Sep 3, 2026 · 26 min · 16 segments
Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul, and one of the most remarkable singers of the 20th century. At various points in her life she sang gospel, jazz, blues, R&B, pop, rock and roll, folk, Broadway…
Aretha was born on March 25, 1942, as the fourth child of five.
Her father was a Baptist preacher, who would later be allies with Martin Luther King Jr.
According to Aretha, her parents had a lovely relationship, both before and after her mother left the marriage in 1948.
According to others, C.L. Franklin was a ladies' man, and he expressed his anger physically.
Aretha adored and respected him throughout her life, but not everyone else did.
When her mother left, the kids stayed with dad.
But they visited their mother in the summer times until she died.
So in a sense, Aretha lost her mother twice over before she was 10 years old.
The Franklin home was visited by many famous people, including famous musicians.
Even the neighborhood kids were erupting with musical talent.
Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, and Otis Williams, who later became one of the Temptations, they all grew up in the same area at the same time as Aretha.
Aretha was still a preteen when she gave her first public performance in her daddy's church service.
For part of each year, he toured the country as a traveling preacher, and Aretha was paid a small stipend to be part of the act.
Her first recordings were with piano and choir, as she sang classic gospel songs like He Will Wash You Whiter Than Snow and Precious Lord, while the congregation punctuated the music with shouts of Amen and Oh Lord.
Ruth Bowen, who later became Aretha's booking manager, knew her then and said, "...everyone wanted to mother Aretha.
When I first saw her in her father's church, she looked like a lost child.
Her eyes were filled with sadness.
She looked afraid.
Then when she got up to sing, the sound came out.
It was gospel filled with blues.
I mean, frighteningly strong blues.
Beautifully mature blues." After she sang, she sat back down and withdrew into her own little world.
I know all the church ladies, especially those looking to get next to her father, were looking to mother her.
I had this feeling she had dozens of mothers, but she really didn't have any at all." It was a world which loved her, but maybe didn't do enough to protect her.
And perhaps it is not too surprising what happened next.
Aretha was born on March 25, 1942, as the fourth child of five.
Her father was a Baptist preacher, who would later be allies with Martin Luther King Jr.
According to Aretha, her parents had a lovely relationship, both before and after her mother left the marriage in 1948.
According to others, C.L. Franklin was a ladies' man, and he expressed his anger physically.
Aretha adored and respected him throughout her life, but not everyone else did.
When her mother left, the kids stayed with dad.
But they visited their mother in the summer times until she died.
So in a sense, Aretha lost her mother twice over before she was 10 years old.
The Franklin home was visited by many famous people, including famous musicians.
Even the neighborhood kids were erupting with musical talent.
Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, and Otis Williams, who later became one of the Temptations, they all grew up in the same area at the same time as Aretha.
Aretha was still a preteen when she gave her first public performance in her daddy's church service.
For part of each year, he toured the country as a traveling preacher, and Aretha was paid a small stipend to be part of the act.
Her first recordings were with piano and choir, as she sang classic gospel songs like He Will Wash You Whiter Than Snow and Precious Lord, while the congregation punctuated the music with shouts of Amen and Oh Lord.
Ruth Bowen, who later became Aretha's booking manager, knew her then and said, "...everyone wanted to mother Aretha.
When I first saw her in her father's church, she looked like a lost child.
Her eyes were filled with sadness.
She looked afraid.
Then when she got up to sing, the sound came out.
It was gospel filled with blues.
I mean, frighteningly strong blues.
Beautifully mature blues." After she sang, she sat back down and withdrew into her own little world.
I know all the church ladies, especially those looking to get next to her father, were looking to mother her.
I had this feeling she had dozens of mothers, but she really didn't have any at all." It was a world which loved her, but maybe didn't do enough to protect her.
And perhaps it is not too surprising what happened next.
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