According to a statement issued by the late singer’s family, Franklin died at her home in Detroit the morning of August 16 after fighting an ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer.
Let’s talk a look back at her life and career.
Born in Memphis Tennessee on March 25th, Aretha Louise Franklin started off singing gospel music as a child. Her father was the minister at Bethel Baptist Church. It was on that stage she was able to hone her skills and build her confidence.
In 1960 she was signed to Columbia Records on a gospel deal. It wasn’t until signing to Atlantic Records in 1967 that she really saw her potential with hits like “Respect”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, and “Chain of Fools.” Throughout the 70s she hit a few bumps in the road within her label and also dealing with the shooting death of her father Clarence. She landed the role of Mrs. Murphy in the John Landis directed musical The Blues Brothers in 1980. The year before she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
She was a fashion icon easily becoming the young fresh face of pop-soul. In 1987 she was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1994 the National Academy of Recording and Sciences gave her the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2005 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W Bush. That same year she made a splash across the pond becoming the second female to be inducted in the UK Music Hall of Fame. In 2012 she was inducted in the GMA Gospel Hall of Fame.
Singer/actress Jennifer Hudson will portray Franklin in a biopic being produced by Clive Davis. She has 77 hot 100 entries, 17 top ten entries for Pop & R n B, and 20 R n B number one singles. She holds the record for the most charted single in the history of the chart. Surreal. All week fans across the World have been honoring and paying homage to her. She has inspired generations of artists in different genres for decades.
Our thoughts and condolences to her close friends and family. What is your top two favorite Aretha hits? Let us know in the comment section below.
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