Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin was born March 25, 1942 in Memphis Tennessee was the child of a Baptist preacher and a gospel singer. She was very gifted as a singer and pianist and toured with her father's revival show. Aretha has won 18 Grammys which makes her one of the highest winning female singers of all time.
Aretha is regarded as a child prodigy and by the age of 14 she recorded her earliest gospel songs. Franklin became a mother at the age of 15 and at the age of 17 she had her second child. After returning to performing Aretha signed with Columbia Records and released The Great Aretha Franklin. In 1961 her single Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody hit 37 on the pop charts. Aretha started to sing in soul, blues, rock and gospel and sang with Eric Clapton and Duane Allman. She recorded I Never Loved a Man which was a top ten hit and won Aretha a Grammy.
Aretha's top ten hits include Baby I Love You, Think, Chain of Fools, You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman. Aretha sang at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's funeral with Precious Lord. Aretha also sang at the 1972 funeral of Mahalia Jackson. Aretha felt inspired by Mahalia and enough to release her gospel music album Amazing Grace. This album sold over two million records and is a bestselling gospel album.
Franklin's career flagged until 1982 when Jump To It won her a Grammy nomination. In 1985 she released another hit album and her collaboration with the Eurythmics earned her a huge career boost. Aretha was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and the University of Detroit awarded her an honorary doctorate. In 1993 she received a lifetime achievement award at the Grammy Awards. Aretha received her 18th Grammy for Never Gonna Break My Faith in 2008 and in 2009 sang at the inauguration of Barack Obama.
Aretha married Ted White in 1962 and they divorced in 1969. They had one child. In April 1978 she married Glynn Turman and they divorced in February 1984. She broke her engagement to William Wilkerson in 2012 and she suffered a great personal tragedy with the death of her goddaughter Whitney Houston.