A couple of day ago, it was reported that a “gravely ill” Aretha Franklin is in a Detroit hospital, surrounded by her large family and many friends. She has been suffering from pancreatic cancer. She is a fighter so expect her to battle this until the end.
I last worked with Aretha as a production manager for my good friend Brian Martin who promoted a show with her on Oct. 22, 2008 in Washington DC. She has always been surrounded by probably the best security team I have ever worked with directed by Ron Fleming. Ron has worked on several of my tours, including a stadium tour with Carman. He is simply one of the best in the business.
Aretha’s voice and show were spot on, as usual. The thing I will always remember about her is her incredible sense of humor and the fact her dressing room had to be at least 80 degrees. If the stage was too cold, she would walk off until the air conditioners were shut off. To me the irony is that she lived in Detroit, can’t imagine any colder weather in the winter 🙂
Aretha was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1942. A gifted singer and pianist, Aretha toured with her father’s traveling revival show and later visited New York, where she signed with Columbia Records.
Aretha 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, and in 2008 she won her 18th Grammy Award, making her one of the most honored artists in Grammy history.
The fourth of five children, Aretha Louise Franklin was born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Baptist preacher Reverend Clarence La Vaughan “C. L.” Aretha and Barbara Siggers Aretha, a gospel singer.
Aretha’s parents separated by the time she was six, and four years later her mother succumbed to a heart attack. Guided by C. L.’s preaching assignments, the family relocated to Detroit, Michigan. C. L. eventually landed at New Bethel Baptist Church, where he gained national renown as a preacher.
Aretha’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, Aretha got her start singing in front of her father’s congregation.
By the age of 14, she had recorded some of her earliest tracks at his church, which were released by a small label as the album Songs of Faith in 1956. She also performed with C. L.’s traveling revival show and, while on tour, befriended gospel greats such as Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke, and Clara Ward.
Aretha started performing and followed heroes such as Cooke and Dinah Washington into pop and blues territory. In 1960, with her father’s blessing, Aretha traveled to New York, where after being courted by several labels, including Motown and RCA, she signed with Columbia Records, who released the album Aretha in 1961.
Though two tracks from Aretha would make the R&B Top 10, a bigger success came that same year with the single “Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody,” which crossed over to No. 37 on the pop charts.
But while Arehta enjoyed moderate results with her recordings over the next few years, they failed to fully showcase her immense talent. In 1966 she and her new husband and manager, Ted White, decided a move was in order, and Aretha signed to Atlantic. Producer Jerry Wexler immediately shuttled Aretha to the Florence Alabama Musical Emporium (FAME) recording studios.
Backed by the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section — which included session guitarists Eric Clapton and Duane Allman — Aretha recorded the single “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You).” In the midst of the recording sessions, White quarreled with a member of the band, and White and Aretha left abruptly.
But as the single became a massive Top 10 hit, Aretha re-emerged in New York and was able to complete the partially recorded track, “Do Right Woman—Do Right Man.”
Hitting her stride in 1967 and 1968, Aretha churned out a string of hit singles that would become enduring classics, showcasing Aretha’s powerful voice and gospel roots in a pop framework.
In 1967, the album I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) was released, and 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,” “(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”
Aretha’s chart dominance soon earned her the title Queen of Soul, while at the same time she also became a symbol of black empowerment during the Civil Rights Movement.
In 1968 Aretha was enlisted to perform at the funeral of Dr. Martin King Jr. during which she paid tribute to her father’s fallen friend with a heartfelt rendition of “Precious Lord.” Later that year, she was also selected to sing the national anthem to begin the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Amidst this newfound success, Aretha experienced upheaval in her personal life, and she and White divorced in 1969. But this did not slow Aretha’s steady rise, and the new decade brought more hit singles, including “Don’t Play That Song,” “Spanish Harlem” and her cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.”
Spurred by Mahalia Jackson’s passing and a subsequent resurgence of interest in gospel music, Aretha returned to her musical origins for the 1972 album Amazing Grace, which sold more than 2 million copies and went on to become the best-selling gospel album at the time.
Aretha’s success continued throughout the 1970s, as she branched out to work with producers such as Curtis Mayfield and Quincy Jones and expanded her repertoire to include rock and pop covers. Along the way, she took home eight consecutive Grammy Awards for Best R&B Female Vocal Performance, the last coming for her 1974 single “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing.”
A string of chart failures ended Aretha’s relationship with Atlantic in 1979. The same year, her father was hospitalized after a burglary attempt in his home left him in a coma. As her popularity waned and her father’s health declined, Aretha was also saddled with a massive bill from the IRS.
However, a cameo in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers helped Aretha revive her flagging career. Performing “Think” alongside comedians John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd exposed her to a new generation of R&B lovers, and she soon signed to Arista Records.
Her new label released 1982’s Jump To It, an album that enjoyed huge success on the R&B charts and earned Aretha a Grammy nomination. Two years later, she endured a divorce from Turman as well as the death of her father.
In 1985 Aretha returned to the top of the charts with a smash-hit album: the polished pop record Who’s Zoomin’ Who? Featuring the single “Freeway of Love,” as well as a collaboration with the popular rock band The Eurythmics, the record became Aretha’s biggest-selling album yet.
Her follow-up, 1986’s Aretha, also charted well and eventually went gold, and her duet with British singer George Michael, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” hit No. 1 on the pop charts.
In 1987 Aretha became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was also awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Detroit. That same year, she released the album One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, which won the Grammy for Best Soul Gospel Performance.
Following another relatively quiet period in her career, in 1993, Aretha was invited to sing at the inauguration of Bill Clinton, and the following year she received both a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and Kennedy Center Honors. She would also be the focus of multiple documentaries and tributes as the decade progressed.
Nearing its conclusion, Aretha reprised her former role in Blues Brothers 2000, released the gold-selling “A Rose Is Still a Rose” and stood in for Luciano Pavarotti, who was too ill to accept his Lifetime Achievement Award, with her rendition of “Nessun Dorma” commanding stellar reviews.
In 2003 Aretha released her final studio album on Arista, So Damn Happy, and left the label to found Aretha Records. Two years later, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and became the second woman ever to be inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame.
In 2008 she received her 18th Grammy Award for “Never Gonna Break My Faith” — a collaboration with Mary J. Blige and was tapped to sing at the 2009 presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.
With 18 Grammys under her belt, Aretha is one of the most honored artists in Grammy history, ranked among the likes of Alison Krauss, Adele, and Beyonce. In 2011 Aretha released her first album on her own label, A Woman Falling Out of Love.
To support the project, she performed several concerts, including a two-night stint at the famed Radio City Music Hall in New York. With fans and critics alike impressed with her performances, she successfully proved that the Queen of Soul still reigned supreme.
In 2014 Aretha underscored that point with Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, which reached No. 13 on the pop charts and No. 3 R&B.
In February 2017, the 74-year-old Queen of Soul told Detroit radio station WDIV Local 4 that she was collaborating with Stevie Wonder to release a new album.
“I must tell you, I am retiring this year,” she said in the interview, adding: “I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now. I’ll be pretty much satisfied, but I’m not going to go anywhere and just sit down and do nothing. That wouldn’t be good either.”
In January 2018, it was announced that Aretha had hand-picked singer and actress Jennifer Hudson to play her in an upcoming biopic.