“She saw Barbra Streisand as competition. She had the same reaction to Diana Ross when Ross played Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues. She was feeling outdone by these other women.”
Following the release of her latest studio album ‘Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics’, ‘Soul Sister’ Aretha Franklin has seen her name pulled through the mire by a book penned by a writer charged with writing her autobiography fifteen years ago.
Alas, if claims made by Mr. David Ritz are to be believed today, that version of her story was nothing more than a fluff piece, built to mask the mess his new book ‘RESPECT’ claims Ms. Franklin has attempted to conceal for decades.
A tale of love, sex and malice below…
Excerpts from the Daily Mail’s ‘The Secret life of Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, Laid Bare’ read:
She fabricated stories about mystery lovers and released those stories to the press just to keep her name in print.
And perhaps most complicatedly of all, she came from a home where her father was a promiscuous gospel preacher whose church was a front for orgies which Ray Charles was to describe as a ‘sex circus’.
‘When it came to pure heart singing, they were mother*****s,’ he said.
‘When it came to pure sex, they were wilder than me – and that’s saying something. In those days I had a thing for orgies, but I had to be the only cat in the room with two or three chicks.
‘The gospel people didn’t think that way. The cats liked it with the cats and the chicks liked it with the chicks and no one minded mixing it up this way or that.
Two months before turning thirteen, she gave birth to a baby boy she named Clarence, after her dad.
Rumors swirled that her own father was the father of her first child but it was Donald Burk, a guy she knew from school.
Aretha had a second child before she was fifteen by Edward Jordan, described by her brother as just a player. Both children would take the last name of Franklin and be raised in the Franklin home.
Aretha was driven into the arms of multiple lovers not only by the Holy Ghost music making/sex scene but also by her insecurities after her own mother, Barbara Siggers left C.L. because of his promiscuity and moved back to Memphis in 1948.
The poignancy of that event, as well as C.L.’s many women who followed Siggers’ exit, impacted Aretha more than it did her sisters, Erma and Carolyn.
She never accepted the loss of her mother and mother figures and began idealizing the relationship of her own father and mother as being perfect.
She tried to bury rumors about going crazy and having breakdowns by using Jet Magazine to clean up her image, something she had done for decades.
She was able to kick alcohol in the Seventies – and has never gone back to it – but not her food addiction. Sugar, bread and fried chicken were high on her ‘eat more’ list and she did. ‘Girlfriend was fat!’ stated Ruth Bowen, her booking agent.
Her other weakness was her ego: Aretha became so jealous when Roberta Flack and soul singer Donny Hathaway sang duets together, she fumed about being on the same record label with Flack.
She saw Barbra Streisand as competition. She had the same reaction to Diana Ross when Ross played Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues. She was feeling outdone by these other women.
Aretha was infuriated when Natalie Cole became a star in 1975 ending Aretha’s eight-year Grammy streak and winning best female rhythm-and blue vocal performance with This Will Be (an Everlasting Love).But it was females period that Aretha didn’t like. She couldn’t maintain a relationship with another woman and cut off any possible friendship, immediately putting them on her ‘s*** list’.Aretha was convinced that Mavis Staples, Gladys Knight, Diana Ross were all after her throne.
When, in 1987, Anita Baker beat out Aretha for best R&B vocal performance for ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash,’ that set off Aretha.
In 1989 Aretha sang a duet with Whitney Houston (It Isn’t, It Wasn’t, It Ain’t Never Gonna Be) that didn’t sell well. Whitney’s side of the story was Aretha ‘entered the studio as Queen Aretha, the original diva’.
Whitney was the biggest music star in the world at the time and excited to be with Aretha who remained cold and aloof.
But Aretha’s verdict was withering: ‘Whitney lacked [her] wisdom and maturity as a recording artist’.
And most recently, at the 2008 Grammy Awards Aretha was miffed when Beyonce introduced Tina Turner as ‘the Queen’, a title Aretha jealously guarded.
She never backed off of being haughty and cold, an imperious queen. ‘Her fantasy is to eliminate the competition’, sister Erma said.
