The Franklins had a troubled marriage because of C. L. Franklin's infidelities, and they separated in 1948.[15] At that time, Barbara Franklin returned to Buffalo with Aretha's half-brother, Vaughn.[16] After the separation, Aretha recalled seeing her mother in Buffalo during the summer, and Barbara Franklin frequently visited her children in Detroit.[17][16] Aretha's mother died of a heart attack on March 7, 1952, before Aretha's 10th birthday.[18] Several women, including Aretha's grandmother, Rachel, andMahalia Jackson, took turns helping with the children at the Franklin home.[19] During this time, Aretha learned how to play piano by ear.[20] She also attended public school in Detroit, going through her first year atNorthern High School, but dropping out during her second year.[21]
Aretha's father's emotionally driven sermons resulted in his being known as the man with the "million-dollar voice". He earned thousands of dollars for sermons in various churches across the country.[22][23] His fame led to his home being visited by various celebrities. Among the visitors were gospel musiciansClara Ward,James Cleveland, and earlyCaravans membersAlbertina Walker andInez Andrews.Martin Luther King Jr.,Jackie Wilson andSam Cooke all became friends of C. L. Franklin, as well.[24][25] Ward was romantically involved with Aretha's father from around 1949 until Ward's death in 1973, though Aretha "preferred to view them strictly as friends".[26] Ward also served as arole model to the young Aretha.[27][28]
Musical career
1952–1960: Beginnings
Just after her mother's death, Franklin began singing solos atNew Bethel Baptist Church, debuting with the hymn "Jesus, Be a Fence Around Me".[19][29] When Franklin was 12, her father beganmanaging her; he would take her on the road with him, during his "gospel caravan" tours for her to perform in various churches.[30] He also helped her sign her first recording deal withJ.V.B. Records. Franklin was featured on vocals and piano.[31] In 1956, J.V.B. released Franklin's first single, "Never Grow Old", backed with "You Grow Closer". "Precious Lord(Part One)" backed with "Precious Lord(Part Two)" followed in 1959. These four tracks, with the addition of "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood", were released on side one of the 1956 album,Spirituals. This was reissued by Battle Records in 1962, under the same title.[32] In 1965,Checker Records releasedSongs of Faith, featuring the five tracks from the 1956Spirituals album, with the addition of four previously unreleased recordings. Aretha was only 14 whenSongs of Faith was recorded.[33]
During this time, Franklin would occasionally travel withthe Soul Stirrers.[34] As a young gospel singer, Franklin spent summers on the gospel circuit in Chicago and stayed withMavis Staples's family.[35]According to music producerQuincy Jones, while Franklin was still young,Dinah Washington let him know that "Aretha was the 'next one'".[36] Franklin and her father traveled to California, where she met singerSam Cooke.[37] At the age of 16, Franklin went on tour with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and she would ultimately sing at his funeral in 1968.[38] Other influences in her youth includedMarvin Gaye, as well as Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, "two of Franklin's greatest influences".[39] Also important wasJames Cleveland, known as the King of Gospel music, "who helped to focus her early career as a gospel singer"; Cleveland had been recruited by her father as a pianist for the Southern California Community Choir.[40][41]
After turning 18, Franklin confided to her father that she aspired to follow Sam Cooke in recording pop music, and moved to New York.[25] Serving as her manager, C. L. Franklin agreed to the move and helped to produce a two-song demo that soon was brought to the attention ofColumbia Records, who agreed to sign her in 1960, as a "five-percent artist".[42] During this period, Franklin would be coached by choreographerCholly Atkins to prepare for her pop performances. Before signing with Columbia, Sam Cooke tried to persuade Franklin's father to sign her with his label,RCA Victor, but she had already decided to go with Columbia.[33]Berry Gordy had also asked Franklin and her elder sisterErma to sign with hisTamla label, but C. L. Franklin turned Gordy down, as he felt Tamla was not yet an established label.[43] Franklin's first Columbia single, "Today I Sing the Blues",[44] was issued in September 1960 and later reached the top 10 of theHot R&B Sides chart.[45]
