Aretha Louise Franklin ( / ə ˈ r iː θ ə / ə- REE -thə ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Known as the "Queen of Soul," she was twice named by Rolling Stone magazine as the greatest singer of all time.

As a child, Franklin was noticed for her gospel singing at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father, C. L. Franklin, was a minister. At the age of 18, she signed as a recording artist for Columbia Records. Her career did not immediately succeed, but Franklin gained acclaim and commercial success after she signed with Atlantic Records in 1966. At Atlantic Records, she recorded important hit albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Lady Soul, and Aretha Now in the late 1960s, and Young, Gifted and Black, Amazing Grace, and Sparkle in the 1970s. Later, she had problems with the record company and left Atlantic in 1979. She then signed with Arista Records, where her career was revived with hit albums such as Jump to It, Who's Zoomin' Who?, Aretha, and A Rose Is Still a Rose.

Franklin is one of the best-selling music artists, with more than 75 million records sold worldwide. She had 112 singles on the US Billboard charts, including 73 Hot 100 entries, 17 top-ten pop singles, 96 R&B entries, and 20 number-one R&B singles. Her version of "Respect" is considered her signature song. Franklin is also known for other hit singles, such as "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "Chain of Fools," "Think," "I Say a Little Prayer," "Rock Steady," "Day Dreaming," "Freeway of Love," and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (a duet with George Michael). She also appeared in the 1980 musical-comedy film The Blues Brothers.

Franklin received many honors during her career. She won 18 Grammy Awards out of 44 nominations, including the first eight awards given for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (1968–1975). She also received a Grammy Living Legend Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1987, she became the first female artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She was also inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012, and posthumously into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2020 and the Volunteer State Music Hall of Fame in 2026. In 2019, the Pulitzer Prize jury awarded her a special citation "for her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades."

Early life

Aretha Louise Franklin was born on March 25, 1942, to Barbara (née Siggers) and Clarence LaVaughn "C. L." Franklin. She was born at her family's home on 406 Lucy Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee. Her father was a Baptist minister and preacher who traveled to different churches, originally from Shelby, Mississippi. Her mother was a skilled pianist and singer. C. L. and Barbara Franklin had children from previous relationships in addition to the four children they shared. When Aretha was two years old, the family moved to Buffalo, New York. By the time Aretha turned five, C. L. Franklin relocated the family to Detroit, Michigan, where he became the pastor of the New Bethel Baptist Church.

The Franklins had a difficult marriage due to C. L. Franklin's unfaithfulness, and they separated in 1948. At that time, Barbara Franklin returned to Buffalo with Aretha's half-brother, Vaughn. After the separation, Aretha visited her mother in Buffalo during the summer, and Barbara Franklin often visited her children in Detroit. Aretha's mother died of a heart attack on March 7, 1952, before Aretha's 10th birthday. Several women, including Aretha's grandmother, Rachel, and Mahalia Jackson, helped care for the children at the Franklin home. During this time, Aretha learned to play piano by ear. She also attended public school in Detroit, completing her first year at Northern High School but leaving before her second year.

Aretha became pregnant with her first child, Clarence, when she was 12 years old. She initially said the father was a classmate named Edward Jordan, but later stated in her will that the father was Edward Jordan Sr.

Aretha's father was known for his powerful sermons, which earned him the nickname "the man with the million-dollar voice." He earned money for sermons in churches across the country. His fame brought many celebrities to his home, including gospel musicians Clara Ward, James Cleveland, and early Caravans members Albertina Walker and Inez Andrews. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Wilson, and Sam Cooke became friends with C. L. Franklin. Clara Ward was romantically involved with Aretha's father from around 1949 until her death in 1973, though Aretha preferred to see them as friends. Ward also served as a role model for young Aretha.

Musical career

After her mother passed away, Aretha Franklin began singing solo performances at New Bethel Baptist Church. She first sang the hymn "Jesus, Be a Fence Around Me." When Aretha was 12 years old, her father started managing her career. He took her on tour during his "gospel caravan" to perform in churches across the country. Her father also helped her sign her first recording contract with J.V.B. Records. Aretha sang and played piano on the recordings. In 1956, J.V.B. Records released her first single, "Never Grow Old," with the song "You Grow Closer" on the other side. In 1959, another single, "Precious Lord (Part One)" with "Precious Lord (Part Two)," was released. These four songs, along with "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood," were included on the 1956 album Spirituals. The album was re-released by Battle Records in 1962 under the same name. In 1965, Checker Records released an album called Songs of Faith, which included the five songs from Spirituals and four new tracks. Aretha was 14 years old when Songs of Faith was recorded.

