Less than a week before her death, Aretha Franklin was on the phone with a friend, planning her next record. I want hit records! In her final decade, up to her very last days, the Queen of Soul refused to let anything slow her down. Franklin had been outrunning her own mortality since December , when she underwent surgery for what was later revealed to be pancreatic cancer. For Franklin, pushing on during the last few years of her life meant a slew of big plans that might have overwhelmed many younger artists, including several possible new albums and a biopic. She spoke with both Mason and Edmonds about working on what she hoped would be her first album of new material since In her quest to remain relevant, Franklin was determined to make a radio-friendly set featuring new songs written for her by Edmonds, Stevie Wonder and Elton John. It kept her going. Franklin kept a presence on the touring circuit, playing roughly one concert a month for the first nine months of — always at venues that could be reached by bus, due to her longtime fear of flying. All night, Franklin ignored a plush red armchair that the venue had set up in case she needed it.
Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she embarked on a secular-music career as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While Franklin's career did not immediately flourish, she found acclaim and commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in By the end of the s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as the "Queen of Soul". Franklin left Atlantic in and signed with Arista Records. In , Franklin returned to the Top 40 with the Lauryn Hill-produced song "A Rose Is Still a Rose"; later, she released an album of the same name which was certified gold. That same year, Franklin earned international acclaim for her performance of "Nessun dorma" at the Grammy Awards; she filled in at the last minute for Luciano Pavarotti, who canceled his appearance after the show had already begun. Sign in or Register. Aretha Franklin Born 25 March Died 16 August
Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she embarked on a secular-music career as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While Franklin's career did not immediately flourish, she found acclaim and commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in By the end of the s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as the " Queen of Soul ". Franklin left Atlantic in and signed with Arista Records. In , Franklin returned to the Top 40 with the Lauryn Hill -produced song " A Rose Is Still a Rose "; later, she released an album of the same name which was certified gold. That same year, Franklin earned international acclaim for her performance of " Nessun dorma " at the Grammy Awards ; she filled in at the last minute for Luciano Pavarotti , who canceled his appearance after the show had already begun. Franklin received numerous honors throughout her career. In , she became the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She was delivered at her family's home located at Lucy Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee.
Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she embarked on a secular-music career as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While Franklin's career did not immediately flourish, she found acclaim and commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in By the end of the s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as the "Queen of Soul".
Franklin left Atlantic in and signed with Arista Records. In , Franklin returned to the Top 40 with the Lauryn Hill-produced song "A Rose Is Still a Rose"; later, she released an album of the same name which was certified gold. That same year, Franklin earned international acclaim for her performance of "Nessun dorma" at the Grammy Awards; she filled in at the last minute for Luciano Pavarotti, who canceled his appearance after the show had already begun.
Sign in or Register. Aretha Franklin Born 25 March Died 16 August Performances 6. Cat Power. Last Played on BBC. Are these the 10 most revolutionary women in music? Aretha Franklin. Read more at Wikipedia. This entry is from Wikipedia , the user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors and is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License. If you find the biography content factually incorrect or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia.
Find out more about our use of this data. Show more Show less. Show full description. Hide full description. The song written by Carole in partnership with her then-husband Gerry Goffin and producer Jerry Wexler was released by Aretha in the 60s and went on to become an enduring hit.
Aretha Franklin Pocket Legend. The producer talks about a Grammy-winning live performance from Aretha; the mesmeric "one-take-wonder" Nick Drake; plugging in Dylan; the force that was Sandy Denny; and more. Latest Aretha Franklin News Are these the 10 most revolutionary women in music? To celebrate International Women's Day, we look at female musicians who changed history from ancient times to today. Say it loud! Ants in your pants? Need to dance? Get on the good foot with these soul documentaries.
Higher states of consciousness: which tunes have a hotline to the divine? Old-school cool: 27 classic music photographs from the BBC archive. We dug deep to bring you these fabulous vintage images of pop icons and spiffing BBC employees at work on music. See all music news. Aretha Franklin Links Official Homepage. Back to artist. Added, go to My Music to see full list. More from.