became her first number-one R&B single in five years. The album also became her first to go gold after her first two Arista albums had failed to reach that position. The album was produced by then R&B hitmaker Luther Vandross, who was then called in to produce Franklin's follow-up, 1983's Get It Right. However, that record failed, selling less than 200,000 copies, despite the title track becoming another number-one R&B hit for Franklin.

Success with Arista (1985-1998)

Following its release and the subsequent death of her minister father, C. L., in 1984, Franklin laid low for a few months before returning to the studio in her native Detroit to record her next Arista album which was later titled, Who's Zoomin' Who? The inspiration behind the making of the album was due to Aretha listening to the radio and liking what she heard and opted for "a younger sound".^[8] This album was produced by rising producer Narada Michael Walden. The album included dance, pop and modern rock elements and would return Franklin to the top ten of the pop charts. "Freeway of Love" became her biggest hit in years reaching #3 on the pop chart and #1 R&B while the follow-up, "Who's Zoomin' Who" reached #7 pop and #2 R&B and was co-penned by Franklin, partly because she inspired the song title. A third single, "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves", featuring the Eurythmics, peaked at #18 on the pop charts. The videos for "Freeway of Love" and "Sisters" made Franklin popular with music video audiences and her success was compared to another sixties R&B contemporary, Tina Turner's own groundbreaking success years after leaving Ike Turner.

Franklin followed up this success with the Aretha album in 1986. The album spawned another series of hits including "Jimmy Lee", a cover of the Rolling Stones hit "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and the #1 George Michael duet, "I Knew You Were Waiting for Me" later going gold. To help promote the album, Franklin filmed a Showtime concert TV special. Around this time, Franklin also contributed her voice to several TV networks including a theme song for ABC TV titled "Together" in 1986^[9] and the hit series, "A Different World", where her rendition of the theme song remained part of the show from its second season in 1988 through its fifth season in 1992. However, Franklin's success was not as long lasting. Due to an accident in a plane she suffered in 1983, Franklin missed schedule for performances overseas which caused a pain for Arista promoters overseas. Also a problem was Franklin's vocals, which was starting to hamper after years of cigarette smoking. Franklin started adapting to a raspier, low tone starting with performances in 1982 and 1983. In spite of this, she remained a popular concert draw. In 1987, Franklin recorded her first gospel album in fifteen years, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, in hopes of having similar success with that record as she had had with Amazing Grace. However, the album failed to find an audience. Franklin returned to the pop charts in 1989 with the release of the Elton John duet, "Through the Storm" and the subsequent release of the album of the same name. However, the album failed to become a success and a much publicized duet with fellow label mate and chart-topping singer Whitney Houston titled "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" failed to bring much notice peaking below the top 40.

Franklin's attempt at revamping her sound with new jack swing productions in the 1991 album, What You See Is What You Sweat was badly received and was another commercial failure. Following this, Franklin quit chain smoking and spent the next several years reviving parts of her vocal style. In 1994, she contributed to the Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit soundtrack recording the dance song, "A Deeper Love", which became Franklin's biggest single in years reaching #5 in the UK. Later that year, following the release of an Arista best-of, Franklin recorded the Babyface compositions, "Honey" and "Willing to Forgive", with the latter single becoming her first top 40 single in five years. Franklin later contributed vocals to the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack recording the song "It Hurts Like Hell" and following a couple years on the road, recorded the hit album, A Rose Is Still a Rose, which success was mainly due to the success of its title track, which became her last top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100 nearly 40 years after recording her first one. Throughout 1998, Franklin had success with TV performances including the 1998 Grammys when she performed Luciano Pavarotti's rendition of the opera ballad, "Nessun Dorma", generating a standing ovation at the end of her performance, and a show-stopping performance at VH-1's Divas Live.

Later work (1999-present)

Franklin performing on April 21, 2007 at the Nokia Theater in Dallas, Texas.

In 1999, Franklin issued her autobiography, Aretha: From These Roots. Franklin would not release her next album until 2003 when she issued the album, So Damn Happy. In between then, she contributed to albums and songs by several artists including K-Ci and JoJo on a song titled "Angel", and Mary J. Blige on the song, "Don't Waste Your Time", featured on Blige's 1999 album, Mary. The So Damn Happy album featured a minor R&B hit with "Wonderful", which later nabbed Franklin another Grammy. After the release of So Damn Happy, Franklin decided to not renew her contract with Arista after 23 years with the label. In 2004, she began work on her album, A Woman Falling Out of Love, due to be the first release off her dormant Aretha's Records, in 2005. In the meantime, Arista released a duets compilation, 2007's Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen, which featured another minor R&B hit with the Fantasia duet, "Put You Up on Game". That same year, Franklin issued her first Christmas album, This Christmas, Aretha, which was initially released as a Borders Group exclusive and was later issued on the DMI label.