In the 1960s, during a performance at theRegal Theater in Chicago,WVON radio personalityPervis Spann announced that Franklin should be crowned "the Queen of Soul".[52][35] Spann ceremonially placed a crown on her head.[53] By 1964, Franklin began recording more pop music, reaching the top 10 on the R&B chart with the ballad "Runnin' Out of Fools", in early 1965. She had two R&B charted singles in 1965 and 1966, with the songs "One Step Ahead" and "Cry Like a Baby", while also reaching theEasy Listening charts with the ballads "You Made Me Love You" and "(No, No) I'm Losing You". By the mid-1960s, Franklin was making $100,000 per year from countless performances in nightclubs and theaters.[48] Also during that period, she appeared on rock-and-roll shows, such asHollywood a Go-Go andShindig! However, she struggled with commercial success while at Columbia. Label executiveJohn H. Hammond later said he felt Columbia did not understand Franklin's early gospel background and failed to bring that aspect out further during her period there.[44]
1966–1979: Atlantic years
Franklin in 1967
In November 1966, Franklin's Columbia recording contract expired; at that time, she owed the company money because record sales had not met expectations.[54] ProducerJerry Wexler convinced her to move toAtlantic Records.[55][56] Wexler decided that he wanted to take advantage of her gospel background; his philosophy in general was to encourage a "tenacious form of rhythm & blues that became increasingly identified as soul".[41] The Atlantic days would lead to a series of hits for Aretha Franklin between 1967 and early 1972; her rapport with Wexler helped in the creation of the majority of her peak recordings on the Atlantic label. The next seven years' achievements were less impressive. However, according toRolling Stone, "they weren't as terrible as some claimed, they were pro forma and never reached for new heights".[57]
In January 1967, Franklin traveled toMuscle Shoals, Alabama, to record atFAME Studios and recorded the song "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", backed by theMuscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Franklin only spent one day recording at FAME, as an altercation broke out between her manager and husbandTed White, studio ownerRick Hall, and a horn player, and sessions were abandoned.[44][58] The song was released the following month and reached number one on the R&B chart, while also peaking at number nine on theBillboard Hot 100, giving Franklin her first top-ten pop single. The song's B-side, "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", reached the R&B top 40, peaking at number 37. "Respect" wasOtis Redding's song but Aretha modified it with a "supercharged interlude featuring the emphatic spelling-out of the song's title".[40] Her frenetic version was released in April and reached number one on both the R&B and pop charts. "Respect" became hersignature song and was later hailed as acivil rights andfeminist anthem.[44][59] Upon hearing her version, Otis Redding said admiringly: "That little girl done took my song away from me."[60] Franklin's debut Atlantic album,I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, also became commercially successful, later going gold. According toNational Geographic, this recording "would catapult Franklin to fame".[57] Franklin scored two additional top-ten singles in 1967: "Baby I Love You" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman".[61]
Working with Wexler and Atlantic, Franklin had become "the most successful singer in the nation" by 1968.[62] In 1968, Franklin issued the top-selling albumsLady Soul andAretha Now, which included some of her most popular hit singles, including "Chain of Fools", "Ain't No Way", "Think", and "I Say a Little Prayer". That February, Franklin earned the first two of her Grammys, including the debut category forBest Female R&B Vocal Performance.[63] On February 16, Franklin was honored with a day named for her and was greeted by longtime friend Martin Luther King Jr., who gave her theSCLC Drum Beat Award for Musicians less than two months beforehis death.[64][65][66] Franklin toured outside the US for the first time in late April/May 1968, including an appearance at theConcertgebouw, Amsterdam,[67] where she played to a near-hysterical audience who covered the stage with flower petals.[68] She performed two concerts in London, at theFinsbury Park Astoria and theHammersmith Odeon on May 11 and May 12.[69] In June 1968, she appeared on thecover ofTime magazine in a portrait illustration byBoris Chaliapin.[70]
In March 1969, Franklin was unanimously voted winner ofAcadémie du Jazz's R&B award, Prix Otis Redding, for her albumsLady Soul,Aretha Now, andAretha in Paris.[71] That year, Franklin was the subject of a criminalimpersonation scheme. Another woman performed at several Florida venues under the name Aretha Franklin. Suspicion was drawn when the fake Franklin charged only a fraction of the expected rate to perform. Franklin's lawyers contacted Florida authorities and uncovered a coercive scheme in which the singer,Vickie Jones, had been threatened with violence and constrained into impersonating her idol, whom she resembled closely both in voice and looks.[72] After being cleared of wrongdoing, Jones subsequently enjoyed a brief career of her own, during which she was herself the subject of an impersonation.
