Clarence Franklin

Clarence Franklin was the celebrity father of an American singer and civil rights activist named Aretha Franklin. 

Clarence used to be a Baptist minister and a civil rights activist. Unfortunately, he is no longer among us.

Aretha was one of the greatest singers of all time. Though she is no longer with us, her music forever lives with us. 

She had numerous hits and was one of the greatest best-selling artists of all time. She sold over 75 million copies of her records throughout her career. 

She has been honored with the greatest titles, such as the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

She is also the first female to be included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She has also been included in the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Marriage:

Clarence was married twice during his lifetime. 

He was first married to a woman named Alene Gaines. They exchanged wedding vows on October 16, 1934, and later divorced in 1936. 

Clarence then got married to Barbara Siggers. They exchanged wedding vows on June 3, 1936. 

They shared four children together named Erma, Cecil, Aretha, and Carolyn. Barbara also had another child named Vaughn from her previous relationship. 

Clarence adopted Vaughn later after their marriage. Later, the couple separated but never got a divorce, and Barbara went to Buffalo, New York, with her son Vaughn. 

Barbara died in 1952 when she was just 34 years old, but Clarence didn't even go to her funeral. Barbara died because of a heart attack.

Vaughn didn't know that he was not the real son of Clarence as they never told him and always treated him like his own. He found out about it only later, in 1951. 

Aretha's marriage:

Aretha had married twice throughout her lifetime and got engaged once. Her love life is quite a journey.

Aretha first gave birth to her son named, Clarence, who was named after her father. She gave birth to him when she was just 12 years old. 

The father was not revealed for a long time and later was revealed to be Edward Jordan, with whom she had another child named Edward Derone Franklin later on August 31, 1957. 

Both of the children took her last name. 

Aretha never liked to talk about her early pregnancies.

Aretha's first husband was a man named Theodore "Ted" White, who was known as Teddy Richards. They had a son together named Ted White Jr. 

Ted used to be a guitarist at his mother's band. They got divorced in 1969 after the couple was separated in 1968. The reason for divorce was domestic abuse. 

She then gave birth to her fourth child named Kecalf Cunningham. The father of Kecalf was Aretha's road manager named, Ken Cunningham.

On April 11, 1978, Aretha got wed again to a man named Glynn Turman, a famous actor. They got divorced in 1984.

Aretha later got engaged to a man named Willie Wilkerson, who used to be a Vietnam War veteran and Detroit firefighter. They were said to get wed soon but called off the engagement.

His influence on his daughter’s career

Aretha grew up singing gospel at his father’s New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, where his father served as a pastor. As a young girl, she enjoyed watching and listening to her dad. 

Growing up with a gospel background, her father did allow her to listen or to perform pop music because he appreciated gifted artists and never tried to limit his children in any way concerning music or anything like that, Aretha said during a 1999 radio interview. 

The great performers of the time, like Nat King Cole and Art Tatum, knew Clarence and would spend time in the living room at the piano. 

Aretha, during an interview, said her father would have become a great singer if he had not been a minister, and it was him who encouraged her to music despite her disinterest and continued to motivate her, which she later was grateful for. 

Having been brought up in the church, she was not familiar with the Jazz environment. 

Still, once she got to New York and signed up to perform at the Village Gate and the Vanguard club, she began to meet Jazz musicians and gradually became comfortable with it.

Even after reaching stardom, Aretha kept herself grounded, and it was her father who reminded her to be grounded when she thought she was not supposed to do any household chores. 

During the conversation with CBC's Laurie Brown, Aretha recalled the conversation with her father when he said her rising stardom did not excuse her from doing the dishes, which was an eye-opener to her. She added,

I have not been a star since. I really needed that. He grounded me, and he gave me a balance, and from then on, I am not a star, I am the lady next door. 

During an interview with CNN, Aretha said her father taught her several things from the very beginning having to do with timing, phrasing, and coaching her in different ways. 

At one point, her father said that one day she would sing for Kings and Queens, and like he said, she did sing for them.

Net worth:

The net worth of Clarence at the time of his death was $11 million. The net worth of Aretha at the time of her death was $80 million.

Age:

1. Clarence was 69 years old when he died. He died because he was shot twice in Detroit and died in the process of recovery.

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