1979. a nationally recognized american baptist minister and civil rights activist who marched with dr. martin luther king jr., most notably in the 1963 detroit walk of freedom. reverend franklin was known as the man with the million-dollar voice and was one of the first baptist ministers to record and distribute his sermons. aretha s mother, barbara, was a gifted pianist, and according to her close friend mahalia jackson, one of the finest gospel singers in the country. talent ran strong within the family. aretha s sisters later became professional musicians as well and spent years performing background vocals on her recordings, along with her cousin brenda. her brother cecil became her manager and maintained that position until his death in 1989. her brother vaughn, a retired air force and vietnam veteran,
department of natural resources of the state of michigan. arooe th aretha would reach a milestone by singing at the first inauguration of president barack obama. aretha s powerful, distinctive gospel vocal style has influenced countless singers across multiple generations and musical genres. justifiably earning her the number one position on rolling stone magazine s list of the greatest singers of all time. aretha louise franklin was born on march 25th, 1942, in memphis, tennessee, the fourth of five children born to reverend clarence c.l. franklin, and barbara and was raised in detroit. aretha s father served as pastor of new bethel baptist church in detroit, michigan, from 1946 to
someone that you love so much? we re not saying good-bye, auntie. but farewell, until we see you again in our final resting place. thank you. [ applause ] please receive the musical tribute from miss franklin s son, my friend. we lived eight blocks from each other. we went to mcdowell elementary together. clai clarence, edward, and myself. we played little league baseball
charles smith, tina smith. one uncle, and a host of great nieces, great nephews, and cousins, including larone garrett, asia garrett, brooklyn hardeman, vaughn franklin iii, dominique hardy, joshua franklin, anthony gates, andrea gates, amber hal monday franklin, anthony franklin, cameron green, chris ttina davi jeff low, romney darrell, doris lowe, billy wilson, deon. thank you. [ applause ] amazing family, indeed. an amazing woman. sabrina owens, the niece of aretha franklin, with her
and karate lessons and cub scouts and all of that. they had a little more money than we did. miss franklin would always have ed to sing. he wants to give a tribute to his mother. i ask you to give god a praise for mr. edward franklin as he gives his mother a musical tribute. [ applause ] thank you. oh mercy, mercy me. things ain t what they used to be