Aretha Franklin
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- March 25, 1942
- Place of birth
- Memphis, Tennessee, USA
- Died
- August 16, 2018
Biography
Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", Rolling Stone twice named her as the greatest singer of all time. With global sales of over 75 million records, Franklin is one of the world's best-selling music artists.
As a child, Franklin was noticed for her gospel singing at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she was signed as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While her career did not immediately flourish, Franklin found acclaim and commercial success once she signed with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", "Respect", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Chain of Fools", "Think", and "I Say a Little Prayer", propelled Franklin past her musical peers.
Franklin continued to record acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Lady Soul (1968), Spirit in the Dark (1970), Young, Gifted and Black (1972), Amazing Grace (1972), and Sparkle (1976), before experiencing problems with the record company. Franklin left Atlantic in 1979 and signed with Arista Records. The singer appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers before releasing the successful albums Jump to It (1982), Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985) and Aretha (1986) on the Arista label. In 1998, Franklin returned to the Top 40 with the Lauryn Hill-produced song "A Rose Is Still a Rose"; later, she released an album with the same name.
Franklin recorded 112 charted singles on the US Billboard charts, including 73 Hot 100 entries, 17 top-ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries and 20 number-one R&B singles. Besides the foregoing, the singer's well-known hits also include "Ain't No Way", "Call Me", "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", "Spanish Harlem", "Rock Steady", "Day Dreaming", "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)", "Something He Can Feel", "Jump to It", "Freeway of Love", "Who's Zoomin' Who" and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (a duet with George Michael). Franklin won 18 Grammy Awards (out of 44 nominations), including the first eight awards given for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (1968–1975), a Grammy Awards Living Legend honor and Lifetime Achievement Award.
Franklin received numerous honors throughout her career. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1987, she became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She also was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2019, the Pulitzer Prize jury awarded the songwriter a posthumous special citation "for her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades". In 2020, Franklin was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. ..
Source: Article "Aretha Franklin" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Movies with Aretha Franklin
- The Blues Brothers 1980 · ★ 7.7
- Blues Brothers 2000 1998 · ★ 5.3
- Amazing Grace 2018 · ★ 7.1
- WHAM! 2023 · ★ 7.3
- The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue 1997 · ★ 6.1
- Muscle Shoals 2013 · ★ 7.2
- Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars 2018 · ★ 7.1
- Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives 2017 · ★ 6.7
- The Apollo 2019 · ★ 6.4
- The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts 2009 · ★ 7.9
- VH1: Divas Live 1998 · ★ 7.9
- Tom Dowd & The Language of Music 2004 · ★ 7.4
- 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2022 · ★ 8.2
- Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President 2020 · ★ 6.9
- George Michael - Twenty Five 2006 · ★ 7.3
- Britney Spears: In the Zone 2003 · ★ 7.0
- George Michael: Portrait of an Artist 2023 · ★ 6.7
- George Michael Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael 1999 · ★ 8.7
- Casey Kasem's Rock 'n' Roll Goldmine: The Soul Years 2004 · ★ 9.8
- Arista Records' 25th Anniversary Celebration 2000 · ★ 7.0
- Sam Cooke: Legend 2003 · ★ 7.1
- Aretha Franklin: Duets 1993 · ★ 8.3
- Aretha Franklin - Live at Park West 1985 1999 · ★ 6.2
- The Greatest Ears in Town: The Arif Mardin Story 2010 · ★ 4.7
- Night of 100 Stars III 1990 · ★ 4.3
- They All Came Out to Montreux 2023 · ★ 7.0
- This Is Bob Hope... 2017 · ★ 7.7
- It's Black Entertainment 2002 · ★ 8.7
- Aretha Franklin, soul sister 2020 · ★ 8.0
- Classic Soul at the BBC 2007 · ★ 6.0
- The Rodney Dangerfield Show: It's Not Easy Bein' Me 1982 · ★ 8.0
- Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built 2007 · ★ 7.0
- The Stories Behind the Making of 'The Blues Brothers' 1998 · ★ 6.5
- Led Zeppelin Played Here 2014 · ★ 8.0
- Aretha Franklin: The Legendary Concertgebouw Concert Amsterdam 1968 1968 · ★ 8.0
- Aretha Franklin - Live in Paris 1977 · ★ 8.0
- Queens of Soul at the BBC 2015 · ★ 7.0
- Woody Allen Looks at 1967 1967 · ★ 8.0
- VH1 Divas Live: The One and Only Aretha Franklin 2001 · ★ 8.0
- Rhythm and Blues 40: A Soul Spectacular 2001 · ★ 10.0