Aretha Franklin Is Done Singing

BuzzFebruary 23, 2018

Aretha Franklin has recently announced that she will not be singing anymore. Even so, she plans to record one more album soon and then her career will be over. Let’s see some interesting facts about this world-famous TQueen of Soul.

Biography

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Aretha was born in Tennessee in 1942. Her father was a Baptist preacher and mother a gospel singer. Her parents got divorced when she was six and her mother had a heart attack four years afterward. Aretha got her first child when she was 14, and two years later she gave birth to another child. Her third child was born in 1964.

Aretha Franklin has two marriages behind – with Ted White (married from 1961 to 1969) and Glynn Turman (married from 1978 to1984). In 2012 she got engaged to her long-time friend William Wilkerson, but the engagement was called off.

Some of her friends were Clara Ward, Mahalia Jackson, James Cleveland, and Sam Cooke, so she liked to spend a quality time with equally good singers. Her childhood home was frequently visited by many famous people among whom were Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Wilson, and Sam Cooke.

She had some weight problems for years and it is believed that her heavy drinking and smoking were to be blamed. Aretha quit smoking in 1992, but this didn’t help her lose much weight.

Career

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Aretha Franklin wasn’t taught how to sing but gained her talents naturally. This talent was evident from her early age when she sang in front of her father’s congregation. In her teens, she had some songs recorded while singing in her father’s church. These songs were released on the album called Songs of Faith in 1956.

In 1960, Aretha went to New York, where she signed with Columbia Records, who released her album called Aretha in 1961. Two songs from this album made it onto R&B TOP 10. The same year she released the single called “Rock-a-bye Your Baby” with a Dixie Melody. In 1966, Aretha left Columbia Records and signed her new contract with Atlantic Records. Then followed with the single “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” for which guitar sounds were played by Eric Clapton and Duane Allman. The next single was “Do Right Woman—Do Right Man.” All of those singles were enormous hits.

One interesting fact to be mentioned here is that she performed at the inaugurations of three U.S. Presidents -Carter, Clinton, and Obama. She was also supposed to perform at the funeral of Whitney Huston but was unable due to a leg spasm.

In 1979, Aretha got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was the first woman admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Her Most Famous Song

In 1967 something marvelous happened – the song ”Respect” was released within the album ”I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)”. This song is considered to be a civil rights and feminist anthem, but it is her signature song, for sure. The lyrics of the song:

What you want
Baby, I got it
What you need
Do you know I got it
All I’m askin’
Is for a little respect when you get home (just a little bit)
Hey baby (just a little bit) when you get home
(just a little bit) mister (just a little bit)
I ain’t gonna do you wrong while you’re gone
Ain’t gonna do you wrong cause I don’t wanna
All I’m askin’
Is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit)
Baby (just a little bit) when you get home (just a little bit)
Yeah (just a little bit)

Recent Years

With 18 Grammy awards, Aretha is the most honored artist, concerning this award. In 2003, Aretha Records was founded and in 2011 her first album called ”A Woman Falling Out of Love” was released in this studio.

In February 2017, the Queen of Soul has said that she is making her new songs in collaboration with Stevie Wonder and that the album will be released in September of that year. She also added:“I am retiring this year. I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now. I’ll be pretty much satisfied, but I’m not going to go anywhere and just sit down and do nothing. That wouldn’t be good either.”

Be that as it may, this prolific singer will always be remembered by her strong voice with a positive attitude towards life and religion. Enjoy your retirement, dear Ms. Franklin!