The Late Great Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul

It would be difficult to find a female music artist who was more successful than Aretha Franklin. She was the most charted female music artist in Billboard's history, with a total of 112 singles charting. She sold over 75 million records worldwide. She has been inducted to multiple halls of fame, and was the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There is probably no modern genre of music, from rhythm and blues to rock, that has not felt Aretha Franklin's influence. Sadly, Aretha Franklin died yesterday at the age of 76. The cause was pancreatic cancer.

Aretha Franklin was born on March 25 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee. Her father was Baptist minister and civil rights activist C. L. Franklin. Her mother was a talented pianist and singer. When Aretha Franklin was only two years old the family moved to Buffalo, New York. It was not long before she turned five that the family moved to Detroit, Michigan. Aretha Franklin's mother died not long before Miss Franklin turned ten. It was not long afterwards that she began singing solos in church. By the time she was twelve she was performing in churches around the country. As a gospel singer she was singed to J.V.B. Records and her first album, Songs of Faith, was released in 1956. She was only 16 years old when she went on tour with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She was 18 years old when she made the decision to pursue a career in pop music.

In 1960 Miss Franklin signed with Columbia Records. Her first secular single, "Today I Sing the Blues", was released that same year. In 1961 her first secular album, Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo, was released in 1961. While with Columbia Records, Aretha Franklin had a few singles chart on the Billboard R&B charts. "Won't Be Long" peaked at no. 7 on the chart, while "Operation Heartbreak" peaked at no 6 on the chart. Others reached the top forty of the Billboard R&B chart.

Aretha Franklin spent six years with Columbia Records, after which she elected not to renew her contract. She signed with Atlantic Records. It was there that she had her first major hit. "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" hit no. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her next single, a cover of Otis Redding's "Respect", did even better. It hit no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard R&B chart. It peaked at no. 3 in Canada and no. 10 in the United Kingdom. In the late Sixties she would have several other hits: "Baby I Love You", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Chain of Fools", "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone", "Think", "I Say a Little Prayer", and "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", among others. Her first album with Billboard, Lady Soul, peaked at no. 2 on the Billboard album chart. It was followed by several more successful albums in the late Sixties.

Aretha Franklin began the Seventies with more major hits, including "Spanish Harlem", "Rock Steady", "Day Dreaming", and "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)". Unfortunately in the mid-Seventies, Miss Franklin's career went into a slight decline. After 1975 her highest charting single was "Something He Can Feel", which went to no. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. None of her other singles even reached the top 40. She left Atlantic in 1979 and signed with Arista.

It was during the Eighties that Aretha Franklin's career rebounded. In 1982 her single "Jump to It" peaked at no. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was followed by much bigger hits during the decade. "Freeway of Love" peaked at no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. It was followed by "Who's Zoomin' Who" (which went to no. 7) and "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves", recorded with Eurythmics (which went to no. 18). Miss Franklin continued to do well in the Eighties, even hitting no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (recorded  with George Michael). She did less well in the Nineties, although her song "A Rose Is Still a Rose" peaked at no. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998.

While Aretha Franklin would have only a few hits from the Nineties onwards, she continued to record albums until last year. Throughout her career she recorded over forty studio albums and seven live albums. Her best selling album was actually one of her live albums, Amazing Grace, which consisted of gospel tunes performed by Miss Franklin at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. It was also the best selling live gospel album of all time. Her last album was Brand New Me, released last year.

Over the years Aretha Franklin gave several notable performances. She performed at the Royal Command Performance in the United Kingdom in 1980. She also performed at the funerals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, as well as the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Aretha Franklin also appeared in the movies The Blues Brothers (1980) and The Blues Brothers 2000 (2000), as well as guest starring on the TV shows Room 222 and Murphy Brown.

In addition to her career as a music artist, Aretha Franklin was active in the Civil Rights Movement. Her father organised the 1963 Detroit Walk to Freedom, and Miss Franklin toured with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when she was only 16. After she met with success as a recording artist, she was known to pay for civil rights tours and to help with fundraising. Her version of "Respect" became an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement almost immediately upon its release.

It was in 1967 that  WVON radio personality Pervis Spann proclaimed Aretha Franklin the "Queen of Soul" after a performance at the Regal Theatre in Chicago. There can be no doubt that Aretha Franklin deserved the title. She numbers among the most successful recording artists of all time. As mentioned earlier, she reached the Billboard charts more times than any other female artist. Including special awards, she won twenty Grammys and was nominated many more times. The list of the many honours Miss Franklin received over the years would be a very long one indeed.

Indeed, it is impossible to fully measure the influence of Aretha Franklin. Her songs became part of the soundtrack of America in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries. She was also an artist who transcended genres. She may have been the Queen of Soul, but her influence could be felt on genres from rhythm and blues to rock music and even to country and hip hop. Artists as diverse as Annie Lennox and Alicia Keys were influenced by her. Aretha Franklin had a powerful voice and she sang with feeling in such a way that few singers have before or since. When Aretha Franklin sang, people felt it. Aretha Franklin was a singular performer, and we will never see her like again.