Aretha Franklin

Singer

1942-03-25 – 2018-08-16

Aretha Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist known as the "Queen of Soul." She became one of the most influential voices in popular music and received wide recognition for her recordings in gospel, soul, and R&B.

Books by Aretha Franklin

Aretha
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Aretha From These Roots
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Quotes by Aretha Franklin

Being the Queen is not all about singing, and being a diva is not all about singing. It has much to do with your service to people. And your social contributions to your community and your civic contributions as well.
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The term 'Sock it to me!' was a big, big thing in our neighborhood - all the kids were saying it.
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I love producing, writing. I rarely write with other writers unless I have a real great respect for them. Like Burt Bacharach, or Carole Sager, or Stevie Wonder. Somebody like Smokey - like that. Otherwise, I choose to write alone.
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I like 'Bootylicious,' 'Survivor' - my little granddaughter loves 'Survivor.'
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I think the hardest thing is losing weight. That's the hardest thing more than anything else.
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You could call my piano my trademark, or one of my trademarks.
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I just got into Mike Tyson. My security people kept saying, 'Haven't you seen him yet?' Well, I finally did, and he's got a real knockout punch.
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Music does a lot of things for a lot of people. It's transporting, for sure. It can take you right back, years back, to the very moment certain things happened in your life. It's uplifting, it's encouraging, it's strengthening.
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I had not been in the jazz environment, having been brought up in the church. But once I got to New York, and I was signed to perform at The Village Gate and the Vanguard and clubs like that, and these - the Vanguard was one of the most elite, if not the most elite, jazz club out there.
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We didn't have music videos. You weren't an overnight sensation. You had to work at it and learn your craft: how to take care of your voice, how to pace your concerts, all that trial and error.
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Beyonce is a very hard-working woman. Astrologically, for whatever it's worth, she's a Virgo - like Michael Jackson, a hard worker.
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My mentor was Clara Ward of the famous Ward gospel singers of Philadelphia. And my dad was my coach. He coached me. And just my natural love for music is what drove me.
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We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It's our basic human right.
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I always felt rock and roll was very, very wholesome music.
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My upbringing was in the church. We had to attend regularly. And, of course, the church provided a training ground for me, so to speak, as a young vocalist and certainly gave me all of the spiritual values that I needed as a young lady.
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