Early Life
The daughter of the Baptist minister C. L. Franklin, she grew up in Detroit and began singing gospel in her father's church, recording her first album as a teenager.
Career
After a modest start at Columbia Records, she signed with Atlantic Records in 1966 and had breakthrough hits including “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)”, “Respect” and “Chain of Fools”. Her recording of “Respect” became an anthem of the civil rights and feminist movements.
Legacy
In 1987 Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She won 18 Grammy Awards, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, and was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize citation in 2019, after her death in 2018.
Sources and further reading
Last updated: 2026-09-24