Aretha Franklin - Biography

Aretha Franklin Biography


Aretha Franklin
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Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is a gospel, soul and R&B singer born in Memphis, Tennessee. On January 3, 1987 she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Biography

As a child, Franklin and her sisters, Carolyn and Erma, sang at her father's Detroit-area church and made her first recordings at the age 14. She signed with Columbia Records after being discovered by legendary A&R man John Hammond. In the early 1960s, Franklin had a few popular songs, most notably 'Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody.' However Columbia really wanted her as a jazz singer and the results never gave full rein to Franklin's talents. However her greatest and most innovative work was yet to come.

After moving to Atlantic Records in 1967, Franklin teamed up with producers Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin, resulting in some of the most influential R&B recordings of the 1960s, including 'I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)', a much more soulful and impassioned song than most of her earlier work. By the late 1960s, Franklin had earned the nickname 'The Queen of Soul', having become an internationally famous artist and a symbol of pride for the African American community. Franklin said herself of this period, 'When I went to Atlantic, they just sat me down at the piano and the hits started coming.'

She released numerous Top Ten hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s, dabbling in gospel music, blues music, pop music, psychedelic music and rock and roll, including notable covers of songs by The Beatles ('Eleanor Rigby'), The Band ('The Weight'), Simon & Garfunkel ('Bridge Over Troubled Water'), Sam Cooke and The Drifters. Live at Fillmore West and Amazing Grace were two of her most influential full-length releases, the latter a double LP of live gospel music recorded in a Los Angeles Baptist church. Surprisingly she never made it to number one in the UK pop charts - the best result being a number four with her version of Burt Bacharach's 'I Say a Little Prayer' in 1968.

Among her most successful hit singles from this era were 'Chain of Fools', 'You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman', 'Think', 'Baby I Love You', 'The House That Jack Built', and 'Respect', which became her signature song. After the R&B category was added to the Grammy Awards in 1968, she was virtually unchallenged, winning eight successive awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance; she later added three more Grammies in this category in the 1980s.

In the early 1970s, her music mellowed slightly, though losing nothing of its power, and she continued the hugely successful relationship with Wexler and Mardin while beginning to take a greater role in producing her work. A partnership with Quincy Jones led to a disappointing album in 1973 You. But it still produced a standout track 'Angel', written by her sister Carolyn which became a soul classic.

She returned to working with Wexler, but her last Atlantic LP You was released in 1976. Wexler had now left Atlantic and the partnership was over. Despite working with artists of the stature of Curtis Mayfield, popularity and critical success waned during the mid to late 1970s and the 1980s, though she scored several hits, often with partners (such as Luther Vandross). Her most notable 1980s hit was the dance song Freeway of Love, which charted in 1985. Most critics dismiss her post-Atlantic material as far inferior to the legendary recordings of the mid to late sixties.

She married Ted White in 1962 and he became her manager during her years with Columbia Records. The marriage ended in 1969 and she has always refused to answer questions about it. A Time Magazine cover story in 1968 led to a lawsuit from Ted White over allegations that he had roughed her up in public. The affair made her guard her private life even more jealously and she gave no interviews for several years after that. She lives today in Detroit.

Interesting Facts

Aretha Franklin was sued for breach of contract in 1984 when she was unable to open in the Broadway musical 'Sing, Mahalia, Sing,' mainly because of her phobia of flying.

In 1986 the Michigan Legislature declared Aretha Franklin's voice to be a precious natural resource. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2001.

