Aretha Franklin: Respect

This tribute pays respect to the voice and life of Aretha Franklin, who died on 16 August 2018 aged 76. The daughter of legendary preacher CL Franklin, who hailed from the same Deep South as many of the blues legends, Aretha was raised in Detroit where her father preached at the New Bethel Baptist Church and where she grew up singing gospel. She had her first child at 13 and signed to Columbia in 1960, and her career ignited when she signed to Atlantic in 1967.

Global hits such as I Say a Little Prayer and Respect then quickly established her as the queen of soul, while her majestic delivery and regal presence made her an iconic figure in the emerging civil rights movement. Aretha enjoyed renewed success in the 1980s when she collaborated with Luther Vandross, had a cameo in The Blues Brothers and duets with the likes of Annie Lennox and George Michael. She was also the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and has sold over 75 million records. As recently as 2015 she stunned audiences with her extraordinary performance of (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman in front of President Barack Obama and the song's co-writer Carole King at the Kennedy Center.

Next episode

S2018E196 - A Week to Sell Your House