Aretha Franklin — the Queen of Soul — was an American singer, songwriter pianist and social activist. In celebration of what would’ve been Franklin’s 80th birthday, we explore the Queen’s legacy.
She is one of the best-selling music artists ever, having achieved global sales of over 75 million records. Her chart statistics are incredibly impressive — she recorded 112 charted singles on the US Billboard charts, including 73 Hot 100 entries, 17 top-ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries and 20 number-one R&B singles. Franklin’s career spanned several decades and she was very highly honoured:
- She won 18 Grammys (making her one of the most honoured artists in Grammy history), plus a Grammy Legend Award (1991) and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1994)
- Had her voice declared a Michigan “natural resource” (1985)
- Was the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987)
- Was a Kennedy Center Honouree (1994) — an honour given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture
- Received the National Medal of Arts (1999) — the highest honour an artist can be awarded by the US government
- Received a Presidential Medal of Freedom (2005)
- Ranked number #1 on Rolling Stone’s list of “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” and twice been placed ninth on its list of “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.
- She was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame (2005) and into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (2012)
- Was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation “for her indelible contribution to American music and culture or more than five decades” (2019). She is the first individual woman to receive this award
- Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame (2020)
Music Career
Franklin began her career as a child, singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church where her father C. L. Franklin — known as the man with the “Million-Dollar Voice” — gained national fame as a preacher. Largely self-taught, Franklin’s musical gifts became apparent at an early age. She was a gifted pianist with a powerful voice and was regarded as a child prodigy. By the age of 14, Franklin released an album she had recorded at the church titled Songs of Faith (1965) with the help of local record label, J-V-B Records.
In 1960, at the age of 18, she signed with Columbia Records, with whom she released her first non-gospel album Aretha: With the Ray Bryant Combo (1961). Her career did not flourish at first as the label continually suppressed her artistic impulses. The keyboard playing and song arrangements – two of Franklin’s particular strengths – on Aretha… (1961) were left to her male backing ensemble and production crew.
Franklin found commercial success once she signed with Atlantic Records (1966), where producer Jerry Wexler was determined to bring out her most fiery and soulful traits. At Atlantic, Franklin was given significantly more freedom which resulted in her creating some of the most inventive and exciting soul music of the era. Her expressive and powerful vocals, complemented by skilfully executed yet profound piano melodies, propelled her to international stardom in the late 60s and early 70s.
By 1975, Franklin’s sound was fading into the background with the onset of the disco craze. A string of chart failures ended Franklin’s relationship with Atlantic in 1979. However, a cameo in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers helped Franklin revive her flagging career and she soon signed to Arista Records — with whom she released Jump To It (1982). The gave Franklin her tenth number one R&B album (an all-time record at the time) and earned her a Grammy nomination.
Franklin made a full return to form with Who’s Zoomin’ Who? (1985) — an album strongly influenced by the popular genres of the time (including dance-pop, synth-pop, contemporary R&B, and pop songs with crossover appeal), meaning it had a more modern sound to it. It was extremely well-received by critics, with many hailing this as her comeback album. Zoomin’ became her biggest-selling album to date and was received a platinum certification from the RIAA. Her follow-up Aretha (1986), also charted well and eventually went gold.
Though her album sales in the 1990s and 2000s failed to approach the numbers of previous decades, Franklin had long-cemented her position as one of the best-selling music artists of all time and the undisputed Queen of Soul.
Source: Flickr
Activism
If you thought the legacy of the late legend is all about her music, you only know half the story. From her time growing up in the home of a prominent Black preacher to the end of her life, Franklin was involved in the struggles for social justice.
Her father was responsible for organising the famous Detroit Walk to Freedom, and it was at his church that Dr Martin Luther King Jr. delivered an early version of his “I Have a Dream” speech to more than 100,000 marchers.
Franklin’s songs Respect and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman became powerful anthems for civil rights and feminist movements — a legacy that still lives on today. Franklin notes how the song captured the essence of the era in her autobiography (1999):
“It (reflected) the need of a nation, the need of the average man and woman in the street, the businessman, the mother, the fireman, the teacher—everyone wanted respect.”
Many saw Franklin as a symbol of black America itself. As her fame grew, she offered to use her resources to support various social causes. Her activism wasn’t exclusively limited to Black and feminist issues — she was also a strong supporter of Native American rights. She donated money to various groups (at times covering payroll) and often performed at benefits and protests. Franklin didn’t hesitate to risk her reputation and money to support Angela Davis (at a time when the latter was called a “dangerous terrorist” by Richard Nixon), who had been arrested for various crimes related to her work with the Black Power movement.
Franklin maintained this attitude right up until her death in 2018. Her final act came in 2017 when she refused to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration. The Queen of Soul abhorred his politics and remarked that “no amount of money” could persuade her to take the stage. Civil rights activist, Al Sharpton, called her a “civil rights and humanitarian icon”.
In 2015, President Barack 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… 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.”
Happy Birthday, Queen Aretha!
Source: Picryl
Top 20 Songs:
- “Respect”
- “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”
- “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
- “I Say a Little Prayer”
- “Chain of Fools“
- “Think“
- “A Rose Is Still a Rose”
- “Ain’t No Way“
- “Call Me“
- “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)“
- “Spanish Harlem“
- “Rock Steady“
- “Day Dreaming“
- “Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)“
- “Something He Can Feel“
- “Jump to It“
- “Freeway of Love”
- “Who’s Zoomin’ Who”
- “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”
- “Amazing Grace”
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