Harvard reflects on the ‘Queen of Soul’
Her sound was as singular as her name. Aretha Franklin defined the fusion of gospel and R&B known as soul music, singing about love, lust, and heartbreak with a woman’s wisdom at a time when the polished, G-rated cooing of Motown dominated pop airwaves in white America. A polished pianist as well, she was a chart-topping star who also championed traditional Gospel and political songs by African-American composers. She often worked with musicians whose top-flight talent was nonetheless overshadowed by her often-imitated, never duplicated voice. Franklin, who died Thursday at her home in Detroit from pancreatic cancer, was among the most important musical artists of the 20th century. She was 76. Crowned the “Queen of Soul” in 1967 just as she began to rack up a long string of hits for Atlantic Records — including “Think,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” and “Chain of Fools” — Franklin more than lived...