During this time, Aretha sometimes traveled with the Soul Stirrers, a gospel group. She spent summers performing on the gospel circuit in Chicago and stayed with Mavis Staples’ family. Music producer Quincy Jones said that when Aretha was young, Dinah Washington told him, "Aretha is the 'next one.'" Aretha and her father traveled to California, where she met singer Sam Cooke. At age 16, she toured with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and later sang at his funeral in 1968. Other influences in her youth included Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, and Sam Cooke, who were described as "two of Franklin's greatest influences." James Cleveland, known as the King of Gospel music, also helped shape her early career. He was recruited by her father to be a pianist for the Southern California Community Choir.

After turning 18, Aretha told her father she wanted to record pop music, like Sam Cooke. She moved to New York with her father’s support. Her father helped create a two-song demo, which led to a contract with Columbia Records in 1960. Columbia signed her as a "five-percent artist." During this time, choreographer Cholly Atkins coached her for pop performances. Before joining Columbia, Sam Cooke tried to convince her father to sign her with RCA Victor, but she chose Columbia. Berry Gordy also asked her and her sister Erma to sign with his Tamla label, but her father refused because he believed Tamla was not yet established. Her first Columbia single, "Today I Sing the Blues," was released in September 1960 and reached the top 10 of the Hot R&B Sides chart.

In January 1961, Columbia released her first album, Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo. The album included her first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, "Won't Be Long," which also reached number 7 on the R&B chart. Most of her Columbia recordings were produced by Clyde Otis and included songs in genres like standards, jazz, blues, doo-wop, and rhythm and blues. By the end of 1961, she had a hit with her version of the standard "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody." She was named a "new-star female vocalist" in DownBeat magazine. In 1962, Columbia released two more albums, The Electrifying Aretha Franklin and The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin. The second album reached number 69 on the Billboard Top LPs – Monaural chart.

In the 1960s, during a performance at Chicago’s Regal Theater, WVON radio personality Pervis Spann announced that Aretha should be called "the Queen of Soul." He placed a crown on her head. By 1964, she began recording more pop songs and reached the top 10 on the R&B chart with "Runnin' Out of Fools" in early 1965. She had two R&B charted singles in 1965 and 1966, "One Step Ahead" and "Cry Like a Baby," and also reached the Easy Listening charts with "You Made Me Love You" and "(No, No) I'm Losing You." By the mid-1960s, she earned $100,000 a year from performances in nightclubs and theaters. She appeared on rock-and-roll shows like Hollywood a Go-Go and Shindig!, but struggled with commercial success at Columbia. Label executive John H. Hammond later said Columbia did not fully understand her gospel background and failed to highlight it during her time there.

In November 1966, Aretha’s Columbia contract ended. At that time, she owed the company money because record sales were lower than expected. Producer Jerry Wexler convinced her to move to Atlantic Records. Wexler wanted to use her gospel background to create a "tenacious form of rhythm & blues" that became soul music. Her time at Atlantic led to many hits between 1967 and 1972. Her work with Wexler helped create most of her best recordings on the label. However, her achievements in the next seven years were not as impressive. Rolling Stone noted, "they weren’t as terrible as some claimed, they were pro forma and never reached for new heights."

In January 1967, Aretha traveled to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to record at FAME Studios. She recorded the song "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. However, a disagreement between her manager, husband, and studio owner caused the session to end. The song was released the next month and reached number one on the R&B chart and number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, giving her her first top-ten pop single. The B-side, "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," reached the R&B top 40. "Respect," originally written by Otis Redding, was reimagined by Aretha with a powerful interlude. Her version reached number one on both the R&B and pop charts and became her signature song. It was later recognized as a civil rights and feminist anthem. Otis Redding said, "That little girl done took my song away from me." Her debut Atlantic album, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, was commercially successful and later went gold. National Geographic said this recording "would catapult Franklin to fame." In 1967, she also had two additional top-ten singles: "Baby I Love You" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman."

