2057 11 years ago 2057 11 years ago
www.princeton.edu...Aretha Franklin, the "Queen of Soul," has a repertoire that spans soul, jazz, rock, blues, pop and gospel. Singing in her father's church marked the beginning of Franklin's musical journey. She recorded her first album at age 18 and has recorded 223 albums in a career spanning more than 50 years. In 1968, she sang at the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr., a close friend of her father. During the civil rights movement, her soul music spoke to a new generation, and her most famous hit, "Respect," a 1967 cover of an Otis Redding track, is considered her greatest triumph and a vocal foreshadowing of the women's movement./nFranklin sang at the inaugural gala for President Jimmy Carter in 1977 and at the 1993 inauguration of President Bill Clinton, who awarded her the 1999 National Medal of Arts. In 2005, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. She also sang at the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009. Franklin's honors include 21 Grammy Awards, with the 1991 Living Legend Grammy and the 1994 Lifetime Achievement Grammy. In 1987, she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Franklin earned the United Negro College Fund's Award of Excellence in 2007, and in 2008, Rolling Stone magazine named her No. 1 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time."/nThe first woman in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the #1 “Greatest Singer of the Rock Era,” she earned her legendary status in American culture as a result of her virtuosic vocals that fundamentally and forever transformed the world of popular music. She pioneered an impeccably bold and fearless, affective and affecting style of performance that calls upon listeners to journey to the depths of her soul and, in so doing, discover their own. With her singular “Amazing Grace,” she continues to traverse musical bridges “over troubled water,” and by reminding us to “think,” “do right” and “call” on her, the Queen of Soul will forever command the world’s R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
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