Aretha Franklin
Singer, pianist and interpreter whose voice became foundational to soul music and inseparable from Black cultural and civil-rights history.
Life, work & what’s documented
Aretha Franklin was born 1942-03-25 and died 2018-08-16 at age 76. Singer, pianist and interpreter whose voice became foundational to soul music and inseparable from Black cultural and civil-rights history. The Queen of Soul, whose voice and repertoire became part of American civic and musical life.
Why They’re Fucking Awesome
The Queen of Soul, whose voice and repertoire became part of American civic and musical life.
Essential works: Respect · Chain of Fools · Amazing Grace
Meaningful connections
- SoulContributed To / Aretha Franklin's voice, musicianship and repertoire made a foundational contribution to soul music.Relationship source / confidence: high
Positive impact
Good Deed Watch should document her civil-rights support only when attached to named archival or institutional evidence; avoid repeating unattributed anecdotes.
Evidence and disposition
Celebrate documented work and impact. Do not imply the scoped search proves an absence of controversy or harm.
Context is not destiny
Born 1942-03-25; died 2018-08-16; age at death 76. These dates provide historical context, not a mortality model.
Death context: Aretha Franklin died on 2018-08-16 at age 76. This profile states only the sourced date and age until a reviewed cause or circumstance source is attached.
Historical illness and age are context, not proof of a current crisis or a factual mortality forecast.
The cosmic file
No reliable birth time was established in this review, so the profile uses an astrology exemption and presents no Ascendant or houses.
Birth-data confidence: no reliable time verified in this pass; No claim made beyond calendar-date sun sign already present in the prior pack.; Do not calculate or publish houses, Moon, or ascendant until a rated time source is reviewed.. Astrology is interpretive and is never medical prediction. A rising-sign link requires reviewed AA, A or B-rated birth-time evidence without an uncertainty qualifier.
Sources & provenance
- Wikidata item Q125121Wikidata / 2026-08-26 / identity / confidence: mediumSource ID aretha-franklin:discovery_index:1. Verification: identity_discovery_only. Claims: identity.
- Official website candidateOfficial site / 2026-08-26 / biography / confidence: primarySource ID aretha-franklin:official_site_candidate:2. Verification: selected_for_editorial_use. Claims: career summary, official legacy.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica candidateEncyclopaedia Britannica / 2026-08-26 / identity / confidence: highSource ID aretha-franklin:reference_candidate:3. Verification: selected_for_editorial_use. Claims: identity, vital dates, career summary.
Official links
- Official siteOfficial Site
Batch adw-publication-batch-2026-08-26-01. Research package completeness 96/100. Claims are linked to the source IDs retained in source notes.
Research last updated 2026-08-26.
Portrait provenance
Aretha Franklin photo by Atlantic Records (Life time: Published before 1978 without a copyright notice); Original publication: Billboard Magazine Immediate source: page 7; Public domain.
Exact source file · Public domain · Retrieved 2026-08-27.
Editorial identification only. No endorsement is implied.