By 1968, Aretha had become "the most successful singer in the nation" while working with Wexler and Atlantic Records. She released the top-selling albums Lady Soul and Aretha Now, which included popular songs like "Chain of Fools

Music style and image

Richie Unterberger said Franklin was "one of the giants of soul music, and indeed of American pop as a whole. More than any other performer, she represented soul music at its most gospel-charged." Franklin was often described as a great singer and musician because of her "vocal flexibility, interpretive intelligence, skillful piano-playing, her ear, and her experience." Franklin's voice was described as a "powerful mezzo-soprano voice." She was praised for her arrangements and interpretations of other artists' hit songs. David Remnick noted that what "distinguishes her is not merely the breadth of her catalog or the strong power of her vocal instrument; it's her musical intelligence, her way of singing behind the beat, of spreading a group of notes over a single word or syllable, of building, moment by moment, the emotional power of a three-minute song. 'Respect' is as precise an artifact as a Ming vase." Jerry Wexler described Franklin's voice on her first album, Songs of Faith, released in 1956 when she was 14, as "not that of a child but rather of an ecstatic hierophant." Critic Randy Lewis called her skills as a pianist "magic" and "inspirational." Musicians and professionals, such as Elton John, Keith Richards, Carole King, and Clive Davis, were fans of her piano performances. In 2015, President Barack Obama wrote the following regarding Franklin:

Activism

Aretha Franklin was deeply involved in the fight for civil rights and women's rights throughout her life. She gave money to civil rights groups, sometimes helping pay employees' salaries, and sang at events and protests to support these causes.

In 1970, when Angela Davis was jailed, Franklin told Jet magazine, "Angela Davis must go free… Black people will be free. I’ve been jailed (for disturbing the peace in Detroit) and I know you have to disturb the peace when you can’t get no peace. Jail is hell to be in. I’m going to see her free if there is any justice in our courts, not because I believe in communism, but because she’s a Black woman and she wants freedom for Black people."

Her songs "Respect" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" became important symbols of movements for social change.

Franklin and several other American icons refused to perform at President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration as a group protest through music.

Franklin also supported Native American rights. She helped Indigenous peoples’ struggles worldwide and supported many groups that worked to protect Native American and First Nation cultural rights.

Personal life

Aretha Franklin moved to New York City from Detroit in the 1960s and lived there until moving to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. She later settled in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Encino, where she lived until 1982. She then returned to the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills to be close to her sick father and siblings. Franklin lived there until her death. After an event in 1984, she said she was afraid to fly, so she only performed in North America after that. Franklin was Baptist.

Franklin was the mother of four sons. She became pregnant at age 12 and gave birth to her first child, Clarence, on January 28, 1955. In one of her handwritten wills found in 2019, Franklin said the father was Edward Jordan. On August 31, 1957, when she was 15, Franklin had a second child with Jordan, named Edward Derone Franklin. Franklin did not like to talk about her early pregnancies with reporters. Both children took her family name. While Franklin worked as a singer and spent time with friends, her grandmother Rachel and sister Erma raised her children. Franklin visited them often. Her third child, Ted White Jr., was born in February 1964 to Franklin and her husband, Theodore "Ted" White. He is known professionally as Teddy Richards and played guitar for his mother's band during concerts. Her youngest son, Kecalf Cunningham, was born in April 1970 and is the child of her road manager, Ken Cunningham.

Franklin was married twice. Her first husband was Ted White, whom she married in 1961 at age 18. She had seen White for the first time at a party at her house in 1954. Franklin and White separated in 1968 and divorced in 1969 after a difficult marriage marked by abuse. She married actor Glynn Turman on April 11, 1978, at her father's church. By marrying Turman, Franklin became the stepmother of his three children. Franklin and Turman separated in 1982 after she returned to Michigan from California and divorced in 1984.

