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We wanted to highlight some of Aretha Franklins biggest career moments honoring her illustrious career.
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Watch the video above and learn more about Aretha and some of the key moments from her 50+ year career!
Related: Aretha Franklin Is Reportedly “Gravely” Ill And Near Her Death
You can see the full break down from CNN below.
1954 – Sings her first solo at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit.
1956 – Along with her two sisters, performs backup on her father’s gospel recording for Gotham Records.
1960 – Leaves Detroit for New York, signs with Columbia Records and releases first album, “The Great Aretha Franklin.”
1967 – Leaves Columbia Records after an unsuccessful attempt at developing a jazz style; signs with Atlantic Records; wins Grammy Award Best R&B Recording for “Respect.”
1967-1974 – Wins a total of ten Grammy Awards.
January 20, 1977 – Performs
“God Bless America” at the inauguration gala of President Jimmy Carter.
1980 – Appears in the movie “The Blues Brothers” and performs the song “Think”; leaves Atlantic Records for Arista Records.
1981 – Wins Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for “Hold On I’m Comin’.”
1985 – Wins Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for “Freeway Of Love.”
January 3, 1987 – Is the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
1987 – Wins two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for “Aretha” and Best R&B Performance by a Duo, with George Michael, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me).”
1988 – Wins Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female for “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.”
1991 – Receives the Grammy Legend Award.
January 20, 1993 – Performs “I Dreamed a Dream” at the inauguration ball of President Bill Clinton.
1994 – Receives the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the youngest recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor at that time.
1997 – Performs an aria from Puccini’s La Boheme at the wedding of
Vice-President Al Gore’sdaughter, Karenna.
February 6, 1998 – Reprises her roll of Mrs. Murphy from “The Blues Brothers” in the sequel “The Blues Brothers 2000.”
February 25, 1998 – Substitutes for an ailing Luciano Pavarotti at the Grammy Awards performing “Nessun Dorma” by Puccini, unrehearsed.
September 1, 1999 – Publishes an autobiography “Aretha: From These Roots,” where she discusses her private and personal life for the first time.
September 22, 1999 – Is named a winner of the National Medal of Arts by the National Endowment for the Arts.
2003 – Wins Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for “Wonderful.”
2004 – Starts her own record label, Aretha’s Records.
2005 – Wins Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for “A House Is Not A Home.”
November 5, 2005 – Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by
President George W. Bush.
2006 – After Franklin points out that no Motown talent was appearing in the Detroit
Super Bowl halftime show, the NFL asks her to sing the national anthem along with Aaron Neville prior to the game.
2007 – Wins Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance for “Never Gonna Break My Faith,” shared with Mary J. Blige.
February 10, 2008 – Is Grammy’s 2008 MusiCares Person of the Year.
February 14, 2008 – Receives the NAACP Vanguard Award at the annual Image Awards ceremony.
January 20, 2009 – Performs
“My Country ‘Tis of Thee” at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
February 2010 – A Snickers commercial starring Franklin and
Liza Minnelli airs for the first time.
July 27, 2010 – Appears on stage with former
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on piano, in Philadelphia, to raise money for charity. Rice is a classical pianist. They perform individually and together, classical, pop and patriotic selections.
August 1, 2010 – Falls in her home, breaking two ribs. The incident forces her to
cancel concert appearances for August.
February 25, 2011 – During an interview with Wendy Williams, Franklin reveals a loss of 85 lbs. The ailment that resulted in surgery in December remains undisclosed and a topic of conversation she dismisses with the comment, “I’ve left that behind, I’m feeling wonderful.”
May 3, 2011 – Releases new album, “Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love.”
October 8, 2014 – Achieves a milestone in music history by becoming the first female to earn her 100th hit on Billboard’s Hot R&B song chart with “Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version).”
October 21, 2014 – Releases a new album, “Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics.”
March 5, 2015 – Performs live on the Motown themed episode of American Idol in Detroit.
September 26, 2015 – Franklin sings “Amazing Grace” at
the Festival of Families, one of the events sponsored by the
Vatican for
Pope Francis‘ visit to Philadelphia.
February 7, 2017 – Franklin announces she will retire from performing in concert after the release of one more album. “I am retiring this year, she told a local television station in Detroit. “I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert.”
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