In 2008, she won her 18th career Grammy in the gospel category on the song "Never Break My Faith" with Mary J. Blige. A year after, she received news for performing at the inauguration for then newly elected President Barack Obama performing the song "My Country 'Tis of Thee", with her attire, including her church hat, becoming a popular item online and the subject of several internet memes. The following year, Franklin received an honorary music degree from Yale.^[10] By 2010, Franklin announced that she had sold her rights to movie producers to produce a biopic on her in which would be loosely based off Franklin's 1999 memoirs, Aretha: From These Roots. Franklin had initially planned for Halle Berry to play her in the featured role but Berry turned down her offer in January 2011. Franklin has since picked singer Audra McDonald to play her.

In May 2011, commemorating on her 50th anniversary since the release of her first non-gospel recording, Franklin issued her 38th studio release, A Woman Falling Out of Love through WalMart. Franklin recorded two duets with longtime friend, Ronald Isley of The Isley Brothers, recording "The Way We Were" on Aretha's album, while recording "You've Got a Friend" on Isley's record, Mr. I. Later in September, Franklin contributed duet vocals to the Tony Bennett rendition of "How Do You Keep The Music Playing" off his Duets II album.

Personal life

Children

Aretha, by her own admission grew up fast as a child and discovered boys at the age of thirteen, getting pregnant just three months after becoming a teenager. A relationship with one boy led to the birth of her first son, Clarence, named after her father, on March 28, 1956, just three days after she turned 14. In January 1957, before reaching 15, Franklin had another son, Edward, with another boy.^[11] She never identified by name the father of either child. Her grandmother, Rachel, raised the boys while Aretha pursued her singing career. Rachel lived in a guest house behind C.L. Franklin's LaSalle Street home. (The Franklin family moved from their home on Boston Street in Detroit's North End section to LaSalle Street during the late 1950s.)

Franklin had a third son, Ted White, Jr. (sometimes referred to as Teddy Richards), with her manager and former family friend Ted White, Sr., born in 1964. Teddy is the musical director and guitarist of his mother's touring band.^[12] A relationship with road manager Ken Cunningham produced a fourth son, Kecalf, who was named after the first initials of their parents' names.^[13] Kecalf, her youngest-born child, was born three days after his mother's 28th birthday. In 2010, Aretha's son Edward was attacked by three people at a Detroit gas station near Plymouth Road and Evergreen.^[14]^[15] Kecalf Franklin, Aretha's youngest son, is currently a rapper and produces gospel recordings.^[16]

Marriages

Aretha Franklin and William Wilkerson watching Roger Federer at the 2011 US Open.

Against her father's wishes, Aretha married her first husband, Ted White, in front of a justice of the peace in Ohio in 1961 when she was nineteen. White later replaced Aretha's father as her manager in 1967. According to close friends, White was physically abusive and it's suggested White's physical abuse and philandering were the cause of Franklin's heart-wrenching vocals on her best-known recordings during the Atlantic years. Her producer, the late Jerry Wexler once called Franklin "the lady of mysterious sorrows" since Aretha didn't tell anyone her personal story. Following a 1968 cover article in Time magazine in which her abusive marriage and a claim that her mother abandoned her at a young age led Franklin to not give any interviews to media groups and increasing her privacy.

After ending her affair with Ken Cunningham after a seven-year on-again, off-again relationship, Franklin married actor Glynn Turman on April 11, 1978 at her father's New Bethel Baptist Church with her father presiding over the ceremony. Aretha became a surrogate stepmother to Turman's three children from a previous marriage. Due to their schedules, however, it wasn't long before their marriage fell apart despite living together in Franklin's mansion in Encino. In late 1982, Franklin and Turman separated after only four years, eventually divorcing in early 1984. In early 2012, it was reported that Franklin was set to walk down the aisle a third time with her longtime companion Willie Wilkerson.^[17]^[18] Franklin and Wilkerson had plans to marry in 1987 but later nixed those plans. Within a month after Aretha had announced the wedding this year, she nixed the plans again.

