"Respect" Highlights the Other Black Women Artists who Helped Aretha Franklin Become the Queen of Soul

In “Respect,” the recently released biopic about the late Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson portrays familiar stories: the Queen of Soul’s upbringing and singing in her father’s church, the productivity and restlessness of her years at Columbia Records and her transformational experience upon signing with Atlantic Records and recording in Muscle Shoals, Ala. The film highlights her complicated relationship with her father, C.L. Franklin (Forest Whitaker), and her musical kinship with gospel great James Cleveland (Tituss Burgess).

Mixed in between those plotlines are glimpses of three Black women who shaped her: Franklin’s mother, Barbara Siggers Franklin, Clara Ward and Dinah Washington. Though subtle moments in the film, these are important inclusions in a story about Aretha Franklin’s life and remind us of an important historical truth: For Black female artists in particular, the struggles of being Black and a woman do not dissipate because one is talented. Among its many contributions, “Respect” offers a window into how a strong network of Black female artists supported one another despite abusive relationships, tough periods in their careers and the loneliness of success.

Barbara Siggers Franklin (Audra McDonald) died when Aretha was only 10 years old. Siggers Franklin was a pianist and a very fine gospel singer. Their time together in life was brief and Aretha spoke of her mother as a loving and consistent presence in her life.

Siggers Franklin was only 34 years old when she died. She never had the opportunity to realize whatever musical ambitions she might have had — and in fact, her own musical abilities took a back seat to supporting her husband’s career as a preacher and pastor. Yet, her considerable talent lived on in the life and career of her daughter.

Indeed, Aretha Franklin recorded her first live album in 1956, when she was just 14 years old. The gospel album “Songs of Faith” revealed Aretha had already absorbed the richness of Black Baptist gospel hymnody and had strong ideas about how to make it her own. The album included the song “The Day Is Past and Gone,” one of the most popular hymns sung in Baptist churches at the time.

While Aretha’s solo version contained echoes of the way a deacon would line the hymn to open a church service, it was vocally modeled after the performance of her greatest musical influence, Clara Ward. Ward was a pioneering gospel singer who, under the direction of her mother, Gertrude Ward, became the lead singer of the Ward Singers. Ward’s highly energetic and fashion-forward performances brought the group national acclaim among both nightclub and church audiences.

Ward and Aretha Franklin’s father maintained an enduring personal relationship that also allowed Aretha to develop a close bond with Ward. Ward’s glamorous style, charismatic performances and her willingness to carry her faith and voice deep into the secular world provided Aretha with a model for how to approach her own career and musical development.