Aretha Franklin (1942–2018), the Queen of Soul, was raised in Detroit and hit her stride after signing with Atlantic in 1966 — Respect, Chain of Fools, and Think all landed within a few years. I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You and Lady Soul are essential, and the 1972 gospel set Amazing Grace is a landmark. Shop Aretha Franklin vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Aretha Louise Franklin was born in Memphis on March 25, 1942 and raised in Detroit, where her father, C.L. Franklin, was a prominent Baptist minister. She began recording gospel music in 1956 and signed with Columbia Records in 1960 as a pop and jazz artist. Her career transformed after she signed with Atlantic Records in 1966 and began working with producer Jerry Wexler at Muscle Shoals and in New York. She recorded for Arista from 1980 onward and continued performing until shortly before her death on August 16, 2018.
Franklin's Atlantic-era recordings established a definitive template for soul music, combining her gospel-trained voice with Memphis and Muscle Shoals rhythm sections, her own piano work, and arrangements that bridged R&B, gospel, and pop. Her later Arista work expanded into adult contemporary and gospel.
Original Atlantic pressings of the late-1960s and early-1970s catalog are among the most sought-after items in soul collecting. Amazing Grace has been extensively reissued, including the long-awaited 2018 release of the Sydney Pollack-directed concert film. The Atlantic catalog has been issued in multiple anniversary box sets and remastered editions.
Listeners new to Aretha Franklin typically start with I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967) or Lady Soul (1968). Amazing Grace (1972) is a common entry point for her gospel work.
