Join us in singing "Happy Birthday" and "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" today as we celebrate
the Queen of Soul's birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARETHA FRANKLIN
| Jan Persson/Redferns/Getty Images |
We’re celebrating by remembering these amazing fun facts about Aretha’s life!
- During her prolific career, Aretha Franklin received 18 Grammy Awards and was nominated a total of 44 times.
- In April 2019, Aretha Franklin made history as the first individual woman to receive a special Pulitzer citation award.
- Aretha acted in only one movie in her career. Franklin played Mrs. Murphy, the wife of Blues Brothers lead guitarist Matt "Guitar" Murphy, in 1980's Blues Brothers. In the movie, she sang a new, longer version of her 1968 hit, "Think."
- She performed at the inaugurations of three presidents – performing "God Bless America" at Jimmy Carter's night-before-the-inauguration celebration at the Kennedy Center in 1977, a two-hour concert during Bill Clinton's inauguration festivities and finally “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” at Barack Obama's inauguration.
- She taught herself piano without knowing how to read music. "I play by ear,” she said.
- She was childhood friends with Smokey Robinson growing up in Detroit.
- She was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- Aretha Franklin handpicked Jennifer Hudson to play her in the upcoming biopic, Respect, following Franklin’s life from singing in her father’s church to becoming one of the most iconic figures in the music industry. Joining Hudson in the cast are Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, Saycon Sengbloh, Hailey Kilgore, Tate Donovan, Heather Headley, Skye Dakota Turner, and Mary J. Blige.
| Photo: United Artists |