Aretha Franklin
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| Aretha Franklin | ||
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 Aretha Franklin
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Aretha Louise Franklin | |
| Born | March 25, 1942 (age 65) | |
| Origin |  Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
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| Genre(s) | Soul, R&B, gospel | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, pianist | |
| Instrument(s) | Voice, piano/keyboard | |
| Years active | 1956–present | |
| Label(s) | Columbia, Atlantic, Arista | |
| Associated acts |
The Sweet Inspirations, Carolyn Franklin, Erma Franklin | |
Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American soul, R&B, and gospel singer, songwriter, and pianist born in Memphis, Tennessee, but raised in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She has been called for many years "The Queen Of Soul", but many also call her "Lady Soul," as well as the more affectionate "Sister Re". She is renowned for her soul and R&B recordings but is also adept at jazz, rock, blues, pop, gospel, and even opera[citation needed]. She is generally regarded as one of the top vocalists ever, due to her ability to inject whatever she may be singing about with passion, soul and sheer conviction. Franklin is the second most honored female singer in Grammy history after Alison Krauss. Ms. Franklin has won nineteen competitive Grammys (including an unprecedented eleven for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, eight of them consecutive), and the state of Michigan has declared her voice a natural resource.
Franklin has had two number one hit songs on the Billboard Hot 100, "Respect" in the 1960s and her 1980s duet with George Michael, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)", and many of her singles have hit Top 20, Top 10, and Top 5 positions. Franklin is one of three acts to peak at each of the top 10 positions of the Hot 100, the others being Marvin Gaye (if counting duets with Tammi Terrell) and Madonna. She has enjoyed both critical and commercial success as a solo artist.
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Biography
Franklin is the daughter of legendary preacher Rev. C. L. Franklin and Barbara Siggers Franklin, a pianist and gifted singer. She had five siblings: sisters Erma and Carolyn (both deceased; Erma and Carolyn sang backup for her for many years and accompanied her on some of her most famous recordings), and Carl Ellan Kelley (a half sister from a relationship her father had outside of his marriage to her mother); and brothers Cecil (deceased) and Vaughn (Vaughn is her half brother -- her mother's son by a relationship before her marriage to C. L. Franklin -- and eldest sibling whom her father adopted when he married her mother in 1936).
Franklin has been married twice. She was married to Ted White from 1962-1969, and to actor Glynn Turman from 1978-1984. She has four sons: Clarence, Edward, Ted, and Kecalf. Ted, Jr. is the son of Ted White, and Kecalf's father is entrepreneur Ken Cunningham.
Trivia
- Franklin was the protégée of gospel singing sensations Clara Ward, Mahalia Jackson, and James Cleveland. Clara and Mahalia frequently visited her family home in Detroit and served as maternal figures after her mother died in 1952. Franklin paid homage to Ward, Jackson, and Cleveland in 1972 in her Amazing Grace gospel album.
- In 1984, Aretha Franklin was sued for breach of contract in 1984 when she was unable to star in the Broadway musical Sing, Mahalia, Sing, (based on the life of gospel legend Mahalia Jackson) mainly because of her fear of flying.
- She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2001.
- Franklin's song "Respect" was used in The Proud Family and as the opening song to the first episode of Murphy Brown.
- She made a cameo appearance on Murphy Brown and sang "You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman" on the piano alongside Murphy.
- Franklin frequently invites fellow soul singer Chaka Khan, reportedly one of her favorites, to sing at her birthday parties.
- Sang "America the Beautiful" at WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome and will sing it again at WrestleMania 23 at Ford Field in Detroit.
- In 2006 Aretha Franklin's Grammy total rose to nineteen with a best traditional R&B vocal award for "A House Is Not a Home," a track from the Luther Vandross tribute So Amazing.
- Aretha Franklin calls Fantasia Barrino "my child."
- Teairra Mari's grandmother sang backup for her.
- She is the godmother of singer Whitney Houston.
- Aretha sang the national anthem at Super Bowl XL with Aaron Neville and Dr John.
- The name of her youngest son, Kecalf, is a combination of her initials and those of her son's father, Kenneth E. Cunningham.
Awards and achievements
- On January 3, 1987, she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- In September, 1999, she was awarded The National Medal of Arts by President Clinton.
- In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked her #9 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[1]. To give perspective to this honor, only the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and Little Richard finished ahead of her on this list. Ray Charles finished at number ten, right behind Franklin.
- In 2005, she was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.
- In 2005, she became the second woman to be inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame.
- On May 13, 2006, she was presented with an honorary Doctor of Music degree by the Berklee College of Music.
Grammy Awards
Aretha Franklin has won nineteen Grammy Awards in total during her 45- year career, and currently holds the record for most Best Female R&B Vocal Performance wins with eleven to her name (including eight consecutive awards from 1968-1975 - the first eight ever awarded in that category).
| Aretha Franklin's Grammy Award Wins | |||
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| Year | Category | Genre | Title |
| 1968 | Best Rhythm And Blues Recording | R&B | Respect |
| 1968 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | Respect |
| 1969 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | Chain Of Fools |
| 1970 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | Share Your Love With Me |
| 1971 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | Don't Play That Song |
| 1972 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | Bridge Over Troubled Water |
| 1973 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | Young, Gifted and Black |
| 1973 | Best Soul Gospel Performance | Gospel | Amazing Grace |
| 1974 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | Master Of Eyes |
| 1975 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing |
| 1982 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | Hold On I'm Comin' |
| 1986 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | Freeway Of Love |
| 1988 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | Aretha |
| 1988 | Best R&B Vocal By Duo Or Group | R&B | I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) With George Michael |
| 1988 | Best Soul Female Gospel Performance | Gospel | One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism |
| 1991 | Legend Award | General | -- |
| 1994 | Lifetime Achievement Award | General | -- |
| 2004 | Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | Wonderful |
| 2006 | Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | A House Is Not A Home |
Discography
For a detailed account of Aretha Franklin releases, see the Aretha Franklin discography.
Notable albums:
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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" | 2 |
| 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 | "Who's Zoomin Who?" | 7 |
| 1985 | "Freeway of Love" | 3 |
| 1987 | "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with George Michael) | 1 |
Filmography
- The Blues Brothers (1980)
- 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)
See also
- List of best-selling music artists
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
Notes
- ^ The Immortals: The First Fifty. Rolling Stone Issue 946. Rolling Stone.
External links
- Official site
- Aretha Franklin at the Internet Movie Database
- Aretha Franklin at the Notable Names Database
- Aretha Franklin at Memorable Music Hall of Fame
- Aretha Franklin at Soulmusic.com
- Aretha Franklin at Swingin' 60's Chicks
- BBC article on Aretha Franklin
- Aretha Franklin at Rollingstone
- Aretha Franklin SPARKLE Japanese Fan Site
- WorldCat Identities page for 'Franklin, Aretha.'
Categories: Semi-protected | Articles with unsourced statements | All articles with unsourced statements | Aretha Franklin | 1942 births | African-American singer-songwriters | American female singers | American gospel singers | American rhythm and blues singers | American soul musicians | Arista Records artists | Baptists | Blues Brothers | Columbia Records artists | Delta Sigma Theta sisters | Feminist artists | Grammy Award winners | Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Living people | United States National Medal of Arts recipients | Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients | People from Detroit | People from Memphis | Rhythm and blues pianists | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees | Tennessee musicians
