ARETHA FRANKLIN was one of the most successful American singers of all time.
The Queen of Soul died of pancreatic cancer in 2018, aged 76, but years on, legal disputes over her estate are ongoing.
Who are Aretha Franklin’s children?
Aretha Franklin had four children.
She became pregnant for the first time when she was just 12 years old, and her first son Clarence was born in 1955.
Clarence was named after Aretha’s father.
Her second son, Edward, was born two years later.
After marrying Ted White, the Queen of Soul had her third child, a son named Teddy White Jr, born in 1964.
Kecalf, Aretha’s youngest son, was born in 1970.
Several years after she died in 2018, Franklin’s final wishes remain unsettled.
Despite her illness, Franklin had no formal will in place, but after her death, two handwritten wills were found, one dated 2010, the other written in 2014, and found between sofa cushions.
Her sons were divided, Ted White II favouring the 2010 document, with Kecalf and Edward in support of the 2014 document.
In November 2023, a judge ruled that the second handwritten will would override the first, bringing the family closer to a resolution.
All her children have followed their mother into the music industry, in some capacity.
Who is Clarence Franklin?
Aretha was just 12 years old when she had her first child in 1955.
The father of her oldest son Clarence was believed to be Donald Burke, a boy she knew from school, according to biographer David Ritz.
But a handwritten will, discovered in 2019, indicated that Clarence’s father was Edward Jordan, the father of Aretha’s second son, also named Edward.
Clarence was named after his maternal grandfather — Aretha’s father was an American Baptist minister and civil rights activist — and he took his mother’s second name, Franklin.
Little is known about Aretha’s first-born Clarence’s life, but it has been reported that Clarence has special needs and lives in an assisted living facility.
It is thought that he has written songs, including some recorded by his mother.
Franklin’s handwritten revealed wills that “special provisions” had been made for Clarence, now 66.
Clarence’s exact whereabouts are unknown, and he is not involved in the dispute over her estate.
Who is Edward Franklin?
Franklin, still just 14 years old, welcomed her second son, Edward, the son of Edward Jordan.
Edward, now 64, is a well-respected singer in his own right.
He often performed duets with his mother and even sang at his grandfather’s funeral in 2015.
Edward also performed at his mother’s funeral in 2018.
Who is Ted Jr Franklin?
Franklin married Ted White, her first husband when she was 19 and gave birth to her third son Ted Jr in 1964, when she was 25.
Ted Jr went on to become a successful singer and guitarist.
He has released several albums and often played his mother’s concerts under the name Teddy Richards.
Ted Jr has performed as the opening act for artists such as Seal, The Verve Pipe, and Inxs.
Aretha and Ted Sr divorced in 1969.
Who is Kecalf Franklin?
Franklin gave birth to her last son, Kecalf, in 1970, when she was 28.
Kecalf is the son of Franklin’s tour manager, Ken Cunningham, and went on to become a Christian rapper.
Like his brothers, Kecalf performed with his mother, including at a 2008 concert at the Radio City Music Hall in New York.
The name Kecalf is an acronym of both father’s and mother’s full names — Ken E. Cunningham and Aretha Louise Franklin.