We’ve got nothing but R-E-S-P-E-C-T for Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin turns 73 today. (Photo: Getty)
Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, was born 73 years ago today with an incredible voice and a desire to push her vocal chords to the limit. For that we’re all very lucky. Raised in Detroit, Michigan, Franklin started out singing gospel at her minister father’s church as a child. His passionate sermon’s drew in the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. and singer Sam Cooke, the later of whom Franklin toured with as a teenager. By the 1960s she was singing pop music and was a skillful piano player. In 1967 she landed a slew of hit singles, including her most famous song, “Respect.” Originally performed by Otis Redding, Franklin’s cover is not only catchier and more fun to sing along to, it became a civil rights anthem and remains a feminist anthem to this day.
With songs like “(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman” and “Chain of Fools,” Franklin understands everything we’ve ever felt about love, and bravely shares it in a voice that’s authoritative, wise, and even at times sympathetic. Her image went through it all, too, from bouffants to afros, feathers to furs—and let’s not forget The Hat.
As the first female inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, Franklin paved the way for more women to speak their minds and be heard through all creative forms, without having to conform to Hollywood’s rigid standards of beauty. Michigan’s government has actually named her voice a “natural resource.” We can’t think of a much more powerful compliment than that.
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