Franklin's sisters, Erma and Carolyn, were professional musicians and sang background vocals on Franklin's recordings. After Franklin divorced Ted White, her brother Cecil became her manager and held that role until his death from lung cancer on December 26, 1989. Her sister Carolyn died in April 1988 from breast cancer, and her eldest sister Erma died from throat cancer in September 2002. Franklin's half-brother Vaughn died in late 2002. Her half-sister, Carol Ellan Kelley (née Jennings; 1940–2019), was the daughter of C. L. Franklin and Mildred Jennings, a 12-year-old member of New Salem Baptist Church in Memphis, where C. L. was a pastor. Franklin's father, described as "unorthodox on every level," knowingly took advantage of his pre-teen congregants.

Franklin was performing at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 10, 1979, when her father, C. L., was shot twice at point-blank range in his Detroit home. After six months in the hospital while still in a coma, C. L. was moved back to his home with 24-hour nursing care. Aretha returned to Detroit in late 1982 to help care for her father, who died at Detroit's New Light Nursing Home on July 27, 1984.

Franklin had a long friendship with Willie Wilkerson, a Vietnam War veteran and Detroit firefighter, who also helped her with her work and cared for her when she was sick. In 2012, Franklin announced plans to marry Wilkerson, but the engagement was quickly called off. Franklin's music business friends included Dionne Warwick, Mavis Staples, and Cissy Houston, who sang with Franklin as members of the Sweet Inspirations. Houston sang background on Franklin's hit "Ain't No Way." Franklin first met Cissy's young daughter, Whitney Houston, in the early 1970s. She was made Whitney's honorary aunt (not a godmother, as sometimes reported) and Whitney often called her "Auntie Ree" or "Aunt Ree." Franklin had to cancel plans to perform at Whitney Houston's memorial service on February 18, 2012, because of a leg spasm. Franklin was a registered Democrat. While her estate was estimated at $80 million, it was valued at $18 million at her death, according to the New York Times.

Franklin had weight issues for many years. In 1974, she lost 40 pounds on a very-low-calorie diet and kept the weight until the end of the decade. She lost weight again in the early 1990s but gained some back. A former chain smoker who struggled with alcoholism, she quit smoking in 1992. She admitted in 1994 that smoking "messing with my voice," but after quitting, she said in 2003 that her weight "ballooned."

In 2010, Franklin canceled several concerts to have surgery for an undisclosed tumor. In 2011, she said her doctor told her the surgery would "add 15 to 20 years" to her life. She denied reports that the ailment was related to pancreatic cancer. Franklin said, "I don't have to talk about my health with anybody other than my doctors… The problem has been resolved." After the surgery, Franklin lost 85 pounds but denied having weight-loss surgery. On May 19, 2011, Franklin had her comeback show at the Chicago Theatre.

In May 2013, Franklin canceled two performances due to an undisclosed medical treatment. More cancellations followed in the summer and fall. During a phone interview with the Associated Press in late August 2013, Franklin said she had a "miraculous" recovery from her undisclosed illness but had to

Legacy and honors

In 1979, Franklin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1985, Michigan declared her voice a "natural resource." In 1987, she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1991, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences awarded her a Grammy Legend Award. In 1994, she received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and was named a Kennedy Center Honoree. In 1999, she was given the National Medal of Arts. In 2005, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. She was also honored with the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award, presented by Coretta Scott King. In 2005, she was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame and the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2015. In 2005, she became the second woman inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. In 2008, she was named MusiCares Person of the Year and performed at the Grammys. In 2019, she received a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for her contributions to American music and culture. She was the first woman to receive this award. At the start of her career, Siouxsie Sioux named her as her favorite female singer.

In 2010, Franklin was ranked first on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" and ninth on their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time." In 2011, after news of her surgery and recovery, the Grammys paid tribute to her with a medley of her songs performed by Christina Aguilera, Florence Welch, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, and Yolanda Adams. That same year, she was ranked 19th among the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time top artists.

In 2002 and 2012, Rolling Stone listed Franklin's 1967 album I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You as number one on its "Women in Rock: 50 Essential Albums" list. In 2012, she was inducted into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame and described as "the voice of the civil rights movement, the voice of black America." In 2014, asteroid 249516 Aretha was named in her honor. In 2015, Billboard named her the greatest female R&B artist of all time. In 2018, she was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.

President Obama said, "American history wells up when Aretha sings" after her performance of "A Natural Woman" at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. He described her as someone who connected African-American spirituals, the blues, R&B, and rock and roll into something full of beauty and hope. Franklin called the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors one of the best nights of her life. In 2017, the City of Detroit renamed a portion of Madison Street as Aretha Franklin Way. In 2021, the Aretha Franklin Post Office Building was named in her honor.

