Aretha Franklin

In January 1961, Columbia issued Aretha's debut album, Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo. Franklin would record for Columbia constantly throughout the first half of the '60s, notching occasional R&B hits (and one Top Forty single, "Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody"), but never truly breaking out as a star. Her work at Columbia was considerably tamer than what was to follow, and suffered in general from a lack of direction and an apparent emphasis on trying to develop her as an all-around entertainer, rather than as an R&B/soul singer.

When Franklin left Columbia for Atlantic, producer Jerry Wexler was determined to bring out her most soulful, fiery traits. In fact, that was to be her only session actually at Muscle Shoals, but much of the remainder of her '60s work would be recorded with the Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section. The combination was one of those magic instances of musical alchemy in pop: the backup musicians provided a much grittier, soulful, and R&B-based accompaniment for Aretha's voice, which soared with a passion and intensity suggesting a spirit that had been allowed to fly loose for the first time.

In the late '60s, Franklin became one of the biggest international recording stars in all of pop. Many also saw Franklin as a symbol of Black America itself, reflecting the increased confidence and pride of African-Americans in the decade of the civil rights movements and other triumphs for he Black community. Franklin was able to maintain creative momentum, in part, because of her eclectic choice of material, which encompassed first-class originals and gospel, blues, pop, and rock covers, from the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel to Sam Cooke and the Drifters. She was also a fine, forceful, and somewhat underrated keyboardist.

Aretha is a mother of four sons. She had been romantically linked to musicians such as Sam Cooke and Dennis Edwards, former frontman of The Temptations in the past. Among some of Franklin's music business friends include Dionne Warwick, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Mavis Staples and Cissy Houston, who began singing with Franklin on background as member of the Sweet Inspirations.

In 2010, Franklin canceled a number of concerts after she decided to have surgery for an undisclosed tumor. Discussing the events in 2011, she stated the surgery Franklin had would "add 15 to 20 more years" to her life. She denied that the ailment had anything to do with pancreatic cancer as it was rumored. In May of 2013, Franklin canceled two performances to deal with an undisclosed medical treatment. Later in the same month, Franklin canceled three more concerts in June and plans to return to perform in July.