In January 1972, she returned togospel music in a two-night, live-church recording, with the albumAmazing Grace, in which she reinterpreted standards such as Mahalia Jackson's "How I Got Over".[75] Originally released in June 1972,Amazing Grace sold more than two million copies,[76] and is one of bestselling gospel albums of all time.[77] The live performances were filmed fora concert film directed bySydney Pollack, but because of synching problems and Franklin's own attempts to prevent the film's distribution, the film's release was only realized by producer Alan Elliott in November 2018.[78]
Franklin's career began to experience problems while recording the albumHey Now Hey, which featured production fromQuincy Jones. Despite the success of the single "Angel", the album bombed upon its release in 1973. Franklin continued having R&B success with songs such as "Until You Come Back to Me" and "I'm in Love", but by 1975 her albums and songs were no longer top sellers. After Jerry Wexler left Atlantic forWarner Bros. Records in 1976, Franklin worked on thesoundtrack to the filmSparkle withCurtis Mayfield. The album yielded Franklin's final top forty pop hit of the decade, "Something He Can Feel", which also peaked at number one on the R&B chart. Franklin's follow-up albums for Atlantic, includingSweet Passion (1977),Almighty Fire (1978) andLa Diva (1979), bombed on the charts, and in 1979 Franklin left the company.[79] On November 7, 1979, she guestedThe Mike Douglas Show with her yellow costume from herLa Diva album, and sang "Ladies Only", "What If I Should Ever Need You" and "Yesterday" bythe Beatles.[80]
1980–2007: Arista years
Franklin in 1998
In 1980, after leaving Atlantic Records,[81] Franklin signed withClive Davis'sArista Records.[82] "Davis was beguiling and had the golden touch", according toRolling Stone. "If anybody could rejuvenate Franklin's puzzlingly stuck career, it was Davis."[41] Franklin participated in the musical comedy film,The Blues Brothers, in a cameo guest role as asoul food restaurant proprietor and wife ofMatt "Guitar" Murphy.[83][84] In November of that year, Franklin participated in the Royal Variety Performance at theLondon Palladium in front ofQueen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, directed by Louis Benjamin in celebration of fifty years of entertainment.[85]
Franklin's first Arista release,Aretha, was released in 1980 and produced the top three R&B hit single "United Together". While not released as a single, Franklin'sfunk-influenced cover of Otis Redding's "I Can't Turn You Loose" on the same album resulted in her first Grammy nomination in four years.
For her next Arista release, Clive Davis hired rising soul singerLuther Vandross to produce, resulting inJump to It (1982). Producing her first top 40 single on theBillboard Hot 100 since "Something He Can Feel" with the danceabletitle track", the album would become her first since theSparkle soundtrack seven years earlier to receive a gold certification from the RIAA.[86]
Eschewing her R&B and soul roots, the album brought on a crossoverpop sound with elements of synthesizeddance-rock andurban pop.[88] Featuring the top ten Hot 100 hits such as "Freeway of Love" andthe title track, the album peaked at number thirteen on theBillboard 200, her highest peak in nearly 20 years and was her first album to be certified platinum in the United States. Part of the album's success was due to exposure on the then-fledglingmusic video channelMTV, which also exposed Franklin to a younger audience. Franklin also achieved a top 20 hit with the duet, "Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves" with the new wave bandEurythmics.
Over a year later in 1986, Franklin issued her sixth Arista release,Aretha (sometimes referred to asAretha '86). The Walden-produced album went gold on the strength of her globally successful duet withGeorge Michael, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)", which became her first single in nearly twenty years to top theBillboard Hot 100 and also topped the charts in the United Kingdom and Australia and resulted in Grammy wins for Franklin. Other hit singles onAretha included a pop-rock rendition of "Jumpin' Jack Flash", culled from theWhoopi Goldberg-starringfilm of the same name, and "Jimmy Lee".
Throughout 1987, Franklin provided vocals to the theme songs of the TV showsA Different World andTogether.[89] Also in 1987, the artist performed "America the Beautiful" atWWE'sWrestlemania III; one source states that "to this day her WrestleMania III performance might be the most memorable" of the event openers by many artists.[90] That same year, Franklin released her second full-length gospel album,One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, which was recorded at her late father's New Bethel church.
