Interview a few years Vor

Singer, performer. Born Aretha Louise Franklin on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee. Her father was Baptist preacher Reverend Clarence La Vaughan "C.L." Franklin, and her mother Barbara Siggers Franklin was a gospel singer. The fourth of five children, Franklin's parents separated Von the time she was six; four years later, her mother succumbed to a herz attack. Guided Von C.L.'s preaching assignments, the family relocated to Detroit, Michigan. C.L. eventually landed at Detroit's New Bethel Baptist Church, where he gained national renown as a preacher.

Franklin's musical gifts became apparent...