Born on March 25, 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee and referred to as “The Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin is a famous singer, songwriter and pianist who became popular in the 60’s. Out of her 20 number one singles that made it on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart, two of them topped the Billboard Hot 100 at the number one spot, “Respect” (1967) and “I Knew You Were Waiting” (1987). A total of 45 singles of hers made it on the “Top 40” hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as well.
Franklin’s talent and fame was also proven in 1987 when she became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She has a total of 20 Grammy Awards to her name to date and in 2008 was ranked number one on Rolling Stone’s The Greatest Singers of All Time list. Aretha’s success continues even to this day, as she was the featured singer at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration for Barack Obama.
