Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Regarded as the "Queen of Soul", she was twice named by Rolling Stone magazine as the greatest singer of all time.
real name: Aretha Louise Franklin
labels: Arista Records, Atlantic Records, Battle Records, Columbia Records, RCA, Warner Music Group, Checker
genres: soul, funk, gospel music, pop music, pop rock, jazz, rhythm and blues
influenced by: Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, George Michael, Nat King Cole, Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan
awards: National Medal of Arts, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Grammy Legend Award, MusiCares Person of the Year, Gospel Music Hall of Fame, Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance, Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
plays: piano, voice
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Aretha Louise Franklin was born on March 25, 1942, to Barbara (née Siggers) and Clarence LaVaughn "C. L." Franklin. She was delivered at her family's home at 406 Lucy Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee. Her father was a Baptist minister and circuit preacher originally from Shelby, Mississippi, and her mother was an accomplished piano player and vocalist. C. L. and Barbara Franklin both had children from prior relationships in addition to the four children they had together. When Aretha was two years old, the family moved to Buffalo, New York. By the time Aretha was five C. L. Franklin had permanently moved the family to Detroit, Michigan, where he took over the pastorship of the New Bethel Baptist Church.
Just after her mother's death, Franklin began singing solos at New Bethel Baptist Church, debuting with the hymn "Jesus, Be a Fence Around Me". When Franklin was 12, her father began managing her; he would take her on the road with him, during his "gospel caravan" tours for her to perform in various churches. He also helped her sign her first recording deal with J.V.B. Records. Franklin was featured on vocals and piano. 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...
According to Richie 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". She had often been described as a great singer and musician because of "vocal flexibility, interpretive intelligence, skillful piano-playing, her ear, her experience". Franklin's voice was described as being a "powerful mezzo-soprano voice". She was praised for her arrangements and interpretations of other artists' hit songs. According to David 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...
Franklin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1979, had her voice declared a Michigan "natural resource" in 1985, and became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1999, VH1 honored Franklin as the top artist in their 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll television special. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences awarded her a Grammy Legend Award in 1991, then the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. Franklin was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1994, recipient of the National Medal of Arts in 1999, recipient of the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award presented by Awards Council member Coretta Scott King, and was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 by...
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"Chain of Fools" is a song written by Don Covay. Aretha Franklin first released the song as a single in 1967, which hit number one on the Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues chart and number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
It later appeared on her 1968 album Lady Soul.
Cash Box magazine said that the song was "a smashing entry that will top both blues and pop charts" with "heavy rhythmic push, and an overwhelming vocal impact."
In 1969, Finnish jazz singer Carola tried out rhythm & blues, recording a television video of "Chain of Fools". The tongue-in-cheek choreography by Heikki Värtsi included girl group dancing and Carola whipping a man in a cave.
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" is a 1967 song recorded by American soul singer Aretha Franklin and released as a single by Atlantic from her album Lady Soul. The lyrics were written by Gerry Goffin from an idea by Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler, with music composed by Carole King.
Created specifically for Franklin, the single reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of her signature recordings. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 79 in 2018, one week after Franklin's death, marking its first appearance there more than 50 years after its original release.
Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, the song was inspired by Atlantic Records co-owner and producer Jerry Wexler. In his autobiography, Wexler recalled that he had been thinking about the idea of the "natural man" while studying African-American musical culture. After seeing King on a New York street, he called out that he wanted a "natural woman" song for Aretha Franklin's upcoming album Lady Soul. Goffin and King wrote the song that same night. In appreciation, they gave Wexler a co-writing credit.
"Something He Can Feel" is a song composed by American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer Curtis Mayfield for the 1976 motion picture Sparkle. The song, a love ballad in a Chicago-/Philly-soul style, became a number-one hit on the US Billboard's R&B singles chart in the United States twice with two separate recordings: a 1976 version by Aretha Franklin from the film's soundtrack, and a 1992 cover by girl group En Vogue.
Larry Flick of Billboard magazine complimented the song as a "lovely, retro-minded pop/R&B ballad", noting that their "remarkable trademark harmonies are always at the forefront of a musical environment that often recalls the early days of Aretha Franklin and Mary Wells." He added that the song is a "soothing interlude for all formats." Glenn Kenny from Entertainment Weekly described it as "sultry", naming it the best En Vogue song. Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report stated that here, the group "do it up stunningly, uncovering this Curtis Mayfield creation and turning it into something beyond compare." Everett True from Melody Maker said, "Effortless precision. En Vogue are the most perfectly manufactured group since Pan's People." Gerald...
A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Stefan Würnitzer. It begins with En Vogue putting on make-up. Then they perform for an audience of men in a club, standing on a stage in front of a blue curtain while wearing long red dresses. In the end, the men are giving a standing ovation for En Vogue.
"Respect" is a song by American soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding, originally recorded and released by himself in 1965 as a single from his third album Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul. After it became a crossover hit for Redding, Aretha Franklin in 1967 rearranged, rephrased, and covered it, resulting in her breakout hit and her signature song.
At first a ballad, "Respect" was brought to Redding by Earl "Speedo" Sims, who intended to record it with his band, the Singing Demons. Differing accounts exist as to who wrote the original version of the song. Bandleader Percy Welch said the writer was a guitarist at Bobby Smith's recording studio in Macon. Redding took Sims' version, rewrote the lyrics, and sped up the tempo. Sims went with the band to the Muscle Shoals studios, but was unable to produce a good version. Redding then decided to sing the song himself, to which Sims agreed. Redding also promised to credit Sims, but this never happened. Sims never pressed Redding on the issue, possibly because he himself had not really written it in the first place. Steve Cropper produced...
The song was included on Redding's third studio album, Otis Blue (1965). The album became widely successful, even outside of his largely rhythm and blues (R&B) and blues fan base. When released in the summer of 1965, the song reached the top five on Billboard's Black Singles Chart, and crossed over to pop radio's white audience, peaking at number 35 there. At the time, the song became Redding's second-largest crossover hit (after "I've Been Loving You Too Long") and paved the way to future presence on American radio. Redding performed it at the Monterey Pop Festival.
Producer Jerry Wexler booked Franklin for a series of recording dates in January–February 1967, starting with "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", recorded in Alabama at FAME Studios by engineer Tom Dowd. After an altercation between the studio owner and Franklin's husband and manager, Ted White, the sessions continued 10 days later in New York without White, recording "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", using the same engineer and musicians, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, affectionately known as the "Swampers", as in Alabama.
The resulting song was featured on Franklin's 1967 breakthrough Atlantic Records debut album, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You. As the title track became a hit on both R&B and pop radio, Atlantic Records arranged for the release of this new version of "Respect" as a single. It was released on April 10, 1967. Cash Box called the single a "frantic, driving, wailing, up-beat workout."