Carolyn Ann Franklin (May 13, 1944 – April 25, 1988) was an American singer-songwriter.
Biography
Franklin was born in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
, to
Barbara Siggers Franklin and
C. L. Franklin.
The youngest of six children, they moved to
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, shortly after her birth.
Around 1946, the Franklin family settled in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
,
where Carolyn began singing at her father's
New Bethel Baptist Church.
Her sisters,
Erma and
Aretha, found success in secular music careers in the early 1960s; she followed them into the field, first recording in 1963. Carolyn began recording for
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
in 1969 and remained with the label until retiring from the music industry in 1976.
Erma's and Carolyn's successes in the industry did not match Aretha's after her breakthrough in the late 1960s; struggling to release a hit, Carolyn began to work behind the scenes as a songwriter, mainly for Aretha's work.
The two collaborated several times, and Carolyn Franklin wrote several compositions that became hits, including "
Ain't No Way", recorded in 1968.
The song hit the R&B Top 10 and also reached the top 20 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
Carolyn's next hit for her Aretha was the 1973 ballad "
Angel
An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
".
The song features Carolyn and
Erma's voices in the background and Aretha credits Carolyn in the monologue at the beginning of the song. Carolyn also wrote 1970's "Pullin'" with
Jimmy Radcliffe
James Radcliffe (November 18, 1936 – July 27, 1973) was an American soul singer, composer, arranger, conductor and record producer.
Biography
James Radcliffe was born in New York City. He released such singles as "My Ship is Coming In", a so ...
, as well as songs for the albums ''
Spirit in the Dark'' and ''
You''.
Carolyn Franklin retired from the music industry in 1976, though she occasionally continued to sing with Aretha. Carolyn appeared as one of Aretha's background singers in the 1980 movie ''
The Blues Brothers'',
and was a
backing vocalist
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...
on
Paul King's 1987 album ''
Joy''.
Carolyn Franklin died of
metastatic breast cancer at Aretha Franklin's home in
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Bloomfield Hills is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and is ...
, on April 25, 1988,
and is interred at Detroit's
Woodlawn Cemetery with the rest of her family members.
Discography
*''Baby Dynamite'' – 1969
*''Chain Reaction'' – 1970
*''The First Time I Cried'' – 1970
*''I'd Rather Be Lonely'' – 1973
*''
If You Want Me'' – 1976
*''Sister Soul: The Best Of The RCA Years 1969–1976'' – 2006
References
External links
*
Carolyn Franklin's discography*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Carolyn
1944 births
1988 deaths
American soul singers
Deaths from breast cancer in Michigan
Marygrove College alumni
Musicians from Detroit
Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit)
Singers from Detroit
African-American women singer-songwriters
American women singer-songwriters
20th-century African-American women singers
20th-century American women singers
20th-century American singers
Singer-songwriters from Michigan