The year was 1987, approximately seven months before another legend was born (me), and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was the ultimate sausagefest (if you get my drift). Men dominated the immortalized walls of the not-yet-existent building in Cleveland, Ohio. Then on January 3rd, the King, Elvis Presley (who had been inducted the year prior) and all of his merry Rock & Roll men, made room for the Queen! The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, had made her presence felt as she made her entrance, becoming the first woman in history to grace the holy land of music.
Franklin’s Early Life and Career
Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1942. She was the daughter of a Baptist minister and gospel singer. She was introduced to music and faith at a young age. Her family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she would call home for the rest of her life. She became a prodigy at just 12 years old. She began singing gospel at her father’s church and even taught herself to play piano.
It didn’t take long for people to notice her talents and powerful voice. In 1960, at only 18 years old, Aretha would sign her first professional deal with Columbia Records. Despite dropping out of High School, Franklin would eventually receive honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music and Yale.
Accolades and Achievements
This section could go on forever, but I am not here to write a novel. We could talk about all the singles like “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Respect,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” Or the other 109 singles she put on the Billboard charts. Take a second to think about that! 112 singles! And we were not talking about the R&B group 112 (where everyone knows that’s the room where the players dwell). We are talking about one woman putting more singles on the charts than most artists would have in a six-CD box set collection!
If that doesn’t impress you much (sorry, Shania), Franklin also racked up eighteen Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Legend Award in 1991 and Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. For over 50 years, she brought heart and soul to her music, even performing at three different presidential inaugurations. Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton had the honor to have the Queen of Soul in their presence.
Most notably, the first black president, Barack Obama, showed his R-E-S-P-E-C-T to the first woman Hall of Famer! This shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone, given that Franklin was a Civil Rights Movement activist who helped the African American community and the NAACP whenever she could.
The Queen of Soul passed away on August 16th, 2018, from pancreatic cancer at her home in Detroit. Although the legend is gone, her music and legacy will live on forever. Here in Detroit, we have a statue named the “Spirit of Detroit,” and there aren’t many that embody the spirit as Aretha Franklin did! With the easy access to streaming services, her music will be enjoyed by generations to come.
Final Thoughts
As a Detroit native, I know the city is proud to call it the home of Aretha Franklin! Before you “sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me,” I’m well aware she wasn’t born here, but she spent most of her life in our proud city! 1987 was thirty-nine years ago (trust me, I know), and no one deserved to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame more than her. As Jay-Z once said, “Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t!” So just look at the numbers and tell me that the Queen of Soul doesn’t deserve her flowers!
