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Quick Facts
Best Known For
Multiple Grammy winner and "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin is known for such hits as "Respect," "Freeway of Love," and "I Say a Little Prayer."
Videos see all videos
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Aretha Franklin - Full Episode (45:14)
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Gloria Gaynor - Respect (1:16)
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Aretha Franklin - Mini Bio (3:48)
Aretha Franklin - Full Episode
Aretha Franklin continues to find ways to inspire and amaze after more than 40 years of performing. Franklin became the first woman to be elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Gloria Gaynor - Respect
Disco queen Gloria Gaynor comments on the impact of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and how it brought a sense of pride and self respect to black women.
Aretha Franklin. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 05:17, May 16, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/aretha-franklin-9301157
Aretha Franklin [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/aretha-franklin-9301157, May 16
" Aretha Franklin." 2012. Biography.com 16 May 2012, 05:17 http://www.biography.com/people/aretha-franklin-9301157
' Aretha Franklin', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/aretha-franklin-9301157 [accessed May 16, 2012]
" Aretha Franklin," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/aretha-franklin-9301157 (accessed May 16, 2012).
Aretha Franklin [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 May 16]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/aretha-franklin-9301157.
Aretha Franklin, http://www.biography.com/people/aretha-franklin-9301157 (last visited May 16, 2012).
Aretha Franklin, http://www.biography.com/people/aretha-franklin-9301157 (last visited May 16, 2012).
Synopsis
Aretha Franklin was born March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee, the fourth of five children of a Baptist preacher and a gospel singer. A gifted singer and pianist, Franklin went on tour with her father's traveling revival show and later went to New York and signed with Columbia records. Over time she released singles that would become classics. She has won 18 Grammys and continues to perform.
Quotes
Being a singer is a natural gift. It means I'm using to the highest degree possible the gift that God gave me to use. I'm happy with that.
Early Talent
Born Aretha Louise Franklin on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Baptist preacher Reverend Clarence La Vaughan "C.L." Franklin, and mother Barbara Siggers Franklin, a gospel singer. The fourth of five children, Franklin's parents separated by the time she was six; four years later, her mother succumbed to a heart attack. Guided by C.L.'s preaching assignments, the family relocated to Detroit, Michigan. C.L. eventually landed at Detroit's New Bethel Baptist Church, where he gained national renown as a preacher.
Franklin's musical gifts became apparent at an early age. Largely self-taught, she was regarded as a child prodigy. A gifted pianist with a powerful voice, Franklin sang in front of her father's Detroit congregation. By the age of 14, she recorded some of her earliest tracks at the church. She also performed with C.L.'s traveling revival show and, while on tour, she befriended gospel greats such as Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke and Clara Ward.
Soul Star
Life on the road exposed Franklin to adult behaviors and at the age of 15, she became a mother. Her second child followed two years later. After a brief hiatus she returned to performing, and followed heroes like Cooke and Dinah Washington into pop and blues territory. With her father's blessing, Franklin traveled to New York in 1960. After being courted by several labels, including Motown and RCA, Aretha signed to Columbia Records. She released The Great Aretha Franklin for the label that same year.
In 1961, the single "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody" hit No. 37 on the pop charts. Franklin had a few top 10 singles on the R&B charts, but they failed to showcase the talent evident in her gospel music. She and new husband-cum-manager Ted White decided a move was in order, and Franklin moved to Atlantic in 1967. Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler immediately shuttled Franklin to the studios at the Florence Alabama Musical Emporium.
Paired with sidemen trained in soul, blues, rock and gospel—including session guitarists Eric Clapton and Duane Allman—Aretha recorded the single "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)." In the midst of recording sessions, White quarreled with a member of the backing band, and White and Franklin left abruptly. As the single became a massive top 10 hit, Franklin re-emerged in New York, and was able to complete the partially recorded track, "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man."
Franklin cemented her reign in 1967 and 1968 with a string of hit singles that would become enduring classics. In 1967, the album "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)" was released. The first song on the album, "Respect," an empowered cover of an Otis Redding track, reached No. 1 on both the R&B and pop charts, and won Aretha her first two Grammy awards. She also had top 10 hits with "Baby I Love You,'' "Think," "Chain of Fools,'' "I Say A Little Prayer," and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman."
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Apollo Legends
View groupMany African-Americans made their name performing at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, including Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown and Jimi Hendrix. The roster of talented artists who made their careers after a successful amateur night at the Apollo grew so large, that the venue earned a reputation as the place to jump-start the career of an ambitious hopeful. Other performers, like Aretha Franklin and Michael Jackson, came to the theater after experiencing big professional success, adding further credibility to the historic New York concert hall. Explore the biographies of some of the more notable African-Americans who stepped out onto the Apollo stage, making entertainment history.
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View groupBrowse notable black entertainers such as Michael Jackson, Eddie Murphy, and Oprah Winfrey.
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Influential Female Musicians of the 1960s
View groupAmerican society experienced a revolution in the late 1960s and early 70s, especially for African-Americans and women. Janis Joplin was the finest white blues singer of her generation; female singer-songwriters like Carole King and Joni Mitchell shared their innermost thoughts and feelings; Aretha Franklin emerged as the Queen of Soul; and Bonnie Raitt established herself as both a strong vocalist and a brilliant guitarist. Through their music, the women of this era created the soundtrack of social progress.
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