Aretha Franklin
USA, 1960–2018
American singer, known as the Queen of Soul. Her Atlantic recordings from 1967 applied gospel phrasing and piano to secular material, on records including 'Respect' and 'I Never Loved a Man'.
MusicRoots documents 4 artists who influenced Aretha Franklin and 9 artists Aretha Franklin influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.
Who influenced Aretha Franklin?
- Clara Ward — Clara Ward sang at Aretha's father's church — her spiritual expressiveness was Aretha's direct and earliest model.
- Sam Cooke — Sam Cooke showed the way from the church to the world without losing soul — Aretha followed the same path.
- Billie Holiday — Billie Holiday was Aretha's model for phrasing and emotional depth beyond genre.
- Ray Charles — Ray Charles's synthesis of gospel and R&B was foundational for Aretha's entire career.
Which artists did Aretha Franklin influence?
- Anita Ward — Ward was a gospel- and soul-trained singer whose vocal roots lay in the church-soul tradition of Aretha Franklin before 'Ring My Bell' made her a disco name.
- Whitney Houston — Aretha Franklin — Whitney's honorary aunt 'Ree Ree' — was a main musical inspiration, the gospel-soul summit she reached toward.
- Queen — Aretha Franklin was among the singers Mercury most admired, for the seeming effortlessness of her tone and the gospel power behind it.
- Bonnie Tyler — Aretha Franklin was among the soul voices Tyler absorbed in her youth, feeding the gospel-soul grit in her singing.
- Mariah Carey — Aretha Franklin is among the gospel-rooted singers Carey names as her influences.
- Luther Vandross — Vandross built his approach on the great female soul singers, Aretha Franklin first among them - he sang backing for her before he had records of his own.
- Amy Winehouse — Aretha Franklin's gospel-rooted soul was among the voices Winehouse admired and drew on.
- Adele — Adele's soul-inflected balladry draws on the classic soul and Motown tradition Aretha Franklin defined; critics regularly place her in that lineage.
- Céline Dion — Aretha Franklin's soul power is among the influences Céline Dion grew up on, feeding the gospel-tinged force of her big ballads.