The ‘Respect’ performer is yet to respond to any of the above.
“Fried Chicken”!!!! LOL why did I find this funny!!! :’)
I believe every word. Aretha is a b****, but everyone’s the way they are for a reason. She always comes across as cold and shady. Even Fantasia doesn’t fool with her anymore.
Shut up biitch!!! U always startn shyt!!
Y’all still posting stuff meanwhile your site is falling apart get it together
Damn.
To be honest, as much as this may be exaggerated in terms of tone for obvious reasons AKA profit, I can’t say that the general gist of the allegations sound far-fetched. Anybody who has watched Ms Franklin’s character on screen enough times can attest to the fact that she is very aware of her position as a legend and LOVES it. Like…LUUUUUHS. IT. She also often comes across as dismissive and almost threatened by other divas, particularly ones that came after her. It doesn’t make me appreciate her as an artist any less, she’s the Queen of Soul and that’s cemented BUT it does make me lose respect for her as a grown woman. You’ve been there, you’ve done it and you’ve done it better than most if not all. Be happy about it and congratulate your fellow woman instead of being an eternal child about it. There’s nothing worse than people who refuse to grow up. Is she a Leo by any chance? Leos have a terribly hard time congratulating any success that isn’t theirs because they MUST BE the best at everything. It’s all very tiresome, really.
I just looked it up actually, she’s an Aries! Even worse if you ask me.
DAMN!!!!! This is SOOOOOO MESSY!!!!! I know she didn’t like female performers and was insecure, but the church/orgy thing at her dad’s church? LAWD. And she had both her kids before 15?!????! And the oldest at 12????!?!?! If all this is true, she has beaten out any other Diva’s messy personal/family life.
I wonder how much of this is actually true…? I mean sure it’s apparent that she is very protective over her throne but the other stuff I’m not sure about lol
That part about the kids is true. I’ve read it many of times about her. Saw an interview her talking about the one at 15 that I remember. And how she was saying people in the church were looking/whispering because here…she was the daughter of a prominent preacher having kids at such a young age and out of wedlock
The tea is spilling, and it is HAWT…yes gawd!!! Anyways, I believe every word of this because Aretha and Diana were the two Black females of the 1970s and 1980s who barely dared to perform with other females. I want to know what the root of the Aretha/Patti beef was about. Aretha threw shade at Madonna before, but Madonna will never be as legendary as Aretha, so I understoo
Ridiculous. I do know that Aretha had her first 2 children very young, but those were days when people weren’t in the entertainer’s business like they are now. Aretha never had a beef with any artist. People have constantly tried to make her and Patti have beef as they do with all notable black female entertainers. Aretha even sued one website earlier this year for making up a story about she and Patti, who are friends by the way.Stop pitting these women against each other. And everybody is trying to be on the come up off of someone else’s “dirty laundry”. Out your own damn business if you want to spill beans. Damn this world has gotten so malicious.
Actually, if you read Aretha’s book, “From These Roots”, you will find lots of examples where Aretha is jealous of other singers — particularly female singers. I was astounded when I read so much of her own book, when she said unkind things about other singers. Then, the incident when Beyonce referred to Tina Turner as “the Queen”, and Aretha got angry and involved the media … please. Beyonce wrote what was scripted. She did not refer to Tina as the Queen of Soul. Aretha does not own the title, “Queen”. I love her dearly, but this has been going on for much of her life.
Aretha never had beef with Patti. They love each other and Aretha even asked Patti to sing “If Only You Knew” at her wedding. The messy people want them to have beef for some reason.
In 20 years, someone will write a biography about Beyonce and how she plotted to ruin the music careers of Jennifer Hudson, Amerie, Ashanti, Letoya Luckett, Kelly Rowland, Brandy, Michelle Williams, Monica and other females who are her contemporaries (except for Alicia Keys and Rihanna) because her smoke-and-mirrors act wouldn’t have handled the competition.
u tried it b****!
The Beyonce book is actually coming out in the autumn of 2015.
Aretha will be known as the greatest RNB female singer of all time.
