Aretha Franklin  

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"Songs often encourage Black men to define new types of relationships. In "Do Right Woman-Do Right Man," when Aretha Franklin (1967) sings that a woman is only human and is not a plaything but is flesh and blood just like a man, she echoes Sojourner Truth's claim that women and men are equally human. Aretha sings about knowing that she's living in a "man's world" but she encourages her man not to "prove" that he's a man by using or abusing her. As long as she and her man are together, she wants him to show some "respect" for her. Her position is clear-if he wants a "do right, all night woman," he's got to be a "do right, all night man." Aretha challenges African-American men to reject Eurocentric gender ideology that posits "it's a man's world" in order to be a "do right man." By showing Black women respect and being an "all night" man--one who is faithful, financially reliable, and sexually expressive--Black men can have a relationship with a "do right woman."" --Black Feminist Thought (1990) by Patricia Hill Collins

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Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist perhaps best known for songs such as "Rock Steady", "Respect" and "Think".

She began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, where her father, C. L. Franklin, was minister. In 1960, at the age of 18, she embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records but achieving only modest success. After signing to Atlantic Records in 1967, Franklin achieved commercial acclaim and success with songs such as "Respect", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Spanish Harlem" and "Think".

By the end of the 1960s she was being called "the Queen of Soul". Franklin recorded acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Lady Soul (1968), Young, Gifted and Black (1972) and Amazing Grace (1972) before experiencing problems with her record company by the mid-1970s. After her father was shot in 1979, Franklin left Atlantic and signed with Arista Records, finding success with the albums Jump to It (1982) and Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985), and her part in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.

In 1998, Franklin received international acclaim for singing the opera aria "Nessun dorma" at the Grammy Awards that year, replacing Luciano Pavarotti. Later that year, she scored her final Top 40 song with "A Rose Is Still a Rose".

Franklin recorded 112 charted singles on Billboard, including 77 Hot 100 entries, 17 top ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries and 20 number-one R&B singles, becoming the most charted female artist in the chart's history. Franklin's other well-known hits include "Rock Steady", "Jump to It", "Freeway of Love", "Who's Zoomin' Who", "Chain of Fools", "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)", "Something He Can Feel", "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with George Michael), and a remake of The Rolling Stones song "Jumpin' Jack Flash".

She won 18 Grammy Awards, including the first eight awards given for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance from 1968 through 1975, and is one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, having sold over 75 million records worldwide.

Franklin received numerous honors throughout her career including a 1987 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in which she became the first female performer to be inducted. She was inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. In August 2012, Franklin was inducted into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Franklin is listed in at least two all-time lists on Rolling Stone magazine, including the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

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Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Aretha Franklin" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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