Relatives, other romances and friends

Franklin's sisters Erma Franklin and Carolyn Franklin were professional singers and sang as backup for Aretha during her initial success at Atlantic. Her brother, the Reverend Cecil Franklin, took over as her manager after her divorce from Ted White was finalized. Cecil remained her manager until his death from cancer on December 26, 1989. Younger sister Carolyn preceded Cecil in death in early 1988 from breast cancer while Erma Franklin later died from throat cancer in 2002. Franklin's eldest half-brother, Vaughn (born December 24, 1934) and elder half-sister Carl Kelley (née Jennings; born 1940) are still alive. Kelley is C.L. Franklin's daughter by Mildred Jennings, a then 12-year-old congregant of New Salem Baptist Church of Memphis, Tennessee, where C.L. was pastor in the late 1930s and early 1940s.^[19] Franklin was close to her minister father, C. L. Franklin. C. L. served as Franklin's first manager, a position he gave up to Ted White around 1967. Aretha was performing in Las Vegas on June 10, 1979 when her father was shot by attempted robbers at his LaSalle Street home in Detroit. Aretha and her family returned their father back to his home six months after the shooting left him in a coma. Aretha moved back to Detroit at the end of 1982 to assist with the care of her father, who died in a nursing home on July 27, 1984.

Aretha's relationship with road manager Ken Cunningham was on and off from 1969 until a final breakup in 1976. During one breakup in 1971, Franklin, living back in northwest Detroit, had a brief liaison with Temptations star Dennis Edwards. The relationship inspired Franklin's hit, "Day Dreaming". Franklin and Edwards' romance cooled quickly but they've remained friends. Aretha is also friendly with many of her Detroit peers that went on to be music superstars including Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder. She was friendly with members of the Four Tops as well, later singing with them on several records in the 1980s. Franklin also had a close friendship with Sam Cooke after meeting as gospel performers. Following Cooke's death, Franklin recorded his songs "A Change Is Gonna Come" and "You Send Me".

Franklin grew close with Sweet Inspirations founder Cissy Houston, who sang background on Franklin's "Ain't No Way".^[20] Due to this friendship, she was later made honorary aunt of Cissy's daughter, the late Whitney Houston, who often referred to Franklin as "Auntie Ree".^[21] Franklin recalled meeting Whitney at either 8 or 9 years old when Whitney's mother brought her to a recording studio.^[22] Sometime in the 1980s, a PR mistake listed Franklin as Houston's godmother. On February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston died in Beverly Hills from unknown causes.^[23] Aretha was devastated by her death and said it was "so stunning and unbelievable".^[23] She planned to perform at the memorial service on February 18, but her representative claimed that Aretha was "ill" and was "not performing at the memorial service", though she later performed at New York's Radio City Music Hall on the same night.^[24]^[25]

Weight issues, health problems, surgery and rumors of cancer

Franklin acknowledged her issues with her weight in the past even telling an interviewer from Jet magazine that she was always trying to lose weight. Before undergoing surgery for an undisclosed ailment that halted her schedule in 2010, Franklin had begun losing weight. According to the singer in 2011, she said she had lost up to 85 lbs in weight following her surgery. In the past, Franklin had went through periods of yo-yo dieting, at one time, losing over 100 pounds showing off her weight loss on the cover of Ebony magazine in 1974. Franklin managed to keep the weight off until after 1982. After another slim period in the early '90s, and after quitting cigarettes cold turkey in 1991, Franklin's weight started to balloon up. In 2010, Franklin suffered a pain in her side which she said, "was so hard it almost brought me to my knees." After continuing a concert tour, the pain recurred, and she subsequently underwent surgery for an undisclosed ailment in October 2010, ending several engagements with Condoleeza Rice. At this time, rumors surfaced that she was suffering from pancreatic cancer. In discussing the events in 2011, she has said that this was not the case and that her doctor told her, "the surgery that you just had is going to add 15 to 20 more years to your life."^[26]

Connection to the Civil Rights Movement

Franklin’s music and civil rights involvement cannot be separated for it was through music, which Franklin was able to reach out to so many and empower those who had felt so long oppressed.

Aretha Franklin first became connected with the civil rights movement through her father, Reverend C.L. Franklin. Rev. Franklin was an influential preacher who traveled the country as well as recorded a weekly sermon for the radio station, WLAC, which reached 65 percent of the African-American population. It was these same tours that Aretha would begin her singing career.^[27] Rev. Franklin would also introduce Aretha to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. starting a life long friendship between the two.

