Aretha Louise Franklin (/əˈriːθə/ ə-REE-thə; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the “Queen of Soul“, she was twice named by Rolling Stone magazine as the greatest singer of all time.
Aretha Franklin passed away, leaving behind a huge musical legacy, with 18 Grammy Awards and 20 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 list. In addition, the music star 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in 1942 was voted by Time magazine as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century, alongside many outstanding figures in other fields.
Current Time0:14/Duration0:00[VIDEO] World Soul music legend Aretha Franklin passes away from cancer
From gospel singer to “new queen of soul
”Aretha Franklin was a black artist 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 into a family whose father was a preacher and choir director. With the support of her father, Clarence LaVaughn Franklin, at the age of 10, Aretha Franklin became a member of the choir and quickly became famous for her natural musical talent.
From a little girl who sang at church, Aretha Franklin gradually reached her dream of becoming a star. Photo: Getty Images
In 1956, the singer recorded her first song and signed a contract with JVB Records. From here, this outstanding voice became known as a gospel singer with her debut album Songs of faith. At the age of 18, Aretha Franklin switched to singing secular music. Mr. Clarence LaVaughn Franklin became her daughter’s manager. At JVB Records, the musical talent of this great artist did not really have a chance to shine, which is why she stopped renewing her contract and moved to a larger record label, Columbia Records. From here, Aretha Franklin’s music career officially took its first steps forward.
After listening to the young singer’s demo recording, John Hammond of Columbia Records commented that Aretha Franklin would be a great artist in the future. In September 1960, the record label released the 18-year-old rookie’s first recording, Today I Sing the Blues . The song quickly entered the top 10 of the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Four months later, Aretha Franklin released her first album, Aretha . She then released the hit Won’t Be Long, which peaked at number 7 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100. Also in 1961, the singer released two more singles, Operation Heartbreak and Rock-a-bye Your Baby . Both of these “brain𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren” achieved excellent rankings on the prestigious charts, bringing Aretha Franklin’s name to a new height.
From 1962 to 1966, the talented superstar did not have an album or single that made the top 10 of the music charts. However, she was highly regarded by critics. In 1964, Chicago DJ Pervis Spann called Aretha Franklin “the new queen of soul.” The title came just two years after the new singer released her debut album.
The “unprecedented” queen of soul music
After releasing Cry Like a Baby , her last single with Columbia, in 1967 she joined the new label Atlantic Records and had her first major commercial success. Also during her time with this label, from the title “new queen of soul music”, Aretha Franklin was honored by the American public with a more noble title than “queen of soul music”.
With her great contributions to world music, Rolling Stone magazine honored Aretha Franklin at number 1 in the list of 100 greatest artists of all time. Photo: Getty Images
During her time with the record label, Aretha Franklin’s music products have achieved outstanding success. Not only receiving enthusiastic responses from the audience, the new star has continuously received positive reviews from the most prestigious music critics. In her first year with Atlantic Records, the album I never loved a man the way I love you of this black singer reached the second position on the Billboard 200 chart. This is considered a spectacular new beginning for the female singer because the products released while still cooperating with the old company have never made it to the top 50. This album is also the first product to be crowned king on Hot R&B/Hip-hop Albums, the prelude to Aretha Franklin’s consecutive victories.
When talking about Aretha Franklin’s music during this golden period, we cannot help but mention the song Respect . The song was a pioneering act in the movement to fight for women’s rights through music. The feminism in the famous singer’s music later had a great influence on the legendary divas of her generation such as Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion… Every time fans look back at the singer’s great musical career, they still remember Respect as an immortal symbol, a strong declaration of the power and endless strength of women all over the planet.
After only 13 years of joining the new company, Aretha Franklin won 10 prestigious Grammy Awards in her music career. This was the peak period of this versatile voice. In the following years, from 1969 to 1975, the female singer continuously won 6 Grammy Awards in the category of Best Female R&B Performance with immortal works: Chain of fools, Share your love with me, Don’t play that song for me, Bridge over troubled water … In 1974, Aretha Franklin also won a Grammy Award in the category of Best Gospel Performance with the album The amazing grace.
The ups and downs of the years and the regretful departure
After years of standing at the peak of fame and musical success, Aretha Franklin’s career gradually declined and her contract with Atlantic Records ended. This period became difficult for the Respect singer as she had not yet found her own path and did not know how to balance her personal life and career. In addition, the famous singer was involved in financial fraud and tax evasion, leading to many legal troubles as well as a personal financial crisis. Also during this period, her father had a serious accident that resulted in a coma.
Having gone through ups and downs in her art, the female singer has now become an irreplaceable name. Photo: Getty Images
The low notes of Aretha Franklin’s life began to fade and disappear when this powerful voice rose with the soundtrack of the movie Sparkle . Soon after, she had the song Something he can feel topping the R&B charts. Subsequent albums such as Sweet Passion and La Diva helped the star 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in 1942 regain her inherent peak form as an artist who is always worshiped as a queen.
In the early 1990s, when the musical tastes of American audiences were no longer R&B or disco but shifted to pop music. During this period, solo singers gradually became less prominent, giving way to the male/female band model. In the midst of the decline of the old, audiences around the world still saw Aretha Franklin regularly releasing music products, passionately and passionately on large and small stages all over the world.
Besides maintaining her passion and unceasing love for her own music, Aretha Franklin also showed herself to be a singer who knows how to update trends when releasing the album Aretha Franklin sings the great diva classics in 2014. The final musical product in the great musical career of this famous singer includes famous songs that she covered by many of the most popular names today: Rolling in the deep (Adele), I will survive (Gloria Gayno), No one (Alicia Keys)…
Aretha Franklin’s songs have touched the hearts of fans for decades and her music has become an unforgettable mark. Photo: Daily timesAt the time, Aretha Franklin received much respect from powerful figures, including Barack Obama. The female singer performed the classic song America’ my country tis of thee at the inauguration of the US president in 2009. In 2015, at the concert honoring herself, Aretha Franklin performed the song (You make me feel like) a natural woman . The excellent performance of the female singer made the head of the White House at that time shed tears when enjoying it.
Former US President Barack Obama and his wife also expressed their condolences and great admiration for the singer. “In Aretha Franklin’s voice, we could feel history, strength, pain, darkness and light as well as respect for the singer. She helped us feel more connected, more hopeful and more human,” Mr. Barack Obama shared upon the news of his beloved artist’s passing.
From now on, the world’s musical heritage has lost a great talent, music lovers have lost an immortal monument. But the passing of Aretha Franklin cannot prevent her name from living forever in the hearts of music lovers, nor can it prevent the immortal songs of this famous female singer from living forever with time. Looking at the massive career of the music legend 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in 1942, many people will wonder: When will America have another talent on par with Aretha Franklin?
