The Queen

Aretha Franklin would have been 79 years old today. She’s my Throwback Thursday. There’s not much I can write here about Aretha that you may not already know.

Born in Memphis, Aretha rose from a child singing gospel in Detroit, Michigan to an amazing 112 charted singles on Billboard, including 77 Hot 100 entries, 17 top-ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries, and 20 number-one R&B singles.

It is my belief that Aretha is the greatest female singer of all-time. Period.

I could link to articles and stories about her greatness and it wouldn’t tell the whole story – I’d recommend reading the 1999 biography, Aretha: From These Roots.

Instead I’ll touch on some highlights for me in the career of “The Queen of Soul” – and yes, I’ll be linking to many of these moments:

- Atlantic Records - The move from Columbia Records to Atlantic marked one of Franklin's biggest career moves when she scored some of her first and biggest hits that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame said revolutionize the soul music genre.

- “Respect” – In 1967, Franklin released the song that was originally recorded by the great Otis Redding in 1965. It took on greater meaning coming from Aretha. The changes in lyrics and production drove Franklin's version to become an anthem for the increasingly large Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements – Franklin altered the lyrics to represent herself, a strong woman.

- Stepping in for Pavarotti - At the Grammys in 1998, the legendary soul singer stepped in – at the last minute – for Pavarotti, who had been due to sing his trademark piece, “Nessun Dorma”.

- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – While we all can argue about their selection process, there is no arguing that they made the right decision when they inducted Aretha as the first woman into the Hall of Fame in 1987.

- The Blues Brothers – In one of the most memorable scenes of the movie, Aretha belts out the song “Think” in in a fantastic diner scene. The appearance helped revitalize her career in the 1980s.

My favorite memory is when she sang at the Kennedy Center Honors the night that they were honoring Carole King. After some sweet tributes to King through various singers, out steps Aretha Franklin. She waves and sits down at the piano. From the moment the first chords to "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" flow through the hall, you knew you were in for something special. I'm getting chills just writing about it - and to see King's reaction. Well, that's pretty special too. When Aretha stands up from the piano, drops her mink coat, it's like you're in church and you gotta stand with her. She's preaching and her message is soul, equality and love. If you watch one thing today, let it be the video below.

Song after song – hit after hit – “Chain of Fools”, “Rock Steady”, “Freeway of Love”, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”. After her death, Variety magazine said “France gave us Edith Piaf, Cuba had Celia Cruz. If America’s contribution came down to one female singer, she’d be the minister’s daughter from Memphis.”