Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, has diedat the age of 76.
The news broke not long after reports began surfacing detailingFranklin’s ailing health.
In 2017, Franklin, who was experiencing undisclosed health problems, retired from touring.
There is no doubt that Franklin’s legacy will, indeed, continue.
To start, here are some things you probably never knew about the late and great singer.
“She was a traumatized child that’s who she was,” said Bowen.
Not long after Franklin’s mother left her father, she suffered a heart attack and died suddenly.
Her mother’s passing hit Franklin hard.
So hard, in fact, that her father feared she’d never recover.
“She was unable to talk for weeks.
She crawled into a shell and didn’t come out until many years later,” Bowen added.
It was her minister father’s Baptist church that Franklin would first experiment with music.
Although the young Franklin was saddened by the loss of her mother, she belted out songs amazingly well.
“It was gospel filled with blues.
I mean, frighteningly strong blues, beautifully mature blues,” Bowen detailed.
Nevertheless, her love of music persisted.
But her piano playing was a whole separate talent" her brother Cecil Franklin explained inhis sister’s biography.
He detailed Franklin’s incredible gift, saying, “Her ear was infallible.”
“That’s the talent they call genius,” her brother said.
He was attending a party thrown by Franklin’s father in the family’s home.
She was just 14 when her first songs were recorded.
Then, in1961, Franklin and White married.
The two had a very tumultuous relationship.
I saw that she’d get down in the dumps sometimes and didn’t want to work."
He explained how White would push Franklin to work.
“Maybe she needed that push.
But I also saw that sometimes that push became a shove.
The coupledivorced in 1969.
Some two years later when Franklin was 16, she gave birth to another son, Edward Franklin.
The singer has never revealed the fathers of her two oldest children.
Over the course of their six-year relationship, Franklin had another son, Kecalf.
In 1978, Franklin married her second husband, Glynn Turman.
Nevertheless, they had their differences and the couple eventually parted ways in 1984.
Being away from school meant she spent a lot of time at home.
In fact, he’d already heard her first album that she’d recorded at just 14 years old.
“That was the record that made a big impact on me,“Wexler admitted.
At this time, though, Franklin was working with Columbia Records.
It became Franklin’s first massive hit in 1967.
According toher biography, Franklin was transfixed by the original Otis Redding rendition.
On February 14, 1967 Valentine’s Day Franklin, along with her sisters, recorded their cover.
Whenever women heard the record, it was like a tidal wave of sororal unity.”
Even to this day, “Respect” is arguably Franklin’s most memorable song.
She had the opportunity to perform atthree presidential inaugurations, including President Barack Obama’s in 2009.
Franklin herself called the event “phenomenal” when speaking toBillboard.
“Just masses of people, no matter what direction you looked,” she added.
Franklin was also actively involved in the civil rights movement of the ’60s.
At Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral, Franklin sang a song in his memory.
Undoubtedly, she will be remembered for both.
At the time, the adorable couple was planning for a summer wedding.
Just a month after announcing their engagement, however, the couple released a surprise statement toPeople.
She shattered many glass ceilings
Aretha Franklin was a woman who accomplished many firsts.
In 1987, she became the very first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Naturally, Franklin serves as an inspiration to all women especially women of color.
Franklin told the publication that she thinks everyone can learn “a little something” from one another.
But I’m delighted.”
Nothing but R-E-S-P-E-C-T forourQueen.
