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Aretha Franklin

American singer, songwriter, and pianist (1942–2018)

  • Audience82.5K
  • Fame82.0
  • Momentum13.3
Source-basedRising
82.5K youtube followers
  • Audience82.5K
  • Fame82.0
  • Momentum13.3
  • United States rank#171
  • Musicians rank#157
  • Wikipedia191.7K
Lived 1942–2018, aged 76United States
United States flagUnited StatesMusiciansSinger / Musician
  • Biggest on YouTube
    82.5K
    @@arethafranklinvevo
  • Wikipedia
    102 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Rank in United States
    #171
    Musicians
  • Era
    1942–2018
    Aged 76
  • Known for
    The Blues Brothers
    1980
Summary
Updated 2026-08-14

Rolling Stone called her the greatest singer of all time — twice. She turned "Respect" into a demand the whole country heard, and every line she sang carried the full weight of the Black church and a voice no one could touch.

Biography

About

She grew up singing gospel at her father's Detroit church, where the power in her voice was clear before she was out of childhood. Columbia Records signed her at 18, but the breakthrough didn't come until she moved to Atlantic in 1966 and cut I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Lady Soul, and Aretha Now in quick succession. The late '60s and '70s brought Young, Gifted and Black, the live gospel record Amazing Grace, and 112 singles on the Billboard charts — 20 of them number-one R&B hits. After friction with Atlantic she jumped to Arista in 1979 and staged a second act with Jump to It and…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin
said
You walked in on the sly Scopin' for love In the crowd, I caught your eye You can't hide your stuff.
— "Who's Zoomin' Who", written with Preston Glass and Narada Michael Walden, from Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985)
Aretha Franklin
said
Step n' move your hips With a feelin' from side to side Sit yourself down in your car And take a ride. And while you're movin' Rock steady Rock steady baby.
— "Rock Steady", from Young (1972)
Aretha Franklin
said
Speak your name And I'll feel a thrill. You said I do, And I said I will. I tell you that I'll stay true, And give you just a little time.
— "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone", written with Teddy White, from Lady Soul (1968)
Aretha Franklin
said
People walkin' around everyday, Playin' games and takin' scores. Tryin' to make other people lose their minds. Well be careful you don't lose yours.
— "Think", written with Teddy White, from Aretha Now (1968)
Aretha Franklin
said
R-E-S-P-E-C-T Find out what it means to me R-E-S-P-E-C-T Take care … TCB Sock it to me, Sock it to me, Sock it to me.
— Lines added among her 1967 alterations to the 1965 song "Respect", originally written by Otis Redding
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Press play

Listen & Watch

Spotify
Latest

On YouTube

Deep cuts

Albums

Low confidence
  • Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland, July ’71
    2025
  • Today I Sing The Blues - 38 Greatest Hits
    2022
  • A Woman Falling Out of Love
    2011
  • Only a Look
    1996
By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Rising
82.0
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum13.3
Historical30.9
Now attention46.3
Source confidence95.0
Completeness90.0
Global rank
—
Country rank
#171
Category rank
#157
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence