By: Brooke Johnpier
This week’s topic was requested by Olivia Francis.
Aretha Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She earned the name “The Queen of Soul” and was named by Rolling Stone as greatest singer of all time – twice. She has also sold over 75 million records worldwide.
Franklin was born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee. Franklin’s family had a lot of musical ties, and moved all around the country before she was five. They first moved to Buffalo, New York, when she was two, and finally relocated to Detroit, Michigan, when she was five. That was where her father was the minister of a Baptist church, and she began to notice the gospel genre.
Franklin’s parents would separate, and then her mother would die when she was ten, having her family come in to take care of her. Franklin learned to play piano by ear while her family was around, but due to complications, she would drop out of high school in her sophomore year.
At 10 years old, Franklin started singing solos at church, and at 12 she started touring around the country with her father, who was an amazing preacher. At age 14, the church recorded an album that had her included on piano and vocals and was released by a major record company. She went on tour with some more gospel groups, and even toured with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at one point. She would be one of the people to sing at his funeral in 1968.
At age 18, Franklin was signed by Columbia Records, and had a single released that would make the top 10 of the Hot Rhythm & Blues Sellers chart. A year later in January, Franklin had her first album, Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo, released. The album featured her first hit single that landed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as a song that landed number seven on the R&B chart. In 1962, Franklin released her second and third albums, The Electrifying Aretha Franklin, and The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin. The latter landed number 69 on the Billboard chart.
Franklin’s nickname was dubbed by WVON radio personality, Pervis Spann, during a performance at the Regal Theater in Chicago. “The Queen of Soul” was born that night, and would go on to live up to her name, making countless hits, getting on multiple charts over the years, and having some notable performances – including performing in front of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother at Royal Albert Hall in London, playing the hit 1980 movie Blues Brothers, singing “America the Beautiful” at WWE’s Wrestlemania III, and performing the national anthem at Super Bowl XL.
Franklin was truly a queen, leaving her mark and legacy on the world. In 1979, Franklin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1985, she was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She was also the first woman to be given a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, this one given posthumously in 2019. She has received way too many awards to list here, but trust me when I tell you that she lives up to her name.
On a more personal basis, my favorite songs from Franklin are “Respect,” “A Natural Woman,” “Amazing Grace,” “Rock Steady,” and “Call Me.” I agree with the rankings saying that she was one of the greatest singers of all time and had one of the best voices of all time. I highly encourage you to take a listen to Ms. Franklin’s work sometime; you won’t regret it.
Have a band/artist you want talked about? Email your suggestion to Brooke at johnpibl23@bonaventure.edu!
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