Aretha Franklin
On Tour
7,011,576 plays (675,503 listeners)
Listening now: kmason1577
Genre: R&B, Gospel
Styles: Soul, Deep Soul, Urban, Quiet Storm, Southern Soul, Pop/Rock, Black Gospel
Biography
Aretha Franklin is one of the giants of soul music, and indeed of American pop as a whole. More than any other performer, she epitomized soul at its most gospel-charged. Her astonishing run of late-’60s hits with Atlantic Records — “Respect,” “I Never Loved a Man,” “Chain of Fools,” “Baby I Love You,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Think,” “The House That Jack Built,” and several others — earned her the title “Lady Soul,” which she has worn uncontested ever since. Yet as much of an international institution as she’s become, much of her work — outside of her recordings for Atlantic in the late ’60s and early ’70s — is erratic and only fitfully inspired, making discretion a necessity when collecting her records.
Franklin’s roots in gospel ran extremely deep. With her sisters Carolyn and Erma (both of whom would also have recording careers), she sang at the Detroit church of her father, Reverend C.L. Franklin, while growing up in the 1950s. In fact, she made her first recordings as a gospel artist at the age of 14. It has also been reported that Motown was interested in signing Aretha back in the days when it was a tiny start-up. Ultimately, however, Franklin ended up with Columbia, to which she was signed by the renowned talent scout John Hammond.
Franklin would record for Columbia constantly throughout the first half of the ’60s, notching occasional R&B hits (and one Top 40 single, “Rock-a-bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody”) but never truly breaking out as a star.
Top Albums
Top Tracks
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I Say a Little Prayer
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(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
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I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
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The House That Jack Built
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See Saw
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Ain't No Way
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Videos
See moreEvents
- Jul 11 Aretha Franklin Fox Theatre Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, Detroit, United States
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Jul
18
Mandela Day at Radio City Music Hall
Madison Square Garden, New York NY, United States
3 shouts
| 6 attendees -
Jul
18
Mandela Day - a 46664 Celebration
Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY, New York, United States
Add shout
| 2 attendees
News
Two new Aretha Franklin singles available on iTunes
21 Apr 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/Aretha Franklin
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From The Heart Series Featuring Aretha Franklin
15 Jan 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/Aretha Franklin -
From The Heart Series Featuring Aretha Franklin
15 Jan 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/Aretha Franklin
Listeners
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kmason1577
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to Think -
Je4a
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to A tender touch -
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Recent Activity
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Tomahawk77, acidbrother, FreeFlay and 6 other people added Aretha Franklin to their libraries. 2 minutes ago
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raul_martman95 connected Aretha Franklin to the group Soul Not Dead. yesterday evening
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Nobledawn tagged Aretha Franklin with ‘soul’. Friday afternoon
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Nobledawn, Gelalalala, ladyissey and 15 other people added Aretha Franklin to their libraries. Friday afternoon
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