Aretha Franklin - singer, songwriter

Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter and pianist usually referred to as The Queen of Soul. Although famous for her soul recordings, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B and gospel music. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Franklin Number one on its list of The Greatest Singers of All Time. Aretha is one of the most pleased artists by the Grammy Awards, with 18 competitive Grammys to date, and two honorary Grammys. She has achieved a total of 20 No. 1 singles on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart, one of which also became her first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100: "Respect" (1967).

"I Knew You Were Waiting" (1987), a duet with George Michael, became her second number one on the latter chart. Since 1961, Franklin has achieved a total of 45 "Top 40" hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She also has the majority million selling singles of any female artist with 14. Between 1967 and 1982 Aretha had 10 #1 R&B albums more than any additional female artist. In 1987, Franklin became the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Aretha Franklin was the only characteristic singer at the 2009 presidential inauguration for Barack Obama.

Birth name	Aretha Louise Franklin
Date Of Birth	March 25, 1942
Place Of Birth	Memphis, Tennesee, U.S.
Genres	Soul, jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, rock
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, pianist
Instruments	Vocals, piano