"Aretha Franklin began life as the golden daughter of a progressive, brilliant, and also promiscuous Baptist preacher. Reared without her mother, she was a gospel prodigy who by her middle teens had already given birth to two sons and left them and her native Detroit for New York, where she struggled to find her true voice. She found fame, fortune, and that remarkable voice in 1967 with 'Respect' and a rapid-fire string of hits. Aretha turned the industry on its head by refueling pop with heavy soul. The Queen of Soul had survived, and arrived"--From publisher description.
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