It was Franklin's soulful sound, which would become the driving anthem of the civil rights movement or as poet Nikki Giovanni put it “the voice of the civil rights movement, the voice of the black America”.^[28]

Through Franklin’s album ‘I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You’, hit ‘Respect’ rose to the top. Her strong voice asking for something as simple as respect reflects the cries of the civil rights movement. Her lyrics mirror that of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. Most notably the lines “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children”.^[29] While the civil rights movement was already in motion before Franklin became a prominent figure she had now lent it a soundtrack.

Franklin did not have to do much to help propel the civil rights movement. “Her own sense of pride and her dignified stance, she represented the new black woman of the late 1960s”.^[13] Franklin’s own sound and presence were enough to reflect the ideas of the movement and were what caused her to become a notable figure in the cause.

Franklin was not actively heading demonstrations or participating in sit-ins, but she was able to do her part and use her talent to help the movement. She would numerous times perform at rallies with King, lending her voice and fame to pull in crowds. Franklin is a registered Democrat.^[30]

Awards and achievements

Aretha Franklin wipes a tear after being honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on November 9, 2005, at the White House. Seated with her are fellow recipients Robert Conquest, left, and Alan Greenspan

On June 28, 1968 she became the second African-American woman to appear on the cover of TIME magazine.^[31]
On August 1, 1968, she sang the National Anthem at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, IL.
In 1985, then-Gov. James Blanchard of Michigan declared her voice “a natural resource” during a ceremony that marked her 25 years in show business.
Aretha Franklin is one of three musicians, along with Madonna & Marvin Gaye, to have singles peak at each of the top 10 positions on the US Billboard Hot 100.
On January 20, 1987, she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[32]
On March 29, 1987, Franklin sang "America the Beautiful" at WrestleMania III.
In September 1999, she was awarded The National Medal of Arts by President Clinton.
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked her ninth on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[33]
In 2005, she was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.
In 2005, she became the second woman (Madonna being the first) to be inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame.
In 2005, Franklin was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.^[34]
On February 6, 2006, she performed, along with Aaron Neville, "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XL.
On May 13, 2006, she was presented with an honorary Doctor of Music degree by the Berklee College of Music.
On April 1, 2007 Aretha sang "America the Beautiful" at WrestleMania 23.
On May 14, 2007, she was presented with an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
In 2007, Aretha Franklin's recording of "Respect" was voted a Legendary Michigan Song.^[35]
Is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority
On February 8, 2008, Franklin was honored as MusiCares "Person of the Year".
On February 14, 2008, Franklin was given the Vanguard award at the NAACP Image awards.
On May 4, 2008, Franklin was given the Key to the City of Memphis at the 2008 "Memphis in May International Music Festival" by Mayor Dr. Willie Herenton during her performance onstage.
On September 13, 2008, Franklin was ranked No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists list by Billboard.^[36]
November 2008, Franklin was named by Rolling Stone as the No. 1 all-time best singer of the rock era, according to the magazine's survey of 179 musicians, producers, Rolling Stone editors, and other music industry insiders.^[37]
On January 20, 2009, Franklin performed "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" during the inauguration ceremony of Barack Obama.
On May 23, 2010, Franklin received an Honorary Doctorate in Music from Yale University.^[38]
On June 1, 2010, Aretha Franklin's recording of "Chain Of Fools" was voted a Legendary Michigan Song.^[35]
On February 13, 2011, the Grammy Awards paid tribute to Franklin with a medley of her classics by fellow singers Christina Aguilera, Florence Welch, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride and Yolanda Adams^[39]
On October 16, 2011, Franklin sang "Precious Lord (Take My Hand)" for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s memorial dedication ceremony in Washington, D.C.
On August 14, 2012, Franklin will be inducted to the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Grammy Awards

Franklin has won 18^[40] performance Grammy Awards,^[41] and two honorary Grammys: the Grammy Legend Award (1991) and the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award (1994).^[42]

She holds the record^{[citation needed]} for most Best Female R&B Vocal Performance awards, with eleven to her name (including eight consecutive awards from 1968 to 1975 – the first eight awarded in that category).

