Aretha Franklin, Mark Bego
Aretha Franklin, Mark Bego
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Aretha Franklin
The Queen of Soul

Author: Mark Bego

Narrator: Mel Foster

Unabridged: 14 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook (DRM Protected)

Published: 04/01/2012

Synopsis

Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul documents the beloved singing star’s rocky personal life and internationally acclaimed show business career. An in-depth and frank examination of Aretha, this definitive biography traces her career from her beginnings as a twelve-year-old member of a church choir in the early 1950s, recording her first album at the age of fourteen, a major recording contract at eighteen, and stardom in her twenties, right up through her headline-grabbing 2010 health scare, to her triumphant return: singing to her cheering Detroit hometown fans in summer 2011.This New York Times bestselling author’s detailed research includes interviews with the most important people in Aretha’s life, including record producers Jerry Wexler, Clyde Otis, and Clive Davis, her first husband, several of Franklin’s singing star contemporaries, and a rare one-on-one session with Aretha herself.Bego’s portrayal of the singing sensation is done with clarity and neutrality. A no-holds-barred look at her roller coaster life, it takes her from two teenage pregnancies and an abusive first marriage, to drinking problems, battles with her weight, the murder of her father, and tabloid wars. This critically acclaimed, freshly updated biography will give readers a clear understanding of what makes Aretha Franklin the “Queen of Soul.”

About Mark Bego

Mark Bego has been called “The Number One Bestselling Pop Biographer” by Publishers Weekly and has been referred to in the pres as “The Prince of Pop Music Bios.” He is the author of 58 published books on rock & roll and show business. With over ten million copes of his books in print, Mark Bego has written two New York Times bestselling books and a Chicago Tribune bestseller.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Vilo on October 24, 2012

This biography of Aretha Franklin is written by a music critic, which gave it a definite focus. Each record (CD) she has released is discussed in detail, and lots of interesting information about the music business and the process of putting a record together is given. Ms. Franklin is a very private......more

Goodreads review by TAMMY on August 23, 2021

This book was so poorly written that halfway through, I stopped to check the reviews to see if everyone else hated it as much as I did. The author seemed preoccupied with two subjects: weight and wardrobe. It was bad enough that he obsessed over Aretha's well-known weight problem, but he even referr......more

Goodreads review by Jay on May 10, 2022

Aretha makes me think of my late grandmother. Aretha reminds me of the spunk my grandmother had. They even look alike. I started paying closer attention to Aretha after my grandmother passed away in 2008. This was an extremely long book, but super informative. Aretha had a very hard life. Abandoned by......more

Goodreads review by Amanda on November 11, 2014

This was a great discography and retelling of Aretha Franklin's career ascendancy, but a personal take on the singer rang a bit hollow. She doesnt talk about anything that would be considered unpleasant or difficult, so you sont get an understanding of the context foe her songs. What was she thinkin......more

Goodreads review by Johanne on July 26, 2021

Didn’t actually finish the book, unfortunately I simply lost interest… It’s more a book about the music she made and the timeline with bits and pieces about her versus what I imagined a biography would actually be about.......more

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