| ARETHA
FRANKLIN (ARTIST BIOGRAPHY)
Aretha Franklin, the undisputed “Queen of Soul,” was
born on March 25, 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee. Raised in Buffalo and
Detroit, she is the daughter of famous gospel preacher Reverend
Cecil L. Franklin, pastor of Detroit’s New Bethel Baptist Church.
She was greatly influenced as a child by family friends and gospel
stars Reverend James Cleveland and Clara Ward.
Franklin first recording was in 1956 on the JVB/Battle label. She
was signed to Columbia Records in 1960 by the legendary talent scout
Jon Hammond. For Columbia she recorded “Won’t Be Long”, “Rock-A Bye
Your Baby With Dixie Melody”, “I Surrender, Dear”, “Rough Lover”,
“Don’t Cry, Baby”, “Try a Little Tenderness”, “Trouble in Mind”,
“Runnin’ Out of Fools” and “Can’t You Just See Me”. The nine
recordings were all hit the Billboard pop charts, but none cracked
the top 40.
It wasn’t until Franklin signed with Atlantic Records in 1966, that
her signature style was born under the influence of producer Jerry
Wexler. During 1967 through 1977, Franklin had her greatest string
of success with 15 top ten hits including “I Never Loved a Man (The
Way I Love You)”, ‘Respect’ (#1, 1967), “Baby I Love You”, “A
Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)”, “Chain of Fools”, “(Sweet
Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone”, “Think”, “The House that Jack
Built”, “I Say a Little Prayer”, “See Saw”, “Bridge Over Troubled
Water”, “Spanish Harlem”, “Rock Steady”, “Day Dreaming”, “Until You
Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)”, and “Don’t Play That
Song.”
Franklin signed with Arista in 1980 and reached the top ten again
with “Freeway of Love”, a #3 hit in 1985. And in 1987, she had
another #1 hit with a duet performance with George Michael called ‘I
Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)’.
She is the second most honored female popular singer in Grammy
history (after Alison Krauss), having won eighteen competitive
Grammys (including an unprecedented eleven for Best Female R&B Vocal
Performance, eight of them consecutive). The state of Michigan has
declared her voice to be a natural wonder.
Franklin is perhaps best-known for her interpretation of Otis
Redding’s Respect, recorded in 1967 with sisters Carolyn Franklin
and Erma Franklin. Many of her songs, however, were originals that
have since been covered by other artists. Some of her best-known
compositions include (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone,
Ain’t No Way, All the King’s Horses, Baby, Baby, Baby, Call Me, Dr.
Feelgood, Rock Steady, Spirit In The Dark, and Think (which she
performed in the film The Blues Brothers). |