Aretha Franklin's 18 Grammy Award Wins
#	Year	Category	Genre	Title
1	1968	Best Rhythm & Blues Recording	R&B	Respect
2	1968	Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	R&B	Respect
3	1969	Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	R&B	Chain Of Fools
4	1970	Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	R&B	Share Your Love With Me
5	1971	Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	R&B	Don't Play That Song For Me
6	1972	Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	R&B	Bridge Over Troubled Water
7	1973	Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	R&B	Young, Gifted and Black (album)
8	1973	Best Soul Gospel Performance	Gospel	Amazing Grace (album)
9	1974	Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	R&B	Master Of Eyes
10	1975	Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	R&B	Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing
11	1982	Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	R&B	Hold On...I'm Comin' (album track)
12	1986	Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	R&B	Freeway Of Love
13	1988	Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	R&B	Aretha (album)
14	1988	Best R&B Performance – Duo Or Group with Vocals	R&B	I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (with George Michael)
15	1989	Best Soul Gospel Performance – Female	Gospel	One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism (album)
*	1991	Living Legend Award	Special
*	1994	Lifetime Achievement Award	Special
16	2004	Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance	R&B	Wonderful
17	2006	Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance	R&B	A House Is Not A Home
18	2008	Best Gospel-Soul Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group	Gospel	Never Gonna Break My Faith (with Mary J. Blige)

Discography

Further information: Aretha Franklin discography

LPs

Songs of Faith (1956)
Aretha (1961)
The Electrifying Aretha Franklin ' (1962)
The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin' (1962)
Laughing on the Outside (1963)
Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington (1964)
Runnin' Out of Fools (1964)
Yeah!!! In Person (1965)
Soul Sister (1966)
Take It Like You Give It (1967)
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967)
Aretha Arrives (1967)
Lady Soul (1968)
Aretha Now (1968)
Soul '69 (1969)
This Girl's in Love with You (1970)
Spirit in the Dark (1970)
Young, Gifted and Black (1972)
Amazing Grace (1972)
Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky) (1973)
Let Me in Your Life (1974)
With Everything I Feel in Me (1974)
You (1975)
Sparkle (1976)
Sweet Passion (1977)
Almighty Fire (1978)
La Diva (1979)
Aretha (1980)
Love All the Hurt Away (1981)
Jump to It (1982)
Get It Right (1983)
Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985)
Aretha (1986)
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism (1987)
Through the Storm (1989)
What You See Is What You Sweat (1991)
A Rose Is Still a Rose (1998)
So Damn Happy (2003)
This Christmas, Aretha (2008)
A Woman Falling Out of Love (2011)

Top 10 US Hot 100 singles

Year	Title	Peak
1967	"I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)"	9
1967	"Respect"	1
1967	"Baby I Love You"	4
1967	"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"	8
1967	"Chain of Fools"	2
1968	"(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone"	5
1968	"Think"	7
1968	"The House That Jack Built"	6
1968	"I Say a Little Prayer"	10
1971	"Bridge Over Troubled Water" / "Brand New Me"	6
1971	"Spanish Harlem"	2
1971	"Rock Steady"	9
1972	"Day Dreaming"	5
1973	"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)"	3
1985	"Freeway of Love"	3
1985	"Who's Zoomin' Who"	7
1987	"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with George Michael)	1

Source:^[43]

All no. 1 hits in US R&B 100 singles

Year	Title
1967	"I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)"
1967	"Respect"
1967	"Baby I Love You"
1967	"Chain of Fools"
1968	"(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone"
1968	"Think"
1969	"Share Your Love with Me"
1970	"Call Me"
1970	"Don't Play That Song (You Lied)"
1971	"Bridge Over Troubled Water" / "Brand New Me"
1971	"Spanish Harlem"
1972	"Day Dreaming"
1973	"Angel"
1973	"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)"
1974	"I'm in Love"
1976	"Something He Can Feel"
1977	"Break It to Me Gently"
1982	"Jump to It"
1983	"Get It Right"
1985	"Freeway of Love"

Source:^[43]

Filmography

Movies / Concerts / Documentaries

The Blues Brothers (1980)
Motown 40: The Music Is Forever (1998) (ABC-TV documentary)
Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
DIVAS LIVE (1998)
Immaculate Funk (2000) (documentary)
Rhythm, Love and Soul (2002)
Tom Dowd & the Language of Music (2003) (documentary)
Singing in the Shadow: The Children of Rock Royalty (2003) (documentary)
From The Heart / The Four Tops 50th Anniversary and Celebration (2004)
Atlantic Records: The House that Ahmet Built (2007) (documentary)

Television

The Tonight Show / Johnny Carson
The Mike Douglas Show
In 1972, she had a role in the TV show Room 222
Solid Gold (numerous appearances with the last in 1982 performing "Jump To It")
Kelly & Company (Marilyn Turner and John Kelly, Detroit)
Dayna (Dayna Eubanks, fomer Detroit newscaster)
Rolonda Show (Rolonda Watts)
The Oprah Winfrey Show (numerous appearances including Oprah's 40th birthday, with Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight)
Live with Regis and Kelly (numerous appearances)
The View

