18 Facts About Aretha Franklin

1. In 2020, Aretha Franklin was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

2. At the age of 16, Aretha Franklin went on tour with Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

3. In January 1967, Aretha Franklin traveled to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to record at FAME Studios and recorded the song "I Never Loved a Man", backed by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.

4. Suspicion was drawn when the fake Aretha Franklin charged only a fraction of the expected rate to perform.

5. In 1980, after leaving Atlantic Records, Aretha Franklin signed with Clive Davis's Arista Records.

6. In 1989, Aretha Franklin filmed a music video for a remake of "Think".

7. On February 8, 2008, Aretha Franklin was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year, and performed "Never Gonna Break My Faith", which had won her the Grammy for best Gospel performance the year before.

8. On January 20, 2009, Aretha Franklin made international headlines for performing "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" at President Barack Obama's inaugural ceremony with her church hat becoming a popular topic online.

9. In 2010, Aretha Franklin accepted an honorary degree from Yale University.

10. In 2014, Aretha Franklin was signed under RCA Records, controller of the Arista catalog and a sister label to Columbia via Sony Music Entertainment, and worked with Clive Davis.

11. On September 29, 2014, Aretha Franklin performed to a standing ovation, with Cissy Houston as backup, a compilation of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" on the Late Show with David Letterman.

12. In December 2015, Aretha Franklin gave an acclaimed performance of A Natural Woman" at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors during the section for honoree Carole King, who co-wrote the song.

13. From her time growing up in the home of a prominent African-American preacher to the end of her life, Aretha Franklin was immersed and involved in the struggle for civil rights and women's rights.

14. In one of her handwritten wills, discovered in 2019, Aretha Franklin revealed that the father was Edward Jordan.

15. In May 2013, Aretha Franklin canceled two performances because of an undisclosed medical treatment.

16. In February 2017, Aretha Franklin announced in an interview with local Detroit television anchor Evrod Cassimy, that 2017 would be her final year touring.

17. In 2010 Aretha Franklin was ranked first on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" and ninth on their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

18. In 2018, Aretha Franklin was inducted in to the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.