Happy birthday, Aretha Franklin! The Queen of Soul would have been 83 today. Franklin was self-taught, learning to play the piano by ear. As a child, she was noticed for her gospel singing at the New Bethel Baptist Church where her father was a minister. When she turned 18, Franklin moved to New York City, where she signed to Columbia Records. Her career didn’t take off, however, until she signed with Atlantic Records in 1966. In 1967, Franklin released her first top-10 pop single, “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)”. The same year, she recorded her version of Otis Redding’s song “Respect”. It was her first number 1 hit and quickly became her signature song, earning her 2 Grammy Awards in 1968.
Franklin is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with more than 75 million records sold worldwide and 112 singles making it onto the Billboard charts. She won 18 Grammy Awards, including the first 8 given out of Best Female R & B Vocal Performance. She also won a Grammy Living Legend Award and Lifetime Achievement Award. Franklin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1979, had her voice declared a “natural resource” by the state of Michigan in 1985, and was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
In February 2017, Franklin announced it would be her final year touring. She died on August 16, 2018 at the age of 76. Learn more here.