References

^ "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone (1066): 73. November 27, 2008. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/6027/32782/32784. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
^ Waxler, Jerry. "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231/aretha-franklin-19691231. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
^ "Sister Ree's Scrapbook, An Aretha Franklin Photo Gallery 13". http://www.morethings.com/music/aretha_franklin/photo_gallery13.htm. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
^ Dave Hoekstra (12 May 2011). "Aretha Franklin’s roots of soul". Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/music/5151565-421/roots--of-soul.html. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 52 – The Soul Reformation: Phase three, soul music at the summit. [Part 8] : UNT Digital Library" (audio). Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu. http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19834/m1.
^ Natalie Cole broke Franklin's "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" winning streak with her 1975 single "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" (which, ironically, was originally offered to Franklin).
^ "Aretha Franklin songs". http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/aretha-franklin/songs. – from the Bill Graham archives; requires free login.
^ Rolling Stone magazine, "Aretha Franklin's New Wave of Pop" by Eliza Graham, page 11.
^ Patrick Goldstein (18 July 1986). "Writer`s Ballad Tapped For Abc-tv Fall Theme". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-07-18/features/8602120160_1_abc-tv-aretha-franklin-brock-walsh. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
^ Rosenthal, Lauren (May 24, 2010). "Univ. confers 3,243 degrees at 309th Commencement". Yale Daily News. http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/may/24/univ-confers-3243-degrees-at-309th-commencement. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
^ Nick Salvatore (2005). Singing in a Strange Land: C.L. Franklin, the Black Church, and the Transformation of America. Little Brown. pp. 203–204, 224. ISBN 0-316-16037-7. OCLC 56104283. http://books.google.com/books?id=bRDAQSK9DlkC&pg=PA203.
^ "Aretha Franklin gets engaged". NDTV. 3 January 2012. http://www.ndtv.com/article/music/aretha-franklin-gets-engaged-163296. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
^ ^a ^b Bego, Mark (1989). Aretha Franklin: The Queen Of Soul. New York: St.Martin's Press. p. page #s?. ISBN 0-306-8093-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=ErKigdCXUwoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Bego,+Mark.+Aretha+Franklin:+the+queen+of+soul&hl=en&ei=s3nhToWzL-je2QXPqYjMBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Bego%2C%20Mark.%20Aretha%20Franklin%3A%20the%20queen%20of%20soul&f=false.
^ "Aretha Franklin's 52-year-old son hospitalised after brutal attack at Detroit gas station". Daily Mail. 22 September 2010. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1314055/Aretha-Franklins-son-Eddie-hospitalised-Detroit-gas-station-attack.html. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
^ "Aretha Franklin's son has been released from hospital after being beaten in Detroit". Action News. September 21, 2010. http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/homepage_showcase/aretha-franklin%27s-son-severely-beaten-in-detroit.
^ "Franklin previews new album at Detroit restaurant". Journal Register Company. 27 February 2010. http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2010/02/27/entertainment/srv0000007709849.txt. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
^ "Soul singer Aretha Franklin is engaged". CNN. January 2, 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/02/showbiz/aretha-franklin-engaged/?hpt=hp_c2.
^ "Aretha Franklin to get married this summer | Celebrity Buzz | a Chron.com blog". Blog.chron.com. 2012-01-02. http://blog.chron.com/celebritybuzz/2012/01/aretha-franklin-to-get-married-this-summer/. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
^ Salvatore, Nick, Singing in a Strange Land: C. L. Franklin, the Black Church, and the Transformation of America, Little Brown, 2005, Hardcover ISBN 0-316-16037-7, pp. 61–62
^ Roger Friedman (17 February 2012). "Who Is Cissy Houston? A Primer". Showbiz411. http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/02/17/who-is-cissy-houston-a-primer. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
^ Whitall, Susan. "Aretha Franklin recalls meeting a young Whitney Houston". The Queen of Soul corrected one thing about her relationship to Houston. She says she wasn't Houston's godmother, but a sort of honorary aunt.. The Detroit News. http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120217/ENT09/202170397/1361/Aretha-Franklin-recalls-meeting-a-young-Whitney-Houston. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