After 1988, "Franklin never again had huge hits", according toRolling Stone.[41] In 1989, Franklin reunited with Narada Michael Walden on the album,Through the Storm. Despite the appearances ofElton John and fellow label mate and "honorary niece"Whitney Houston, the album sold poorly, as did her 1991 follow-up,What You See is What You Sweat. Both albums attempted to bring Franklin to thenew jack swing era but were critical failures as well.
In 1995, Franklin portrayedAunt Em in theApollo Theater revival ofThe Wiz. That year, Franklin contributed to thesoundtrack ofWaiting to Exhale, after being handpicked by Whitney Houston to perform the ballad "It Hurts Like Hell", which reached theBillboard R&B charts.
Three years after that, Franklin released the album,A Rose Is Still a Rose, which produced her final top 40 single with thetitle track, with both the album and single earning gold certifications.[92]
That same year, Franklin received global praise after her1998 Grammy Awards performance. She had initially been asked to perform in honor of the 1980 filmThe Blues Brothers, in which she appeared withDan Aykroyd andJohn Belushi. That evening, after the show had already begun, another performer, opera tenorLuciano Pavarotti became too ill to perform the aria "Nessun dorma" as planned. The show's producers, desperate to fill the time slot, approached Franklin with their dilemma. She was a friend of Pavarotti and had sung the aria two nights prior at the annualMusiCares event. She asked to hear Pavarotti's rehearsal recording, and after listening, agreed that she could sing it in thetenor range that the orchestra was prepared to play in. Over one billion people worldwide saw the performance, and she received an immediatestanding ovation.
She would go on to record the selection and perform it live several more times in the years to come. The last time she sang the aria live was forPope Francis at theWorld Meeting of Families inPhiladelphia in September 2015. A small boy was so touched by her performance that he came onto the stage and embraced her while Franklin was still singing.[93][94]
Her final Arista album,So Damn Happy, was released in 2003 and featured the Grammy-winning song "Wonderful". In 2004, Franklin announced that she was leaving Arista after more than 20 years with the label.[95]
In 2007, Franklin would perform America the Beautiful atWrestleMania 23, 20 years since her performance at WrestleMania 3, where she was specfically chosen to reflect the events "all grown up" theme and tagline.[98]
2007–2018: Final years
In 2008, Franklin issued the holiday albumThis Christmas, Aretha on DMI Records.[99] On February 8, 2008, Franklin was honored as theMusiCares Person of the Year, and performed "Never Gonna Break My Faith", which had won her theGrammy for best gospel performance[100] the year before. Twelve years later, an unheard performance of "Never Gonna Break My Faith" was released in June 2020 to commemorateJuneteenth with a new video visualizing the American human rights movement. This caused the song to enter theBillboard gospel charts at number one, giving Franklin the distinction of having had a number one record in every decade since the 1960s. On November 18, 2008, she performed "Respect" and "Chain of Fools" atDancing with the Stars.
In 2014, Franklin was signed under RCA Records, controller of the Arista catalog and a sister label to Columbia viaSony Music Entertainment, and worked with Clive Davis. There were plans for her to record an album produced byDanger Mouse, who was replaced withBabyface andDon Was when Danger Mouse left the project.[101] On September 29, 2014, Franklin performed to a standing ovation, withCissy Houston as backup, a compilation ofAdele's "Rolling in the Deep" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" on theLate Show with David Letterman. Franklin's cover of "Rolling in the Deep" was featured among nine other songs in her first RCA release,Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, released in October 2014.[102] In doing so, she became the first woman to have 100 songs onBillboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with the success of her cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep", which debuted at number 47 on the chart.[103]
In December 2015, Franklin gave an acclaimed performance of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" at the 2015Kennedy Center Honors during the section for honoreeCarole King, who co-wrote the song.[104][105][106] During the swelling bridge of the song, Franklin dramatically dropped her fur coat from her shoulders to the stage, for which the audience rewarded her with a mid-performancestanding ovation.[107][108] Dropping the coat was symbolic according to "Rolling Stone": it "echoed back to those times when gospel queens would toss their furs on top of the coffins of other gospel queens — a gesture that honored the dead but castigated death itself".[41]
She returned to Detroit'sFord Field on Thanksgiving Day 2016 to once again perform the national anthem before the game between theMinnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. Seated behind the piano, wearing a black fur coat and Lions stocking cap, Franklin gave a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" that lasted more than four minutes and featured a host of improvisations.[109] Franklin released the albumA Brand New Me in November 2017 with theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra, which uses archived recordings from Franklin.[110]
Franklin waiting to perform at the White House, in 2015