Discography - the Atlantic years

1967 I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You Prod: Jerry Wexler
Respect, Drown In My Own Tears, I Never loved A Man The Way I Love You, Soul Serenade, Don't Let me Lose This Dream, Baby Baby Baby,  Dr Feelgood, Good Times, Do Right Woman Do Right Man, A change is gonna come
1967 Aretha Arrives Prod: Jerry Wexler
Satisfaction, You Are My Sunshine, Never Let Me Go, 96 Tears, Prove It, Night Life, That's Life, I Wonder, Ain't nobody Gonna Turn Me Around, Going Down Slow, Baby I Love Ya
1968 Lady Soul Prod: Jerry Wexler
Chain of Fools, Money Won't Change You, People Get Ready, NIki Hoeky, You Make Me feel Like a Natural Woman,Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby), Good To Me as I Am To You, Come Back Baby, Groovin, Ain't No Way
1968 Aretha Now Prod: Jerry Wexler
Think, I Say A Little Prayer, See Saw, Night Time is The Right Time, You Send Me, You're a Sweet, Sweet Man, I Take What I Want, Hello Sunshine, A Change, I Can't See Myself Losing You
1968 Aretha in Paris Prod: Jerry Wexler
Satisfaction, Don't Let Me Lose This Dream, Soul Serenade, Night Life, Baby I Love You, Groovin, You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman, Come Back Baby, Dr Feelgood, Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby), I Never Loved A Man the Way I Love You, Chain of Fools, Respect,
1969 Soul 69 Prod: Jerry Wexler,  Tom Dowd
Ramblin, Today I Sing The Blues, River's Invitation, Pitiful, Crazy He Calls Me, Bring It on Home To Me, Tracks of My Tears, If You Gotta Make A Fool Out of Somebody, Gentle on My Mind, So Long, I'll Never Be free, Elusive Butterfly
1969 Aretha's Gold Prod: Jerry Wexler
I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You, Respect, Dr Feelgood, You Make Me feel Like a Natural Woman, Chain Of Fools, Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby), Ain't no Way, Think, You Send me, The House That Jack Built, I Say A Little Prayer, See Saw
1970  This Girl's in Love With You Prod: Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin
Son of a Preacher Man, Share Your Love With Me, Dark End Of The Street, Let it Be, Eleanor Rigby, This Girl's in Love with You, It Ain't Fair, The Weight, Call Me, Sit Down and Cry
1970 Spirit in the Dark Prod: Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin
Don't Play That Song, The Thrill is Gone (From Yesterday's Kiss). Pullin, You And Me, Honest I Do, Spirit in the Dark, When the Battle is Over, One Way Ticket, Try Matty's That's All I Want From You, Oh No Not My Baby, Why I Sing The Blues
1971 Aretha Live at Fillmore West Prod Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin
Respect, Love The One, You're With, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Eleanor Rigby, Make it With You, Don't Play That Song, Dr Feelgood, Spirit in the Dark, Reach out and Touch
1971 Aretha's Greatest Hits Prod: Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin
Spanish Harlem, Baby I Love You, You Make Me feel Like a Natural Woman,  Don't Play That Song, Dr Feelgood, Let It Be, Do Right Woman Do Right Man, Respect, Chain of Fools, I Say a Little Prayer, Bridge Over Troubled Water, I Never loved A Man The Way I Love You, You're All I Need to Get By, Call Me
1972 Young Gifted and Black Prod: Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin
Oh Me Oh My, Day Dreaming, Rock Steady, Young Gifted and Black, All the King's Horses, A Brand New me, April Fools, I've Been Loving You Too Long, First Snow at Kokomo, The Long and Winding Road, Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time, Border Song
1972 Amazing Grace Prod: Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, Aretha Franklin
Mary Don't You Weep, Precious Lord Take My Hand, You've Got a Friend, Old Landmark, How I Got Over, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, Amazing Grace, Precious Moments, Climbing Higher Mountains, Remarks by Rev C L Franklin, God Will Take Care of You, Wholly Holy, You'll Never Walk Alone, Never Grow Old
1973 Hey Now Hey Prod; Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin
Hey Now Hey, So Swell When You're Well, Angel, Sister From Texas, Mister Spain, That's The Way I feel About You, Moody's Mood, Just Right Tonight
1974 Let Me in Your life Prod: Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, Aretha Franklin
Let Me in Your Life, Every Natural Thing, Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing, I'm in Love, Until You Come Back To Me, The Masquerade is Over, With Pen in Hand, Oh Baby, Eight Days on the Road, If You Don't Think, A Song For You
1975 With everything I feel in me Prod: Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, Aretha Franklin
Without Love, Don't Go Breaking My Heart, When You Get Right Down To It, You'll Never Get to Heaven, With Everything I Feel in Me, I Love Every Little Thing About You,  Sing it Again - Say it Again, All of These Thing, You Move Me
1975 You Prod: Jerry Wexler,  Aretha Franklin
Mr DJ, It Only Happens (When I Look at You), Walk Softly, You Make My Life, Without You, The Sha-La Bandit, You, You Got All the Aces, As Long as You Are There


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