^ Whitall, Susan. "Aretha Franklin recalls meeting a young Whitney Houston". Aretha Franklin, who will sing at Whitney Houston's funeral Saturday, spoke to Al Roker on the "Today" show Friday morning about the first time she met Houston, as a wide-eyed 8- or 9-year-old.. The Detroit News. http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120217/ENT09/202170397/1361/Aretha-Franklin-recalls-meeting-a-young-Whitney-Houston. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Singer Whitney Houston dies at 48 - CNN.com". CNN. February 12, 2012. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/11/showbiz/whitney-houston-dead/?hpt=hp_t1.
^ "At Houston funeral, stories of faith, courage and love - CNN.com". CNN. February 19, 2012. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/18/showbiz/whitney-houston-funeral/index.html?hpt=hp_c1.
^ "Aretha Franklin - Calls in Sick to Whitney Houston's Funeral, But Performs in NYC That Night". TMZ.com. 2012-02-19. http://www.tmz.com/2012/02/19/whitney-houston-funeral-aretha-frranklin/#.T0HXQnJSSkU. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
^ "Aretha Franklin Sets The Record Straight On Her Health". Access Hollywood. January 13, 2011. http://www.accesshollywood.com/aretha-franklin-sets-the-record-straight-on-her-health-i-dont-know-where-pancreatic-cancer-came-from_article_42228.
^ Carroll, Jillian (2004). Aretha Franklin. Chicago: Raintree. ISBN 0-7398-7029-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=7nhDFoq_iQEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Carroll,+Jillian.+Aretha+Franklin.&hl=en&ei=xXbhTui5Ks-msQLMyt32BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Carroll%2C%20Jillian.%20Aretha%20Franklin.&f=false.
^ Dobkin, Matt (2006). I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You: Aretha Franklin, Respect, and the Making Of A Soul Music Masterpiece. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-31828-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=lHJC0ne4zbAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=I+Never+Loved+A+Man+The+Way+I+Love+You:+Aretha+Franklin,+Respect,+and+the+Making+Of+A+Soul+Music+Masterpiece&hl=en&ei=03jhTtbkCeK3sQKRvKGLBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=I%20Never%20Loved%20A%20Man%20The%20Way%20I%20Love%20You%3A%20Aretha%20Franklin%2C%20Respect%2C%20and%20the%20Making%20Of%20A%20Soul%20Music%20Masterpiece&f=false.
^ Luther King, Jr., Martin. "I Have A Dream". I Have A Dream. http://www.news.wisc.edu/releases/3504.html. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
^ On an ABC promo aired on July 27, 2010 announcing Franklin and Rice's appearing together in concert there was a segment in which Franklin was being interviewed and she said herself, "I am a Democrat".
^ "TIME Magazine Cover: Aretha Franklin". Time. June 28, 1968. http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19680628,00.html. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
^ "Aretha Franklin Biography". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. undated. Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. http://rockhall.com/inductees/aretha-franklin/bio/.
^ "The Immortals: The First Fifty". Rolling Stone Issue 946. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939214/the_immortals_the_first_fifty.
^ Category: Inductees. "Aretha Franklin". Michigan Rock and Roll Legends. http://www.michiganrockandrolllegends.com/mrrl-hall-of-fame/70-aretha-franklin. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
^ ^a ^b Category: Uncategorised. "Legendary Michigan Songs". Michigan Rock and Roll Legends. http://www.michiganrockandrolllegends.com/legendary-michigan-songs-inductees. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
^ The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists. Billboard.com. Retrieved on July 8, 2011.
^ Aretha Franklin greatest singer in rock era: poll. Music.yahoo.com (2008-11-11). Retrieved on July 8, 2011.
^ Franklin receives honorary doctorate from Yale. Newsone.com (2010-05-24). Retrieved on July 8, 2011.
^ Grammay Awards tribute to Aretha Franklin
^ According to NARAS rules,^[where?] Special Grammy Awards (such as Lifetime Achievement) are not counted in a performer's tally.
^ "Past Winners Search: Aretha Franklin". Grammy.com. http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=Aretha+Franklin&title=&year=All&genre=All. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
^ Nechvatal, Zack (February 10, 2011). "Grammy Awards To Honor Aretha Franklin". Chicago, Illinois: WXRT/CBS Radio. Archived from the original on January 2, 2012. http://wxrt.radio.com/2011/02/10/grammy-awards-to-honor-aretha-franklin/. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Aretha Franklin: Biography". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 3, 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090503075231/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/arethafranklin/biography. Retrieved March 21, 2010.

