Aretha Franklin Biography, Facts

Aretha Franklin is an iconic African-American gospel, soul and R&B singer. In 1987, Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while also winning multiple Grammy Awards.

Birth Name / Real Name: Aretha Louise Franklin

Birth Date: 25 March 1942

Birth Place: Memphis, Tennessee

Family:

Father: Rev. C.L. Franklin

Sisters: Carolyn and Erma

Sons: Clarence, Edward, Kecalf, and Teddy.

Profession: Singer

Height: 5' 5" (1.65 m)

Weight:

Styles: Soul and R&B recordings but is also adept at jazz, rock, blues, pop, hip-hop, gospel, and even opera.

Best Known As: "The Queen of Soul", "Lady Soul"

Vocal Profile: Vocal Range: 3 octaves (B2-Bb5)

Voice type: Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano

Highest note: B-b5

Lowest note: B2

Her voice is her most obvious talent, but Aretha's also an accomplished piano player. She has been playing almost as long as she's been singing, and you can hear her keyboards on much of her recordings throughout her long career. Unlike many other solo recording artists, Aretha has been successful in acquiring a major degree of control in shaping the sound of her records. Her maxim with producers has been "if you're here to record me, then let's record me - and not you."

Detailed Biography of Aretha Franklin / Early Years:

Aretha Louise Franklin was born March 25, 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee, but raised in Detroit, Michigan. On January 3, 1987 she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Franklin's lifetime devotion to song, though often interrupted by personal turmoil and tragedy, created a soul standard that remains unchallenged and unbroken today.

As a child, Aretha Franklin with her sisters, sang at her father's Detroit-area church and made her first recordings at the age 14. She signed with Columbia Records after being discovered by legendary A&R man John Hammond. In the early 1960s, Franklin had a few popular songs, most notably "Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody." Though Columbia really wanted her as a jazz singer, the results never gave full rein to Franklin's talents. Her greatest and most innovative work was yet to come.

In 1967, Franklin teamed up with producers Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin, resulting in some of the most influential R&B recordings of the 1960s, including "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", a much more soulful and impassioned song than most of her earlier work. By the late 1960s, Franklin had earned the nickname "The Queen of Soul", having become an internationally famous artist and a symbol of pride for the African American community.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she released She released numerous Top Ten hits, dabbling in gospel music, blues music, pop music, psychedelic music and rock and roll, including notable covers of songs by The Beatles ("Eleanor Rigby"), The Band ("The Weight"), Simon & Garfunkel ("Bridge Over Troubled Water"), Sam Cooke and The Drifters. 'Live at Fillmore West' and 'Amazing Grace' were two of her most influential full-length releases, the latter a double LP of live gospel music recorded in a Los Angeles Baptist church. Surprisingly she never made it to number one in the UK pop charts - the best result being a number four with her version of Burt Bacharach's "I Say a Little Prayer" in 1968.

"I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)," was a gospel-charged sensation that convinced Franklin to finish the album in New York. 1967's I Never Loved a Man was the first in a long line of LPs that brought America to its knees. In the next three years, Franklin burned with passion and intensity, selling millions of albums with Top 20 gospel-crossover hits like "Respect," "Baby I Love You," "Chain of Fools," "Since You've Been Gone," "Think" and "The House That Jack Built." These radio staples contrasted with her Columbia recordings in their raw R&B foundation, upon which Franklin built an eclectic structure of gospel, blues, pop and rock. Perhaps the most stimulating song of its time, "Respect," took on several empowering translations during the era of black activism, feminism and sexual liberation. A rallying cry for social progress, "Respect," won Franklin two Grammy awards and an honorary award from Martin Luther King Jr.

Her troubled eight-year marriage to White ended in 1969, after they had a son, Teddy Jr. That same year her father was arrested for possession of marijuana and she was rumored to be drinking heavily, but Franklin did not allow her personal strife to shut down the hit factory. "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Don't Play That Song," "Spanish Harlem" and "Rock Steady" were just a few of the hits Franklin scored in the early '70s, during which time she also gave birth to a fourth son, Kecalf, out of wedlock.

In the early 1970s, her music mellowed slightly, though losing nothing of its power, and she continued the hugely successful relationship with Wexler and Mardin while beginning to take a greater role in producing her work. A partnership with Quincy Jones led to a disappointing album in 1973 'You.' But it still produced a standout track "Angel", written by her sister Carolyn which became a soul classic. Franklin returned to working with Wexler, but her last Atlantic LP 'You' was released in 1976. Wexler had now left Atlantic and the partnership was over. Despite working with artists of the stature of Curtis Mayfield, popularity and critical success waned during the mid to late 1970s and the 1980s, though she scored several hits, often with partners.

Aretha Franklin won Grammy awards every year between 1969 and 1975 (Natalie Cole won in 1976), and even sang at President Jimmy Carter's inauguration, but by the end of the '70s her record sales were beginning to dwindle.Aretha's final album for Atlantic was titled 'LaDiva', and it didn't do much to restore ReRe's chart domination. Franklin gave her career a kick-start in 1980 with a cameo appearance in The Blues Brothers, a movie that introduced Franklin to a younger audience. She released 'Aretha', one year after her father died of gunshot wounds suffered during a robbery attempt at his home, became her highest charting album since 1972.

The next album, 'Love all The Hurt Away', was a moderate success in 1981 that featured a duet by Aretha and the legendary George Benson on the title track.At this point, Clive Davis decided to tap the 'hot' Luther Vandross & Marcus Miller to produce the 1982 hit album & title track, 'Jump To It'.Aretha's return to the top of the R&B charts was long overdue, and Arista wanted more hits, so Vandross & Miller returned for 1983's 'Get It Right'.

Aretha Franklin was teamed with Narada Michael Walden, who produced her comeback hit album 'Who's Zoomin' Who ?' in 1985. The album won critical praise, and Aretha returned to the top of the Billboard charts with her most successful Arista project, which also earned The Queen the 1985 Grammy Award for the hit 'Freeway Of Love'.This was Aretha's first award since 1974. The 1987 follow-up album, 'Aretha', included the Grammy-winning & #1 smash duet with George Michael, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)". In 1987, Aretha also returned to her gospel roots with 'One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism', which also earned her a Grammy for Best Soul Gospel Performance.