|
The last great voice of the 20th Century appears to be entering the final days of her remarkable life.
A truly iconic performer revered by fans and fellow artists of every genre of music. Her early recordings of gospel and her later powerful yet effortless recordings of gospel/R&B soul mix were simply awesome.
Aretha Franklin was born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee, the fourth of five children of a Baptist preacher and a gospel singer.
A gifted singer and pianist, Franklin went on tour with her father's traveling revival show and later went to New York and signed with Columbia records. She went on to release several popular singles, many of which are now considered classics.
In 1987, she became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Franklin won her 18th Grammy Award in 2008, making her one of the most honored artists in Grammy history.
Franklin's musical gifts became apparent at an early age. Largely self-taught, she was regarded as a child prodigy. A gifted pianist with a powerful voice, Franklin sang in front of her father's Detroit congregation.
By the age of 14, she recorded some of her earliest tracks at the church along with having her first child.
She also performed with C.L.'s traveling revival show and, while on tour, she befriended gospel greats such as Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke and Clara Ward.
Franklin cemented her reign in 1967 and 1968 with a string of hit singles that would become enduring classics. In 1967, the album "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)" was released. The first song on the album, "Respect," an empowered cover of an Otis Redding track, reached No. 1 on both the R&B and pop charts, and won Aretha her first two Grammy Awards. She also had top 10 hits with "Baby I Love You,'' "Think," "Chain of Fools,'' "I Say A Little Prayer," and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.
She has 45 hit records to her name and is rightly acknowledged as “The Queen of Soul” and is considered by most to be the greatest soul voice of all time and ranks alongside Crosby, Sinatra, and Fitzgerald as one of the 20th century’s greatest popular voices.
|