According toRichie Unterberger, Franklin was "one of the giants of soul music, and indeed of American pop as a whole. More than any other performer, she epitomized soul at its most gospel-charged".[1] She had often been described as a great singer and musician because of "vocal flexibility, interpretive intelligence, skillful piano-playing, her ear, her experience".[117] Franklin's voice was described as being a "powerfulmezzo-soprano voice". She was praised for her arrangements and interpretations of other artists' hit songs.[118] According toDavid Remnick, what "distinguishes her is not merely the breadth of her catalog or the cataract force of her vocal instrument; it's her musical intelligence, her way of singing behind the beat, of spraying a wash of notes over a single word or syllable, of constructing, moment by moment, the emotional power of a three-minute song. 'Respect' is as precise an artifact as a Ming vase."[108] Describing Franklin's voice on her first album,Songs of Faith, released in 1956 when she was just 14, Jerry Wexler explained that it "was not that of a child but rather of an ecstatichierophant".[119] Critic Randy Lewis assessed her skills as a pianist as "magic" and "inspirational". Musicians and professionals alike – such as Elton John,Keith Richards, Carole King, and Clive Davis – were fans of her piano performances.[120] In 2015, PresidentBarack Obama wrote the following regarding Franklin:
Nobody embodies more fully the connection between the African-American spiritual, the blues, R. & B., rock and roll—the way that hardship and sorrow were transformed into something full of beauty and vitality and hope. American history wells up when Aretha sings. That's why, when she sits down at a piano and sings 'A Natural Woman,' she can move me to tears—the same way that Ray Charles's version of 'America the Beautiful' will always be in my view the most patriotic piece of music ever performed—because it captures the fullness of the American experience, the view from the bottom as well as the top, the good and the bad, and the possibility of synthesis, reconciliation, transcendence.[121]
From her time growing up in the home of a prominent African-American preacher to the end of her life, Franklin was immersed and involved in the struggle forcivil rights andwomen's rights. She provided money for civil rights groups, at times covering payroll, and performed at benefits and protests.[122]
WhenAngela Davis was jailed in 1970, Franklin toldJet: "Angela Davis must go free ... Black people will be free. I've been locked up (for disturbing the peace in Detroit) and I know you got to disturb the peace when you can't get no peace. Jail is hell to be in. I'm going to see her free if there is any justice in our courts, not because I believe in communism, but because she's a Black woman and she wants freedom for Black people."[122]
Her songs "Respect" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" became anthems of these movements for social change.[123][124]
Franklin and several other American icons declined to take part in performing at PresidentDonald Trump's 2017 inauguration as a mass act of musical protest.[125]
Franklin was also a strong supporter of Native American rights.[126] She quietly and without fanfare supportedIndigenous peoples' struggles worldwide, and numerous movements that supported Native American andFirst Nation cultural rights.[126]
Personal life, death and funeral
Franklin moved to New York City from Detroit in the 1960s where she lived until relocating to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. She eventually settled in the Los Angeles neighborhood ofEncino, where she lived until 1982. She then returned to the Detroit suburb ofBloomfield Hills to be close to her ailing father and siblings. Franklin maintained a residence there until her death. Following an incident in 1984, she cited a fear of flying that prevented her from traveling overseas; she performed only in North America afterwards.[52] Franklin wasBaptist.[127]
Franklin was the mother of four sons. She first became pregnant at the age of 12 and gave birth to her first child, named Clarence after her father,[128] on January 28, 1955. In one of her handwritten wills, discovered in 2019, Franklin revealed that the father was Edward Jordan.[129] On August 31, 1957, at the age of 15, Franklin had a second child fathered by Jordan, named Edward Derone Franklin after his father.[130] Franklin did not like to discuss her early pregnancies with interviewers.[131] Both children took her family name. While Franklin was pursuing her singing career and "hanging out with [friends]", her grandmother Rachel and sister Erma took turns raising her children.[132] Franklin would visit them often.[133] Her third child, Ted White Jr., was born to Franklin and her husband Theodore "Ted" White in February 1964 and is known professionally as Teddy Richards.[134] He provided guitar backing for his mother's band during live concerts.[135] Her youngest son, Kecalf Cunningham, was born in April 1970 and is the child of her road manager Ken Cunningham.[136]
Franklin was married twice. Her first husband wasTed White, whom she married in 1961 at the age of 18.[137][138] She had actually seen White the first time at a party held at her house in 1954.[139] After a contentious marriage that was marred bydomestic abuse, Franklin separated from White in 1968 and divorced him in 1969.[140] She married actorGlynn Turman, on April 11, 1978, at her father's church. By marrying Turman, Franklin became stepmother of Turman's three children. Franklin and Turman separated in 1982 after she returned to Michigan from California and they divorced in 1984.[141]
