Lorna O’ Hanlon is a writer and contributor to Historianspeaks.org
Aretha Franklin is known as the Queen of Soul. Her roots in jazz and gospel music and confidence in her artistry were the pillars of her career. She learned to play piano by ear as a child and would later refuse to take lessons. Franklin believed that playing by ear gave her the treasured signature style which she vowed to never abandon. Aretha Franklin always sang like a woman in control.
Much of Franklin’s ability to control her craft developed in her childhood. She was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Barbara and Rev. Clarence LaVaughn Franklin in 1942. The family eventually moved to Detroit, Michigan. C. L. Franklin became the pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church where Aretha began her career in gospel music. As a young singer, Franklin was influenced by her father who was well-known for his fervent and rhythmic preaching and s his musical talents. Many of the major musical legends of the era were friends of Aretha’s father and frequent guests in the Franklin home. These individuals included Dinah Washington, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and the gospel singer Clara Ward who greatly influenced the young artist.
Franklin’s musical influences included Sam Cooke and Dinah Washington. At age 14, Franklin recorded her first album at New Bethel Baptist Church. She moved to New York at age 18. After one meeting with jazz pianist, Phil Moore , he declared that the singer’s style “had already been developed, and requires no alteration.” Franklin was quickly signed by Columbia Records. Producer John Hammond pronounced her “an untutored genius — the best voice I’ve heard since Billie Holiday.” Her first album, Aretha: With the Ray Bryant Combo was released in 1961.
Franklin made an indelible stamp on R&B in the 1960s when she signed with Atlantic records. Her first album I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You was a tremendous success. Her next two albums Lady Soul and Aretha Now firmly established her as a premier R&B singer. The albums launched the incredibly popular singles “Chain of Fools,” and “Think.” These songs coupled with her transformational recording of the Otis Redding song “Respect” defined her musical style. They remain popular feminist anthems, resonating with audiences in a voice that is defiant, uplifting, and resilient. Not unlike her feminist anthems, Franklin’s work in gospel has also been pathbreaking. In the 1970s her gospel album, Amazing Grace sold over 2 million copies. The album was a two-night live recording and reinterpretation of gospel standards including Mahalia Jackson’s “How I Got Over.” Franklin experienced a downturn in her career in the mid-late 1970s. She produced three albums for Warner Bros that did not do well on the charts.
The 1980’s witnessed a resurgence in Franklin’s career. She signed with Clive Davis and Arista Records. The decade began with her memorable on-screen performance in the popular movie The Blues Brothers. Her album Jump to It featured a title track of the same name that became a top 40 single on the pop charts. In the mid-1980s, she released Who’s Zoomin Who, an album tailored to younger audiences. The approach paid off. This album became her first Arista album to go platinum. Gritty R&B songs such as “Freeway of Love” and “Another Night” helped the album to sell over one million copies. The next year, her album Aretha mirrored the success of her previous work. Songs like “Jumpin Jack Flash,” “Jimmy Lee” and “I Knew You Were Waiting for Me” were popular and chart busting. Franklin also continued her work in television by contributing her voice to theme songs for A Different World and Together. She also performed “America the Beautiful” at the WWE WrestleMania II in Michigan at the end of the decade.
Franklin’s range as a musical performer was on display in the 1990’s. In addition to performances in The Wiz as Aunt Em, and at the Grammy Awards in 1995, she was drafted to give an operatic performance. After the famed opera singer Luciana Pavarotti fell ill, Franklin was asked to perform “Nessun dorma”. Over one billion people worldwide saw the event.
In the first decade of the 21stcentury, Franklin continued to showcase her artistry and shatter barriers. In 2005, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2008, she was named the MusiCares Person of the year. The following year, she performed “My Country Tis of Thee” at President Barack Obama’s inauguration. In 2015, she became the first woman to have 100 songs on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with her rendition of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”
Despite tremendous success, Franklin lost 4 siblings, 3 to cancer, between 1989 and 2002. The singer was usually reticent about sharing personal details about her life, and some close to her described her deep insecurities. Franklin was diagnosed with a pancreatic malignant tumor in 2017. Her last performance was that November at the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 25thanniversary gala. Franklin died in 2018 at age 76. Her 2017 album A Brand New Me with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, used archived recordings from Franklin. It reached the No. 5 spot on the Billboard Top Classical Albums chart and moved up to the No. 2 spot after her death.
Franklin’s musical influence can be seen today in the work of female artists from Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight to Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys. Her live performances are legendary. Franklin’s impeccable vocals, regal stage presence, and dramatic wardrobe set her apart from other performers. Aretha Franklin’s remarkable staying power kept her relevant. Her unyielding vocals became the musical touchstone for the tumultuous 1960s up through the first two decades of the 21st. When told that her music was “pain driven, “ Franklin objected. The power behind Franklin’s music was her confidence as an artist, a woman and an African American.
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This post was previously published on historianspeaks.org.
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