Born on March 25, 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee, Aretha Franklin is the first woman to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She is the daughter of Reverend C. L. Franklin. Not much is publicly known about her mother Barbara Franklin who is reported by Encyclopedia Brittanica to have been a gospel singer and a pianist.
Aretha Franklin’s father pastured New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan. A Civil Rights activist and a community leader, he was widely known as one of the most prominent preachers in the city prior to his death in 1984.
Aretha Franklin’s Early Years
Aretha was a child when her family moved from Memphis to Buffalo, New York. Her father preached at Friendship Baptist Church while he and his family lived in Buffalo. A few years later when Aretha was four years old, her father moved to Detroit. Her mother and brother remained in Buffalo, New York. Aretha was only ten years old when her mother died.
She was equally as young when she started to sing. Gospel greats Clara Ward and Mahalia Jackson left an indelible imprint on young Aretha. She admired the way the women handled themselves on and off the stage. Because they were fiends of her father’s and visitors to their home in Detroit, Aretha was able to personally get to know, study and learn from Clara Ward and Mahalia Jackson.
Sam Cooke was another major influence on young Aretha. Not only was the gospel and rhythm and blues singer a consummate professional, he was also strikingly handsome. Aretha developed a crush on Sam. The two remained friends over the years until Sam Cooke’s death in Los Angeles, California on December 11, 1964.
Gospel Music Root and Continuing Influence
No doubt, Aretha sang at New Bethel Baptist Church, the place where her father pastured. Her recordings with the Reverend James Cleveland on the 1972 album Amazing Grace indicate how stirring and emotionally rich Aretha Franklin’s voice must have been while she sang traditional and modern gospel songs at New Bethel on early Sunday mornings.
Over time Aretha Franklin’s musical experiences extended from gospel music to rhythm and blues, rock, jazz, the blues and even classical forms. A capable pianist and song writer, Aretha recorded her first album, Songs of Faith, a collection of gospel melodies, in 1956.
Aretha Franklin Becomes a Mother
The next years were filled with ups and downs for Aretha. Much of the heartache came due to failed relationships. Aretha was a teenager when she became a mother for the first time, but her relationship with her son, Clarence’s father did not endure. By the time Aretha signed her first contract with Atlantic Records in the late 1960s, she was blessed to become mother to a second son named Edward.
The Atlantic Record Years and Beyond
Atlantic Records is where Aretha Franklin recorded many of her longstanding hits. In 1967 the first song that she released with Atlantic was “I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You.” The song cracked Billboard’s Top 10. For Aretha, as with many other rhythm and blues singers, her gospel roots added a meatiness to her voice that could not be denied.
The next song that Aretha released with Atlantic is the widely popular “Respect.” Next came “Chain of Fools,” “The House That Jack Built” and “Spanish Harlem.” At this point, the stage was set. Aretha Franklin was fast earning her title as the official Queen of Soul.
In 1968 Aretha received her first Grammy Award for “Respect.” Over the course of her career, which continues, she would earn 17 other Grammy awards. She also has earned 17 Top 10 spots on Billboard’s Hot 100. She sang and acted in the 1980s hit, The Blues Brothers. In the film, Aretha played a spunky waitress. She sang her hit song “Think” in the film.
Aretha Franklin Today
January 2009 Aretha Franklin sang “My Country Tis of Thee” at President Barak Obama’s inauguration. One can only imagine what her mother and father would have thought had they been in the audience listening to their daughter sing at the historic event.
Achievements made by Aretha Franklin are numerous and include being the youngest person to receive a Kennedy Center honor and receiving the Presidential Medal of Honor in 2005. Continuing to make her home in Detroit, Michigan, Aretha Franklin has conducted few interviews.
She is a deeply private woman who values family and the depth and reach of good music. For nearly 50 years her voice has been a national staple. Her last recorded album was Jewels in the Crown, a compilation of duets with other talented singers like Mary J. Blige, John Legend, Fantasia, Frank Sinatra and Luther Vandross.
Sources:
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Aretha Franklin. 12 July 2009.
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