When Aretha Franklin sang, the world stopped, and her voice soared – across genres, generations, and borders like a gospel hallelujah stitched into soul, R&B, pop, and protest.

She was royalty. 

And no, Aretha was not crowned in Hollywood or Harlem. 

She was crowned in Detroit, where church meets street, where sacred meets secular – and where she ruled for more than 70 years as the Queen of Soul. 

Aretha Louise Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, but her real story began in Detroit, where her family moved in 1946 when she was just four years old.

Her father was a charismatic Baptist preacher whose sermons and Sunday services riveted thousands in New Bethel Baptist Church.

Meanwhile, their mother, Barbara, was a gospel singer who left the family when Aretha was just six and died of a heart attack four years later. 

This resulted in Aretha being brought up in a home of genius and heartbreak.

It was a place where Mahalia Jackson dropped by for dinner and Sam Cooke came by after church.

Aretha’s crucible was in Detroit. 

She played the piano by ear and sang solos at New Bethel long before most kids even learned to write their names, and by 14, she recorded her first full-length gospel album. 

But this wasn’t your everyday church girl.

She had another side to her – a raw, aching depth in her voice that came from pain, prayer, and prophecy.

And Detroit listened.

Aretha signed on with Columbia Records in New York City in 1960 at the age of 18 as a jazz-pop crooner. 

The problem was, while the voice was there, her look was not (at least not by music industry standards).

The label had no idea what to do with a young Black woman, especially not one whose sound could not be easily controlled.

Then came Atlantic Records. 

However, everything really changed when Aretha recorded “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” in 1967 at Muscle Shoals, followed by Respect (written by Otis Redding and rewritten by Aretha). 

It was a declaration – not a hit. 

Aretha was announcing to the entire word that she was:

Black. Female. Unapologetic. 

And above all else: deserving of basic human dignity. 

In just two minutes and 29 seconds, she changed the entire trajectory of her career.

Between 1967 and 1975, Aretha went on to release hit after hit on the heels of Respect’s smash success:

“Chain of Fools”

“Think”

“(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”

“Rock Steady”

“Call Me”

Aretha never left Detroit.

She could have moved to Beverly Hills. 

She could have built a mansion in Manhattan.

Instead, she remained in the Motor City – first in Lafayette Park, then later in the suburb of Bloomfield Hills. 

At her core, Aretha was an activist with a deep love for the city that birthed her.

Her shows supported local Detroit causes. 

She paid college tuition for poor students. She posted bail for civil rights icons like Angela Davis. She sang at Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral when he was killed, and then at Obama’s inauguration when he became president.

And in between dominating world stages, she sang at Detroit churches, block parties, and local events. 

If anyone understood the soul of Motown – it was Aretha. 

Aretha Franklin was a huge star, but also very private – and deeply complex.

She had her first child at the tender age of 12 and her second at 14. 

She married twice. 

 She fought weight, fear of flying, and stage fright. 

She graduated high school and even received 12 honorary degrees. 

She smoked. She prayed. She survived abuse. 

And she could sing anything.

Opera? At the 1998 Grammys, she replaced Pavarotti with ‘Nessun Dorma’ so convincingly that Luciano himself was speechless.

Pop? She sang better than Adele or Beyoncé.

Soul? She did not merely sing it. 

She defined it.

In later years Aretha slowed down her touring but never entirely stopped performing. She performed her final public concert in November 2017 at the New York gala of Elton John’s AIDS Foundation, and even her frail voice sent shivers.

She died on August 16, 2018, from pancreatic cancer. 

She was 76. 

On that day, Detroit slowed to a standstill.

Mourned. 

Celebrated.

Over 30 pink Cadillacs lined up outside the Charles H. Wright Museum for four days of public viewing. In red stilettos and a regal gown, Aretha was buried in a gold-plated casket with her funeral broadcast worldwide and Detroiters lining up for hours to pay their respects. 

Aretha Franklin was the first woman ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Over the course of her career, she received over 18 Grammy awards for singing and sold over 75 million records – and yet – what was most important was the way she did it:

With power.

With presence. 

With grace.

And with Detroit always having her back.

Aretha now has her own freeway – the Aretha Franklin Memorial Highway, a mural on East Grand Boulevard, a musical in her honor, and a biopic starring Jennifer Hudson (Respect, 2021).

But maybe her most lasting monument is the sound of her voice at the end of a Detroit street, blasting from a car stereo, reminding the world of what soul really sounds like.