Trivia

She had known Whitney Houston since Houston was five years old, and she was her godmother.

In 1987, she was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

On August 13, 2018, Franklin was reported to be in a Detroit hospital, gravely ill with pancreatic cancer, a disease she was first diagnosed with in 2010. Later the same day, CNN reported that she was at home in hospice care surrounded by loved ones. Franklin died at her home on August 16, 2018, aged 76.

Her voice was designated a "Natural Resource" by the State of Michigan.

In 2012, she was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame; having been described as the voice of the civil rights movement, the voice of black America and a symbol a black equality.

Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen, was an avid fan of her work.

She and Smokey Robinson grew up together.

She suffered from a fear of flying, which affected her schedule. She declined attending her Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame induction for the same reason.

She was ranked #1 on VH1's Greatest Women of Rock N Roll.

On 11/9/05, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush. Other recipients were Frank Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Gen. Richard Myers, Paul Rusesabagina, Carol Burnett, Andy Griffith, Vint Cerf and his Internet co-developer Robert Kahn, Jack Nicklaus, Alan Greenspan and former congressman G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery.

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6920 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on August 29, 1979.

She won 18 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Legend Award and a Kennedy Center Honor.

On 11/16/05, she was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame for her outstanding contribution to British music, having been considered an integral part of British music culture.

Died intestate with a reported net worth of $80 million.

The lavish hat she wore when she performed at Barack Obama's presidential inauguration was supplied by Detroit's Mr. Song Millinery. It created such a sensation that designer Luke Song sold out of the style shortly afterwards.

Many fans, critics and fellow musicians consider her to be the greatest soul singer of all time.

Her personal favorites of her recorded songs include: "Respect" (1967), "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (1967) and "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You" (1967).

She was voted the 9th Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artist of all time by Rolling Stone.

In 1992, she performed at President Bill Clinton's presidential inauguration.

In 1984, her father, the Reverend C.L. Franklin, died after having been shot by a burglar.

Had 4 sons: Clarence Franklin (b. January 28, 1955) with 1st ex-boyfriend, Donald Burk, Edward Franklin (b. January 5, 1957) with 2nd ex-boyfriend, Edward Jordan, Teddy Richards (b. January 30, 1963) with ex-husband, Ted White & Kecalf Cunningham (b. March 28, 1970) with 3rd ex-boyfriend, Ken Cunningham.

She has an asteroid named after her. NASA's NEOWISE project discovered the asteroid 249516 on February 15 2010 and gave it the name "249516 Aretha", or "2010 CV60". The name nomination proposal came from Amy Mainzer, Principal Investigator of the project. The asteroid is 4.306 kilometers in diameter and circles the Sun between Mars and Jupiter every 5.63 years.

In 1999, she was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, D.C.

She was the younger sister of vocalist Erma Franklin, who originally recorded the song "Piece of My Heart," later a hit for Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin. She was the older sister of singer/songwriter Carolyn Franklin, who wrote Aretha's hit "Ain't No Way". She was the daughter of the Reverend C.L. Franklin.

She sang "God Bless America" at the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.

In 2008, she was voted the greatest singer of the rock era in a Rolling Stone magazine poll.

On December 8 2010 it was reported that she had pancreatic cancer.

Her Detroit funeral was attended by Bill Clinton & Hillary Clinton, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Eric Holder, Tyler Perry, Louis Farrakhan, etc.

In 1987, her duet with George Michael, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)", was a UK and US number-one single and her only UK chart-topper.

She was portrayed by Jennifer Hudson in the film, Respect (2021).

Lifelong friends of Smokey Robinson and Diana Ross.

Almost shared the same birthday as Diana Ross. Despite being 2 yrs. Ross's senior, they both grew up together. Much later, having started her own career, Franklin admired Ross's work in The Supremes.

She was named for two of her father's sisters, Aretha and Louise.

Always insisted on being paid $25,000 cash in advance of her shows, but was willing to accept a check for any outstanding balance.

Her favorite film when she was a child was The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939).

In 2014 she received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from NYU.

She is portrayed by Cynthia Erivo in the television series, Genius: Aretha.

She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

She is mentioned in the song "Life Is a Rock But the Radio Rolled Me" by Reunion.

Grandmother of Victorie Franklin.

In 1947, when Franklin was 5, her family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where her father took over the pastorship of the New Bethel Baptist Church.

She was a lifelong Democrat.

Born on exactly the same date as *Rocky Horror Show* author Richard "Riff Raff" O'Brien.