Rolling Stone called Franklin "the greatest singer of her generation." In April 2021, she was featured in National Geographic magazine. The same year, the magazine began airing the third season of the television series Genius, which focused on her life and career. Clive Davis, who worked with Franklin for nearly four decades, said she "understood the essence of both language and melody." National Geographic described her as a "musical genius unmatched in her range, power, and soul."

Franklin received honorary degrees from Harvard University and New York University in 2014. She also received honorary doctorates in music from Princeton University (2012), Yale University (2010), Brown University (2009), the University of Pennsylvania (2007), Berklee College of Music (2006), the New England Conservatory of Music (1997), and the University of Michigan (1987). She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Case Western Reserve University (2011) and Wayne State University (1990) and an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Bethune–Cookman University (1975).

After Franklin's death, fans added unofficial tributes to two New York City Subway stations: Franklin Street in Manhattan and Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority later placed permanent black-and-white stickers with the word "Respect" next to the "Franklin" name signs in each station.

During the American Music Awards in 2018, Gladys Knight, Donnie McClurkin, Ledisi, Cece Winans, and Mary Mary performed gospel songs from Franklin's 1972 album Amazing Grace as a tribute. A tribute concert, "Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul," was held in 2019 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Performers included Smokey Robinson, Janelle Monáe, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, Alessia Cara, Patti LaBelle, Jennifer Hudson, Chloe x Halle, H.E.R., SZA, Brandi Carlile, Yolanda Adams, and Shirley Caesar. The concert was recorded for television and aired in March 2019.

At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, the ceremony ended with a tribute to Franklin, featuring a performance of her 1968 hit "A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)" by Fantasia Barrino-Taylor, Andra Day, and Yolanda Adams.

In 2019, Time magazine created 89 new covers to celebrate women of the year starting from 1920. Franklin was chosen for 1968. Rick Price wrote a tribute song, "Farewell But Not Goodbye," for his 2021 album Soulville.

Filmography

• 1967–1982: The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson – guest on the show
• 1968: Aretha Franklin and The Sweet Inspirations in Concert – performer
• 1968: The Hollywood Palace – guest on the show
• 1969: 41st Academy Awards – performer
• 1970: This is Tom Jones – guest on the show
• 1970: It's Cliff Richard – guest on the show – BBC
• 1970: It's Lulu – guest on the show – BBC
• 1978: Dick Clark's Live Wednesday – guest on the show – ABC
• 1978: Aretha Franklin Live in Canada – performer – ITV
• 1978: Kennedy Center Honors – performer – CBS
• 1981–1985: Solid Gold – performer – CBS
• 1982: It's Not Easy Bein' Me – guest on the show – NBC
• 1983: American Music Awards of 1983 – performer and host – ABC
• 1983: Midem '83 – performer – TF1
• 1985: Soundstage – performer – PBS
• 1986: American Music Awards of 1986 – performer – ABC
• 1988: James Brown and Friends: Set Fire to the Soul – performer – HBO
• 1990: Night of 100 Stars III – performer – NBC
• 1991–1992: The Joan Rivers Show – performer – HBO
• 1992: 23rd Annual Grammy Awards – performer – CBS
• 1992: Kennedy Center Honors – performer – CBS
• 1993: Evening at Pops – performer – PBS

• 1972: Black Rodeo (documentary) – appeared in the film
• 1990: Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones (documentary) – appeared in the film
• 2003: Tom Dowd & the Language of Music (documentary) – appeared in the film
• 2012: The Zen of Bennett (documentary) – appeared in the film
• 2013: Muscle Shoals (documentary) – appeared in the film
• 2018: Amazing Grace (documentary) – appeared in the film

• 1972: Room 222 – appeared in the TV show as Inez Jackson
• 1980: The Blues Brothers – appeared in the TV show as Mrs. Murphy
• 1991: Murphy Brown – appeared in the TV show as herself
• 1997: The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue – appeared in the movie as voice of Homebuilt Computer
• 1998: Blues Brothers 2000 – appeared in the movie as Mrs. Murphy