RESPECT - Aretha Louise Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin 

(March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018)

 was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan where her father C. L. Franklin was minister. She embarked on a secular career in 1960 at 18, recording for Columbia Records but achieving only modest success.

 Franklin achieved commercial success and acclaim after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966, with songs such as "Respect", "Chain of Fools", "Think", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", and "I Say a Little Prayer". 

By the end of the 1960s, she was called "The Queen of Soul". Franklin recorded acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Lady Soul (1968), Spirit in the Dark (1970), Young, Gifted and Black (1972), Amazing Grace (1972), and Sparkle (1976) before experiencing problems with her record company. 

She left Atlantic in 1979 and signed with Arista Records, finding success with the albums Jump to It (1982) and Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985) and with her part in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. Franklin received international acclaim for singing the opera aria "Nessun dorma" at the Grammy Awards of 1998, replacing Luciano Pavarotti.

 Later that year, she scored her final Top 40 song with "A Rose Is Still a Rose", and her stage performance at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015 was highly praised.