Franklin's sisters,Erma andCarolyn, were professional musicians and spent years performing background vocals on Franklin's recordings. Following Franklin's divorce from Ted White, her brother Cecil became her manager and maintained that position until his death from lung cancer on December 26, 1989. Her sister Carolyn died in April 1988 from breast cancer and her eldest sister Erma died from throat cancer in September 2002. Franklin's half-brother Vaughn died in late 2002.[142] Her half-sister, Carol Ellan Kelley (née Jennings; 1940–2019), was C. L. Franklin's daughter by Mildred Jennings, a 12-year-old member of New Salem Baptist Church in Memphis where C. L. was pastor.[142] Franklin's father and idol, described as "unorthodox on every level," knowingly preyed on his pre-teen congregants.[134]
Franklin was performing at theAladdin Hotel inLas Vegas, Nevada, on June 10, 1979, when her father, C. L., was shot twice at point-blank range in his Detroit home.[143] After six months atHenry Ford Hospital while still in a coma, C. L. was moved back to his home with 24-hour nursing care. Aretha moved back to Detroit in late 1982 to assist with the care of her father, who died at Detroit's New Light Nursing Home on July 27, 1984.[144]
Franklin had a long friendship with Willie Wilkerson, aVietnam War veteran and Detroit firefighter, who also helped in her work and cared for her when ill.[145] In 2012 she announced plans to marry Wilkerson[146][147] but the engagement was quickly called off.[148] Franklin's music business friends includedDionne Warwick,Mavis Staples, andCissy Houston, who began singing with Franklin as members of theSweet Inspirations. Houston sang background on Franklin's hit "Ain't No Way". Franklin first met Cissy's young daughter,Whitney Houston, in the early 1970s. She was made Whitney's honorary aunt (not a godmother as has been occasionally reported) and Whitney often referred to her as "Auntie Ree" or "Aunt Ree".[149] Franklin had to cancel plans to perform at Whitney Houston's memorial service on February 18, 2012, because of a leg spasm.[150] Franklin was a registeredDemocrat.[151][152] While her estate had been estimated at $80 million,[153] according to theNew York Times, at her death it was valued at $18 million.[154]
Health
Franklin had weight issues for many years. In 1974, she lost 40 pounds (18 kg) on avery-low-calorie diet[155] and maintained her new weight until the end of the decade.[156] She again lost weight in the early 1990s, before gaining some back.[157] A formerchain smoker who struggled with alcoholism, she quit smoking in 1992.[158] She admitted in 1994 that her smoking was "messing with my voice",[159] but after quitting smoking she said later, in 2003, that her weight "ballooned".[160]
In 2010, Franklin canceled a number of concerts to have surgery for an undisclosed tumor.[157] Discussing the surgery in 2011, she quoted her doctor as saying that it would "add 15 to 20 years" to her life. She denied that the ailment had anything to do withpancreatic cancer, as had been reported.[161] Franklin added, "I don't have to talk about my health with anybody other than my doctors ... The problem has been resolved". Following the surgery, Franklin lost 85 lbs.; however, she denied that she had undergone weight-loss surgery.[162] On May 19, 2011, Franklin had her comeback show at theChicago Theatre.[163]
In May 2013, Franklin canceled two performances because of an undisclosed medical treatment.[164] Further concert cancellations followed in the summer[165][166][167] and fall.[168] During a phone interview with theAssociated Press in late August 2013, Franklin stated that she had had a "miraculous" recovery from her undisclosed illness but had to cancel shows and appearances until her health was at 100%, estimating she was about "85% healed".[169] Franklin later returned to live performing, including a 2013 Christmas concert at Detroit'sMotorCity Casino Hotel. She launched a multi-city tour in mid-2014, starting with a performance on June 14 in New York atRadio City Music Hall.[170]
In February 2017, Franklin announced in an interview with local Detroit television anchor, Evrod Cassimy, that 2017 would be her final year touring.[171] However, she scheduled some 2018 concert dates before canceling them based on her physician's advice.[121]
Death and funeral
On August 13, 2018, Franklin was reported to be gravely ill at her home inRiverfront Towers, Detroit.[172][173] She was underhospice care and surrounded by friends and family.Stevie Wonder,Jesse Jackson and former husband Glynn Turman visited her on her deathbed.[174] Franklin died at her home on August 16, 2018, aged 76.[175] She was initially thought to have died without a will.[176][177] The cause of death was a malignantpancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET),[178][179] which is distinct from the most common form ofpancreatic cancer.[180][181] Numerous celebrities in the entertainment industry and politicians paid tribute to Franklin, including former U.S. President Barack Obama who said she "helped define the American experience".[182] Civil rights activist and ministerAl Sharpton called her a "civil rights and humanitarian icon".[183]
WhenRolling Stone listed the "Women in Rock: 50 Essential Albums" in 2002 and again in 2012, it listed Franklin's 1967I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You at number one.[212] Inducted to theGMAGospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012, Franklin was described as "the voice of the civil rights movement, the voice of black America".[213][214] Asteroid249516 Aretha was named in her honor in 2014.[215] The next year,Billboard named her the greatest female R&B artist of all time.[216] In 2018, Franklin was inducted in to theMemphis Music Hall of Fame.
