Aretha Louise "Queen of Soul" Franklin

***This posting is a service to our community only. Services for Ms. Franklin have been entrusted to: Swanson Funeral Home in Detroit, Michigan.***

Aretha Louise Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 25, 1942. She was the daughter of CL Franklin, a Baptist minister, and his wife Barbara, an accomplished gospel singer.

By the time she was six, she and her family had moved to Detroit. There the young Franklin learned to play the piano and began singing in her father's church.

Her father became a respected figure among Detroit's black community, and his church a centre for gospel music. The young Franklin came into contact with a number of musicians, including Smokey Robinson and Sam Cooke.

Encouraged by her father she made her first recording, the album Songs of Faith, when she was just 14, by which time she had already given birth to her first son, Clarence.

She had a second child, Edward, when she was 16, but was able to maintain her singing career when her grandmother offered to raise the two boys. By now her talent was reaching a wider audience.

Aretha’s Timeline:
1956 - A gospel album entitled "Spirituals" is released by a small label called J.V.B. It is Franklin's first recording. The album is later re-released as "Songs of Faith: The Gospel Sound of Aretha Franklin."

1960 - Signs with Columbia Records.

1967 - Her first number one single, "Respect" is released, along with the hits "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and "Baby I Love You."

1968 - Wins her first two Grammy awards. "Respect" wins the prize for best rhythm & blues recording and best rhythm & blues solo vocal performance, female.

April 9, 1968 - Sings "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" at the memorial service of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

January 19, 1977 - Performs "God Bless America" at the inaugural concert of President Jimmy Carter.

1982 - Wins Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for "Hold On I'm Comin'."

1986 - Wins Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for "Freeway Of Love."

1987 - Is the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1988 - Wins two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for "Aretha" and Best R&B Performance by a Duo, with George Michael, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)."

1989 - Wins Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female for "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism."

1991 - Receives the Grammy Legend Award.

January 19, 1993 - Performs at the inaugural gala of President Bill Clinton.

1994 - Receives the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

1997 - Performs an aria from Puccini's "La Boheme" at the wedding of Vice President Al Gore's daughter, Karenna.

February 6, 1998 - Reprises her roll of Mrs. Murphy from "The Blues Brothers" in the sequel, "The Blues Brothers 2000."

February 25, 1998 - Substitutes for an ailing Luciano Pavarotti at the Grammy Awards performing "Nessun Dorma" by Puccini, unrehearsed.

September 1999 - Her autobiography "Aretha: From These Roots," is published, where she discusses her private and personal life for the first time.

September 29, 1999 - Is presented the National Medal of Arts by the National Endowment for the Arts.

2004 - Wins Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for "Wonderful."

November 9, 2005 - Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.

2006 - After Franklin points out that no Motown talent was appearing in the Detroit Super Bowl halftime show, the NFL asks her to sing the national anthem along with Aaron Neville prior to the game.

February 8, 2006 - Wins Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for "A House Is Not a Home."

February 8, 2008 - Is Grammy's 2008 MusiCares Person of the Year.

February 10, 2008 - Wins Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance for "Never Gonna Break My Faith," shared with Mary J. Blige.

February 14, 2008 - Receives the NAACP Vanguard Award at the annual Image Awards ceremony.

January 20, 2009 - Performs "My Country 'Tis of Thee" at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

February 2010 - A Snickers commercial starring Franklin and Liza Minnelli airs for the first time.

July 27, 2010 - Appears on stage with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on piano, in Philadelphia, to raise money for charity. Rice is a classical pianist. They perform individually and together, classical, pop and patriotic selections.

August 1, 2010 - Falls in her home, breaking some ribs. The incident forces her to cancel concert appearances for August.

May 3, 2011 - Releases new album, "Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love."

October 8, 2014 - Achieves a milestone in music history by becoming the first female to earn her 100th hit on Billboard's Hot R&B song chart with "Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)."

October 2014 - Releases a new album, "Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics."

March 2015 - Performs live on the Motown themed episode of American Idol in Detroit.

September 26, 2015 - Franklin sings "Amazing Grace" at the Festival of Families, one of the events sponsored by the Vatican for Pope Francis' visit to Philadelphia.

February 7, 2017 - Franklin announces she will retire from performing in concert after the release of one more album. "I am retiring this year, she told a local television station in Detroit. "I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert."

August 16, 2018 – Aretha passes away at her home in Detroit, surrounded by family and friends, according to a statement on behalf of Franklin's family from her longtime publicist Gwendolyn Quinn.

Aretha leaves to cherish her memories: four sons, Clarence, Jr., Edward, Ted White, Jr., and Kecalf. "The Queen of Soul" will be entombed at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan, along with her father, Rev. C.L. Franklin; brother, Cecil Franklin; sisters, Carolyn Franklin, Erma Franklin; and nephews, Thomas Garrett.