From her first hit in 1967 to her iconic performance at Barack Obama's first inauguration, some of the biggest moments in Aretha Franklin's career in photos and video.
Early in 1967 when she was already a music industry veteran but had only a few minor hits to show for it, Aretha Franklin recorded “Respect” and sent herself into superstardom. The song was released as a single and was the lead track on her breakthrough album, “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You,” her debut for Atlantic Records. Producer Jerry Wexler encouraged her to embrace her soul-and-gospel roots and together they found the sound that birthed “Respect.” The song had been a moderate hit for Otis Redding, who wrote and first recorded it. Franklin flipped the gender, spelled out R-E-S-P-E-C-T in the lyrics, and added the repeated “sock it to me” line from the backup singers. The result was a career-defining hit that won Franklin two Grammys, became an anthem for women and quickly entered the pantheon of American song.
(Atlantic via AP)
Atlantic via AP
(Atlantic via AP)
Franklin, shown here earlier in 1987 with James Brown, became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, joining a boys’ club of two dozen men. Her class included Marvin Gaye, Bo Diddley, B.B. King and Franklin’s essential producer, Wexler. The ceremony was all-male anyway, with Franklin a no-show and Keith Richards delivering her induction speech. Franklin’s brother Cecil, a minister, accepted on her behalf and did an impromptu victory dance with Richards.
(AP Photo/Joe Kennedy)
AP Photo/Joe Kennedy
Aretha Franklin receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. RIP. pic.twitter.com/iLw4CY040b