"American history wells up when Aretha sings", President Obama explained in response to her performance of "A Natural Woman" at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. "Nobody embodies more fully the connection between the African-American spiritual, the blues, R&B, rock and roll—the way that hardship and sorrow were transformed into something full of beauty and vitality and hope."[108] Franklin later recalled the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors as one of the best nights of her life.[108] On June 8, 2017, the City of Detroit honored Franklin's legacy by renaming a portion of Madison Street, between Brush and Witherell Streets, Aretha Franklin Way.[217] The Aretha Franklin Post Office Building was named in 2021, and is located at 12711 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan.[218]
Rolling Stone called Franklin "the greatest singer of her generation".[41] In April 2021, Aretha Franklin was featured inNational Geographic magazine and in the previous month, the society began airing the third season of the television seriesGenius about her life and career.[219][220] After working with the artist for nearly four decades,Clive Davis, said that Aretha "understood the essence of both language and melody and was able to take it to a place very few—if any—could". According toNational Geographic, "she was a musical genius unmatched in her range, power, and soul".[220]
After Franklin's death, fans added unofficial tributes to twoNew York City Subway stations: theFranklin Street station inManhattan, served by the1 train, and theFranklin Avenue station inBrooklyn, served by theC and S trains. Both stations were originally named after other people. Although the fan tributes were later taken down, the subway system's operator, theMetropolitan Transportation Authority, placed permanent black-and-white stickers with the word "Respect" next to the "Franklin" name signs in each station.[231][232]
On January 29, 2018,Gary Graff confirmed thatJennifer Hudson would play Franklin in abiographical film.[243] The film,Respect, was released in August 2021 in various countries.[244][245] On February 10, 2019, it was announced that the subject of the third season of the AmericanNational Geographic anthology television seriesGenius would be Franklin, in the "first-ever, definitive scripted miniseries on the life of the universally acclaimed Queen of Soul".[246] The season, starringCynthia Erivo as Franklin, was aired in March 2021. However, Franklin's family denounced the series, claiming to be uninvolved with the production process, despite the production team stating that the series had been endorsed by the Franklin estate.[247]
^Natalie Cole broke Franklin's "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" winning streak with her 1975 single "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" (which, ironically, was originally offered to Franklin).
^abSalvatore, Nick (2005).Singing in a Strange Land: C. L. Franklin, the Black Church, and the Transformation of America (hardcover). Little, Brown and Company. pp. 61–62.ISBN0-316-16037-7.
^On an ABC promo aired on July 27, 2010, announcing Franklin andCondoleezza Rice's appearing together in concert, there was a segment in which Franklin said, "I am a Democrat".
^Bernstein, Scott (December 27, 2017)."Remembering Walter Becker Of Steely Dan: 'Hey Nineteen' Banter".JamBase.com. RetrievedMarch 3, 2019.Upon its release, 'Hey Nineteen' shot all the way to #10 on the Billboard charts. 'In this song, an older man is seducing a 19-year-old girl. He's a bit conflicted, as her inexperience frustrates him when she doesn't even remember Aretha Franklin.'
