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 by the time she was six; four years later, her mother succumbed to a heart attack. Guided by 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...