Aretha Franklin

Biography

Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", Rolling Stone twice named her as the greatest singer of all time. With global sales of over 75 million records, Franklin is one of the world's best-selling music artists. As a child, Franklin was noticed for her gospel singing at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she was signed as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While her career did not immediately flourish, Franklin found acclaim and commercial success once she signed with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", "Respect", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Chain of Fools", "Think", and "I Say a Little Prayer", propelled Franklin past her musical peers. Franklin continued to record acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Lady Soul (1968), Spirit in the Dark (1970), Young, Gifted and Black (1972), Amazing Grace (1972), and Sparkle (1976), before experiencing problems with the record company. Franklin left Atlantic in 1979 and signed with Arista Records. The singer appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers before releasing the successful albums Jump to It (1982), Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985) and Aretha (1986) on the Arista label. In 1998, Franklin returned to the Top 40 with the Lauryn Hill-produced song "A Rose Is Still a Rose"; later, she released an album with the same name. Franklin 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. Besides the foregoing, the singer's well-known hits also include "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" and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (a duet with George Michael). Franklin won 18 Grammy Awards (out of 44 nominations), including the first eight awards given for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (1968–1975), a Grammy Awards Living Legend honor and Lifetime Achievement Award. Franklin received numerous honors throughout her career. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1987, she became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She also was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2019, the Pulitzer Prize jury awarded the songwriter a posthumous special citation "for her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades". In 2020, Franklin was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. .. Source: Article "Aretha Franklin" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Known For

Mrs. Murphy

The Blues Brothers

Self - Performer

VH1: Divas Live

Self

Motown 40: The Music is Forever

Mrs. Murphy

Blues Brothers 2000

Self

The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts

Self (archive footage)

Britney Spears: In the Zone

Self (archive footage)

Classic Soul at the BBC

Self

The Rodney Dangerfield Show: It's Not Easy Bein' Me

Self (archive footage)

Burt Bacharach at the BBC

Self (archive footage)

Led Zeppelin Played Here

Self

Aretha Franklin: Duets

Self

George Michael - Twenty Five

Self

Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul

Self

Tom Dowd & The Language of Music

Self

Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars

Self (archive footage)

WHAM!

Self

Aretha Franklin: The Legendary Concertgebouw Concert Amsterdam 1968

Self

Aretha Franklin - Live at Park West 1985

Self

Muscle Shoals

Self (archive footage)

Aretha Franklin: Respect

Self

Sam Cooke: Legend

Self

Aretha Franklin: Berns Salonger 1968

Self

The Greatest Ears in Town: The Arif Mardin Story

Self

Aretha Franklin - Live in Paris

Self (archive footage)

Freedom : La Story de George Michael

Self

George Michael Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael

Self

Night of 100 Stars III

Self (archive footage)

Queens of Soul at the BBC

Woody Allen Looks at 1967

Self (archive footage)

2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Self (archive footage)

Casey Kasem's Rock n' Roll Goldmine: The Soul Years

Self (archive footage)

They All Came Out to Montreux

Self

Jazz at the White House

Self (archive footage)

George Michael: Portrait of an Artist

Self

Arista Records' 25th Anniversary Celebration

Self

VH1 Divas Live: The One and Only Aretha Franklin

Self

Grammy's Greatest Stories: A 60th Anniversary Special

Self

Rhythm and Blues 40: A Soul Spectacular

Self

Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built

Self - Interviewee

American Dream: Detroit

Self (archive footage)

This Is Bob Hope...

Self

Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Self

Queens Of Pop: Aretha Franklin

Mrs. Murphy (archive footage)

It's Black Entertainment

Self

The Midnight Special Legendary Performances: Million Sellers

Self

James Brown & Friends: A Night of Super Soul

Self (archive footage)

Aretha Franklin Remembered (My Music)

Self

The Stories Behind the Making of 'The Blues Brothers'

Self (archive footage)

The Apollo

Self

Aretha Franklin: Swing In '68

self

Lady Soul: Aretha Franklin på Berns

Self (archive footage)

The Best of Bob Hope: 50 Years of Laughter — Volume 1

Self (archive footage)

The Best of Bob Hope: 50 Years of Laughter — Volume 2

Self (archive footage)

Aretha Franklin, soul sister

Homebuilt Computer / Singer (voice)

The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue

Self

Women in Rock

Self (archive footage)

Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President

Self

WrestleMania III

Self (archive footage)

Say Hello to Our Good Friend Paul Shaffer