Musical Talents
Since an extremely early age, Aretha had a powerful voice. She was mostly self-taught and considered a child prodigy. Not only did Aretha have an unbelievable voice, but she was also a skilled pianist. She quickly started singing in front of her father’s congregation. She was going to be a star, and everyone knew it.
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By the time she was just 14 years old, Franklin had started recording some of her earliest tracks at her father’s church. A small label decided to release the songs in an album called Songs of Faith in 1956. She also got to join her father and performed with his traveling revival show. While she was on tour, she made friends with Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke, and Clara Ward.