Aretha Franklin children: Meet Kecalf Cunningham, Clarence Franklin, Teddy Richards, Edward Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, composer, and pianist who lived from March 25, 1942, through August 16, 2018. The “Queen of Soul” has twice come in ninth on Rolling Stone’s list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.” Franklin is one of the best-selling musicians in the world, with over 75 million recordings sold worldwide.

Franklin’s gospel singing garnered attention while she was a little kid at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father, C. L. Franklin, served as a preacher. She joined Columbia Records as a recording artist when she was 18 years old.

Franklin’s career did not take off right away, but after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966, she began to get praise and experience financial success. Franklin rose above her musical contemporaries thanks to the success of songs like “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” “Respect,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Chain of Fools,” “Think,” and “I Say a Little Prayer.”

Before running into issues with the record label, Franklin continued to release critically praised albums like I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Lady Soul (1968), Spirit in the Dark (1970), Young, Gifted and Black (1972), Amazing Grace (1972), and Sparkle (1976).

In 1979, Franklin parted ways with Atlantic and joined Arista Records. Before recording the popular albums Jump to It (1982), Who’s Zoomin’ Who? (1985), and Aretha (1986) on the Arista label, the singer made an appearance in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers. With the Lauryn Hill-produced song “A Rose Is Still a Rose” in 1998, Franklin made a comeback to the Top 40. She then issued an album of the same name.

Franklin’s well-known hits include Ain’t No Way, Call Me, Don’t Play That Song (You Lied), Spanish Harlem, Rock Steady, Something He Can Feel, Jump to It, Freeway of Love, Who’s Zoomin’ Who and I Knew You Were Waiting for (For Me) (a duet with George Michael).

Franklin won a lot of awards during the course of her career. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted her as the first female performer ever. She was named first on Rolling Stone’s list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time.” The Pulitzer Prize jury presented her with a posthumous special commendation in 2019.

Aretha Franklin children: Meet Kecalf Cunningham, Clarence Franklin, Teddy Richards, Edward Franklin

Franklin gave birth to four sons. She first fell pregnant when she was 12 years old, and on January 28, 1955, she gave birth to her first child, who she called Clarence after her father. Franklin indicated that Edward Jordan was the father of one of her handwritten wills that were found in 2019.

Franklin had a second child, named Edward Derone Franklin after his father, on August 31, 1957, when she was 15 years old and Jordan was the father. With interviewers, Franklin preferred not to talk about her early pregnancy. Both of her children adopted her last name.

Franklin’s grandmother Rachel and sister Erma alternated in charge of raising her children as she pursued her singing career and enjoyed “hanging around with [friends]”. Franklin would frequently go see them.

Franklin and Theodore “Ted” White’s third child, Teddy White Jr., was born in February 1964; he is now better known by his stage name Teddy Richards. When his mother’s band performed live, he played the guitar accompaniment.

Ken Cunningham, her road manager, is the father of her youngest son, Kecalf Cunningham, who was born in April 1970.

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