UnPublished Truth about Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin dies at the age of 76, on the 16 August 2018, Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since childhood she has been surrounded by gospel music at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, where her father, C. L. Franklin, was minister. The the Queen of Soul.

 

A 19-year-old Franklin married Ted White in 1961; not long after, he started managing her career. However, according to a 1968 TIME story, he “roughed her up” more than once, and the two ultimately divorced in 1969.

Is Aretha Franklin related to Kirk Franklin?

No

Franklin had her first child, a son named Clarence, as a pre-teen; two years later she welcomed a second child, Edward. She never publicly identified the boys’ fathers.

It was in the late 1960s when Franklin’s career really took off; her albums Lady Souland Aretha Now dropped in 1968, and included the mega-hits “Chain of Fools,” “Think” and “I Say a Little Prayer.” Along with Respect, some of her other most beloved tracks include (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, I Say A Little Prayer and Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves.

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By 1970, she had five Grammys under her belt in categories including Best R&B Recording and Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Female. She went on to earn 44 nominations and 18 total statues.

In January 2012, Franklin announced her engagementto “forever friend” William “Willie” Wilkerson, whom she’d been quietly datingsince the 1980s. Weeks later, though, the pair called off the nuptials, saying they were “moving too fast.”