External links

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Aretha Franklin at Legacy Recordings
Appearances on C-SPAN
Aretha Franklin at the Internet Movie Database
Aretha Franklin at NPR Music
Aretha Franklin collected news and commentary at The New York Times
Works by or about Aretha Franklin in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
Aretha Franklin at Answers.com
Aretha Franklin discography at Discogs

Aretha Franklin

Studio albums

Columbia	Songs of Faith (1956) Aretha (1961) The Electrifying Aretha Franklin (1962) The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin (1962) Laughing on the Outside (1963) Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington (1964) Runnin' Out of Fools (1964) Yeah!!! (1965) Soul Sister (1966)

Atlantic	I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967) Aretha Arrives (1967) Lady Soul (1968) Aretha Now (1968) Soul '69 (1969) Soft and Beautiful (1969) This Girl's in Love with You (1970) Spirit in the Dark (1970) Young, Gifted and Black (1972) Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky) (1973) Let Me in Your Life (1974) With Everything I Feel in Me (1974) You (1975) Sparkle (1976) Sweet Passion (1977) Almighty Fire (1978) La Diva (1979)

Arista	Aretha (1980) Love All the Hurt Away (1981) Jump to It (1982) Get It Right (1983) Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985) Aretha (1986) Through the Storm (1989) What You See Is What You Sweat (1991) A Rose Is Still a Rose (1998) So Damn Happy (2003)

Other	This Christmas, Aretha (2008) A Woman Falling Out of Love (2011)

Live albums

Aretha in Paris (1968)
Aretha Live at Fillmore West (1971)
Amazing Grace (1972)
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism (1987)
Oh Me Oh My: Aretha Live in Philly, 1972 (2007)

Compilation albums

Take It Like You Give It (1967)
Take a Look (1967)
Aretha's Gold (1969)
Aretha's Greatest Hits (1971)
The Best of Aretha Franklin (1973)
Aretha Sings the Blues (1980)
Greatest Hits: 1980–1994 (1994)
Greatest Hits (1998)
Aretha's Best (2001)
Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul (2007)
Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen (2007)
A Deeper Love: The Best of Aretha Franklin (2009)
The Great American Songbook (2011)
Knew You Were Waiting: The Best of Aretha Franklin (1980-1998) (2012)

Box sets

Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings (1992)
Take A Look: Aretha Franklin Complete on Columbia (2011)

Singles

"Precious Lord (Part 1)" (1959)
"Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" (1961)
"I Surrender, Dear" (1962)
"Try a Little Tenderness" (1962)
"Say It Isn't So" (1963)
"Skylark" (1963)
"The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" (1964)
"One Step Ahead" (1965)
"You Made Me Love You" (1965)
"Mockingbird" (1967)
"I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" (1967)
"Respect" (1967)
"Baby I Love You" (1967)
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (1967)
"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man"
"Chain of Fools" (1967)
"Satisfaction" (1968)
"(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" (1968)
"Think" (1968)
"You Send Me" (1968)
"I Say a Little Prayer" (1968)
"The Weight" (1969)
"Tracks of My Tears" (1969)
"Gentle on My Mind" (1969)
"Share Your Love with Me" (1969)
"Eleanor Rigby" (1969)
"Call Me" (1970)
"Son of a Preacher Man" (1970)
"The Thrill Is Gone" (1970)
"Don't Play That Song" (1970)
"You're All I Need to Get By" (1971)
"Bridge over Troubled Water" (1971)
"Spanish Harlem" (1971)
"Rock Steady" (1971)
"Day Dreaming" (1972)
"Wholy Holy" (1972)
"Angel" (1973)
"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" (1973)
"I'm in Love" (1974)
"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (1974)
"Something He Can Feel" (1976)
"Break It to Me Gently" (1977)
"What a Fool Believes" (1981)
"It's My Turn" (1981)
"Jump to It" (1982)
"Get It Right" (1983)
Freeway of Love" (1985)
"Who's Zoomin' Who" (1985)
"Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" (1985)
"Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1986)
"Jimmy Lee" (1986)
"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (1987)
"Oh Happy Day" (1988)
"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (1989)
"Everyday People" (1991)
"Someday We'll All Be Free" (1992)
"A Deeper Love" (1993)
"Willing to Forgive" (1994)
"A Rose Is Still a Rose" (1998)
"Wonderful" (2003)
"Put You Up on Game" (2007)

Record labels

Persondata
Name	Franklin, Aretha Louise
Alternative names
Short description	American singer
Date of birth	March 25, 1942
Place of birth	Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death

		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Gale Encyclopedia of Biography. Gale Encyclopedia of Biography. © 2006 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Gale Contemporary Black Biography. Contemporary Black Biography. Copyright © 2006 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
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