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8-16-2018 RIP Aretha Franklin

RIP the Queen Of Soul. One of the great voices of our lifetimes fell silent today. Aretha Franklin has died at 76.  The duaghter of a minister, Aretha was born ao March 25th of 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee.  The family moved briefly to Buffalo when she was just four, before relocating in Detroit, where her father took the pulpit at the New Bethel Baptist Church. Her parents separated when Aretha was just 7 and her mother died before she turned 10.  Her father's booming voice and inspirational sermons drew musicians and other celebrities to his services, where they heard his daughter belt out hymns with a voice that was startlingly strong for so young a child.  Before long, Sam Cooke and Berry Gordy were trying to convince her father to have Aretha record for a label.  At 18 she was under contract with Columbia Records, releasing R&B, Pop and Easy Listening singles and albums.  Her leap to international acclaim came with her move to Atlantic at the end of 1966.  Early the following year, Franklin went to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and started recording the Rockin' Soul and R&B songs that rocketed her to the top of the charts.