Success at a Young Age Aretha Franklin is a well-known pop, R&B and gospel singer. She has been nicknamed "The Queen of Soul" and is an internationally known artist and a symbol of pride in the African-American community. His popularity soared in 1967 when he released an album containing the songs "I Never Loved a Man", "Respect" and "Baby I Love You". Over the course of his career he has earned fifteen Grammy Awards, Lifetime Achievement Awards, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Legend Awards and numerous Grammy Hall of Fame Awards. In 1987 she became the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Time magazine chose her as one of the most influential artists and entertainers of the 20th century. She sang at Dr. Martin Luther King's funeral and former President Bill Clinton's inauguration party. Although she has all these successes and awards, there are other reasons that brought Franklin to fame and landed her on the cover of Time magazine on June 28, 1968. The reasons that I believe allowed Aretha Franklin to be so successful are as follows : The family's involvement with religion, the inspiring people who surrounded her, and the pain she suffered. It's clear that her family's involvement with religion would be one of the reasons why Aretha Franklin rose to fame as a gospel singer. Some people would say that his love for religion is incredible, but after studying his childhood it is very believable. His father, the Rev. Clarence LaVaugh Franklin, jumped off a mule in Shelby, Mississippi and preached while living the life of a sharecropper. As soon as he had enough money, he would move to Memphis, Tennessee, to pastor two churches. After a couple of years he attended LeMoyne College and studied English education and literature. With his education he was able to give a more liberal vision to his preaching. He then moved with his family to Buffalo, New York. When he had the resources, he moved the family back to Detroit, Michigan, where he settled and became pastor of a church called New Bethel Baptist Church. He quickly became one of the most famous pastors in the city of Detroit. Aretha was two years old when they made the final move, she would grow up here and grasp Church's emotion and incorporate it into her music. Aretha Franklin's mother, Barbara V.