‘Queen of soul’ Aretha Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Her full Name was Aretha Louise Franklin.
She was married twice, but neither of them lasted long. Before digging in, let’s have a look at her tremendous career and marriage life. Let’s see who was Aretha Franklin’s husbands.
A glimpse on Aretha Franklin’s career
Born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S, Franklin started her career as a child. She sang gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Michigan.
When she was 18, she started her music career as a recording artist for Columbia Records. Though it was not a mighty start, she got her commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966, where she got commercial hits such as ‘I never loved a man (the way I loved you)’, ‘Respect’, ‘Chain of fools’ and others.
And her journey continued with bigger hits with the albums ‘I never loved a man the way I loved you (1967)’, ‘Lady Soul (1968)’, ‘Spirit in the Dark (1970)’, ‘Young, Gifted and Black (1972)’, ‘Amazing Grace (1972)’, ‘Sparkle (1976)’.
She also appeared in the film ‘The Blues Brothers’ (1980)’. And soon after, she released her successful albums’ Jump to it (1982)’, ‘Who’s Zoomin’ Who? ( 1985)’, ‘Aretha (1986)’. ‘A Rose is Still a Rose’ is one of her remarkable songs.
After 1988 she didn’t have any huge hits, according to Rolling stone. Franklin issued the holiday album This Christmas, Aretha, in 2008. Aretha recorded 112 Charted singles that too on Billboard.
Among them, 73 were Hot 100, 17 were top ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries, 20 number one R&B singles. She won 18 Grammy Awards. It has to be mentioned that she is one of the best-selling artists of all time.
The Pulitzer Prize jury awarded her a posthumous special citation in 2019. She died of pancreatic cancer at her home in Detroit on August 16, 2018. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2020.
Aretha Franklin’s Husbands: How Many Times Was she Married?
Though she might see success throughout her career, her personal life was full of thorns, especially marriage.
Aretha Franklin was married twice in her lifetime. This self-taught musician was married to Ted White first, at the age of 18 in 1961.
She was the mother of four, and her first son was born in 1955 when she was 12. Franklin separated from White in 1968 and after she was married to actor Glynn Turman in 1978. They were separated in 1982.
Ted White
Theodore Richard White was Aretha Franklin’s first husband; he is an American businessman, songwriter, and producer. He was also the manager of Aretha Franklin.
They both co-wrote many songs such as ‘I wonder,’ ‘Lee Cross,’ ‘Dr. Feelgood’, ‘Think’. He was born in 1931. Franklin met White at a club in Detroit not long after the release of her album in 1961.
They got married six months after their meeting. At the time, Franklin was 19 years old, and He was 30. Aretha was already a mother of two by then.
However, their marriage wasn’t a successful one as they ended it after seven years. They got separated in 1968 and got divorced in 1969.
Franklin faced a lot of media interviews after this incident, but she never discussed the issues publicly. She remained silent throughout.
They have a son together who was named Teddy Richards after his father. However, there were rumors about Ted being physically abusive with Aretha.
Glynn Turman
Glynn Russell Turman is an American actor, director, writer, and producer. He is best known for his role as Leo Miles in Peyton Place, which is a prime-time soap opera.
He started his career in 1959. After many years as a stage actor, he started playing on Tv. He has been married three times. His first marriage was to Ula M. Walker.
And last marriage is with Jo-Ann Allen. His second marriage was with Aretha. After ten years of Aretha’s divorce from Ted, she got married to Glynn Turman. They met backstage at a show in the late ’70s.
They got married in 1978. The marriage took place at her father’s church. Turman had three children from his previous marriage, and Aretha became their stepmother.
However, this marriage didn’t last long either. They separated in 1982. This time it was due to the long distance. Their busy schedule didn’t match, and they couldn’t maintain the hassle.
After two years of their separation, they divorced in 1984. But they were on good terms after that; they remained close friends until Arena’s death.
Conclusion
Aretha Franklin is mentioned as one of the best-selling artists of all time. This marvelous lady will always remain in people’s hearts for her beautiful vocals and songs.
Though the ‘Queen of soul’s professional life was all harmonious and full of success, her personal life was full of discord. Her romantic life was turbulent all the time.
None of her marriages last long, neither do the relationships. She also faced physical abuse. It is sad to believe that this is the woman who sang the song ‘Respect.’
