the "Queen of Soul," remains one of the
preeminent vocalists of the age, a
singer of great passion and control
whose finest recordings define the term
soul music in all its deep, expressive
glory. As Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet
Ertegun observed, "I don't think there's
anybody I have known who possesses an
instrument like hers and who has such a
thorough background in gospel, the blues
and the essential black-music
idiom....She is blessed with an
extraordinary combination of remarkable
urban sophistication and of the deep
blues feeling that comes from the Delta.
The result is maybe the greatest singer
of our time."
Franklin was born in Memphis in 1942
and grew up in Detroit, where her
father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin, was the
pastor at the New Bethel Baptist Church.
Aretha began singing church music at an
early age, and recorded her first album,
The Gospel Sound of Aretha Franklin, for
the Checker label at age 14. Her early
influences, however, included secular
singers like Dinah Washington, Sam
Cooke, LaVern Baker and Ruth Brown. She
signed with Columbia Records in 1960,
having been brought to the label by
legendary talent scout John Hammond.
However, her tenure at Columbia was an
inconclusive one that found her dabbling
in pop and jazz styles. In Hammond's
words, "Columbia was a white company who
misunderstood her genius."
With her switch to Atlantic Records
in 1966, Aretha helped usher in an era
of fresh, forthright soul music. It
commenced with her first single for the
label, "I Never Loved a Man (the Way I
Loved You)," a salty, importuning number
that unleashed the full force of
Franklin's voice upon the world. Her
next triumph was "Respect," a fervent
reworking of an Otis Redding number that
can in hindsight be seen as an early
volley in the feminist movement and a
signature statement of racial pride.
Working under the tutelage of
producer Jerry Wexler, engineer Tom Dowd
and arranger Arif Mardin, Franklin
rewrote the book on soul music in the
late Sixties with a string of smash
crossover singles that included "Chain
of Fools," "Think" and a memorable
rendering of Carole King's "A Natural
Woman (You Make Me Feel)."
The Seventies brought continued
success to Franklin, who has to date
charted more million-sellers than any
other woman in recording history. During
that decade, the ever-maturing "Lady
Soul" (as she was dubbed) released
critically acclaimed albums such as
Spirit in the Dark and Young, Gifted and
Black. Her long tenure with Atlantic
came to an end after 15 years, and in
1980 she signed with Arista. There, she
recorded everything from gospel to dance
music, finding the upper reaches of the
charts with "Freeway of Love" and "I
Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)." The
latter song, the second Number One hit
of her career, appeared in 1987; that
same year, she became the first woman
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame.
