Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 â August 16, 2018) was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of a minister. At seven years of age the family moved to Detroit where Aretha sang at her fatherâs church.
As a teenager she was signed to a recording contract by Columbia Records, where nine releases in five years had limited success with the exception of âRock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melodyâ in 1961.
Moving to Atlantic Records in 1967 and teaming with famed producers Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin, the new âQueen of Soulâ exploded with dozens of #1 hits on the R&B charts, none any bigger than her multi-million selling pop single âRespectâ in her first year at Atlantic.
Among her chart toppers were:
- âI Never Loved A Manâ
- âBaby, I LoveYouâ
- âChain of Foolsâ
- âSince Youâve Been Goneâ
- âThinkâ
- âBridge Over Troubled Waterâ
- âSpanish Harlemâ
- âDay Dreamingâ
- âUntil You Come Back to Meâ
- âBreak it to me Gentlyâ
- âFreeway of Loveâ
- âWhoâs Zoominâ Whoâ
- âI Know You Were Waiting For Meâ
- âDonât Play That Songâ
- âRock Steadyâ
- âIâm In Loveâ
Dozens of Arethaâs successes have landed on the top five, the top ten and the top twenty of the pop music charts.
No other female recording artist has landed on the top 100 singles chart more than Aretha Franklin. Starting in 1961 and ending in 1990, Arethaâs Columbia, Atlantic and Arista recordings charted 72 times.
Winning eighteen Grammy awards, Aretha Franklin in 1987 became the first female to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush and was inducted into the United Kingdom Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2007 Aretha Franklin was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
External links
- quasimodobell.com Full discography