Aretha Franklin

Singer & Activist

March 25, 1942 Memphis, Tennessee, United States

August 16, 2018 Detroit, Michigan, United States

Glynn Turman (m. 1978–1984), Ted White (m. 1961–1969)

Aretha Louise Franklin, known as ‘The Queen of Soul’, was the first woman ever to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She was born in a religious household in Tennessee to Reverend C.L. Franklin. Her mother was a gospel singer. She was interested in music and singing from a very young age and taught herself to play the piano. Her father recognized her talent for singing and started to manage her from the time she was 14, trying to get her a deal with a record company. She was signed for the first time by Columbia Records, the association that lasted for 6 years and she became an instant international craze. Later, she signed the Atlantic records and Arista Records, the label that she stuck with for 20 good years. She was the winner of 18 Grammy Awards and has also received many American Music Awards. She had given to the world acclaimed albums like: ‘I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You’, ‘Soul Lady’, ‘Young, Gifted & Black’, etc. She was one of the best-selling female artists of all time and had been listed twice on the ‘100 Greatest Artists of All Time’ and ‘100 Greatest Singers of All Time’ lists on the Rolling Stone magazine.