Aretha Franklin has always been a soul survivor

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Aretha Franklin is a soul survivor.

For more than 40 years, her personal life and the struggles that she’s navigated in and out of, have been center stage. At times, we’ve heard her sing about it, because naturally, that’s what she does best. Other times, we’ve read about it, nodded our heads and commensurated with the harsh deck that she seemed to get dealt.
She just got another one earlier this summer. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

But dealing with pain, isn’t new to Franklin — and sadly, it’s likely the reason why hers is a voice that shakes the church rafters. For starters, Franklin had to deal with the horrific death of her father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin.

Her father’s ministry pierced Detroiters — and later, the nation — with his plea for civil rights for all human beings. He was right there alongside Martin Luther King Jr., championing the inalienable rights that should have been afforded to all Americans. It’s just as horrific now thinking about it, as it was back in 1984, when we all got the news that back in 1979 in the middle of summer, her father was shot twice at point blank range in a home invasion. He stayed in a coma for five years, and ultimately died in 1984.

WATCH VIDEO OF ARETHA FRANKLIN HERE
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Then there are Aretha’s beloved sisters — one of whom helped to shape the sound of classic rock. Erma and Carolyn Franklin were Aretha’s best friends, confidants and at one point, backup singers.

She entrusted her career to them — once telling me how the three of them came together to add the infamous “sock-it-to-me’s” to her ridiculously famous cover of Otis Redding’s “Respect.” Erma was a sensational solo singer in her own right, and Janis Joplin did a note-for-note cover of Erma Franklin’s “Piece of My Heart,” though many don’t know that Franklin recorded it first in 1967. Erma died of lung cancer in 2002; Carolyn died of breast cancer in 1988.

Aretha Franklin’s story of romantic woes and entanglements played out nationally too.

She’s been married and divorced and linked and not linked with many men over the years, struggling, it seemed, to strike the right type of romantic chord with someone. We could hear her pain play out in the music — it felt like she was hiding out in our closets, spying on our own issues with love, and putting them on wax.

Now we understand Aretha Franklin is battling pancreatic cancer, and the prognosis may not be pretty. No family member has yet to go on record about the details of her particular cancer or the recent surgery that she had, only that we know things went well with the surgery last week.

Our prayers are needed. And we should pray — because this woman has given us lots. Hers is a voice that should be preserved, honored and applauded. For nearly half a century, she’s been generous enough to feast our ears with her chalky,gritty Detroit-refined pentecostal chops, and greedily, we’ve devoured every note.

Here’s to many more years of Aretha Franklin live performances. Speedy recovery, Queen.

Kelley L. Carter is an entertainment journalist who won a national Emmy for a documentary she did on Aretha Franklin’s cover of “Respect.”