Also, she has more #1 hits on the billboard rnb charts than any male of female artist in history.
The End.
LMAO!
Dead at “Loving fried chicken.”
Aretha child bye your days are over! I can’t stand legends that are rude and over the top! That’s why I love Whitney, MJ & Bey.
There is nothing more pathetic than a grown ass woman who behaves like she still in high school. I’ve never heard these orgy allegations, but everybody already knew the rest. Aretha is a legend no doubt, but get the f** over yourself and start acting like a legend.
The original Lil Kim… Kii
Screaaaamingg!!!
wtf is wrong with this site..????
Lol. Dang that’s horrible that someone put her out like that. TBH though, no one like competition, so I understand that part kind of. I mean look at Stans. (I.E. this site) I don’t understand why everyone can’t see that your God given talent is not meant to be like anyone elses, nor will you be at the top forever, but whatever. She’s Aretha. Queen of Soul & THE iconic blueprint for every voice in and out of mainstream music right now. This has me wondering about EVERY artist right now. What a shady business to be in. 🙁
1. No surprises that the racist UK Daily Mail would run with a story that attacks the legacy of an Iconic Black Female
2. Way to go dragging the a 72 year old women through the mud
3. Clearly this guy is a liar, because either you lied when you wrote her autobiography or your lying now and thats fact cos both interpretations can’t be true. Chances are your lying now because Aretha’s book was your only claim to fame and now your broke or you didn’t get paid very well for the first book you wrote with her consent, and obviously this was well timed and planned for her album release.
4. After almost 60 YEARS in the music business and still having top 10 albums, there is clearly nothing you can do stop Aretha Franklins Legacy and Iconic contribution to the gift that is music, when her Biopic comes out people will here her story from the only person who can tell it and thats her!
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I thought I was he only one that noticed how racist the UK daily mail was??
I think it is a right wing rag
Strikes me as someone out to make easy money off a legend’s name with baseless accusations. And the orgy claims have a nasty racial element to them.
Guess you never been to a holiness church. Stuff be scandalous behind the scenes. Ain’t nuthin racist about the truth honkey
Patiently waits for the next episode of Got 2 Be Real….
this bish was jealous of Whitney too.
I always thought that Aretha was tight with Cissy Houston…cause Whitney always spoke Highly of her and Dionne Warwick
I guess Whitney was a better person.
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i agree
The Whitney story was definitely true. Even after they had finished recording, she went back into the studio and redid her takes many times over so Whitney didn’t outshine her.
She really is mad insecure. The way she fumed at Beyonce over that Tina Turner homage smh. B**** your title is the ‘queen of SOUL’, Bey never called her that. Tina Turner is widely known as the Queen of RocknRoll anyway, so stay mad.
She can’t be mad at Beyonce for reading what was written and scripted for her. What was she supposed to do or say? Uhm No I can’t say that because that will offend my drooped titties
ahaha but come on – do you think the organizers didn’t coordinate that speech with Beyonce before the event?
This doesn’t surprise me at all! Aretha has one of the most horrible attitudes period!Is Aretha the Queen of Soul,yes! One may even go as far as to call her the Queen of R&B, but that’s where those titles end.Babs doesn’t have to do nearly as much promo to sell a fraction of what Rere sells.Every woman she has hated on has outsold her by at least 50 extra million, maybe that’s why she doesn’t like them! Either or, people need to stop living in the past and make room for new artist,I’m tired of these “legends” not knowing when to retire!
This all sounds too juicy to be made up. Lol. I think of a story somebody told me about overhearing something that Aretha Franklin said backstage after a show. Apparently, some female vocalist was feeling herself too much and Aretha supposedly says “Someone needs to tell that B**** that she’s JUST a background singer; I AM Aretha Franklin!” Lmao! Reading all of this makes it seem true.
She can be a prostitute or even worse, but when it comes to her voice, she delivered something no one else could do with that resonance and clarity.
Everyone has problem with themselves, those who are calling her names or virtue signalling on the comment box here are not always flawless or morally undisputed paragon. All do wrong things so did aretha. We call her legend not because of her personal life but for her musical excellence.