Editing Aretha Franklin (section)

===1980–2007: Arista years===
[[File:Aretha Franklin 1998.jpg|left|upright|thumb|Franklin in 1998]]
In 1980, after leaving Atlantic Records,<ref>{{cite news |last1 = Holden |first1 = Stephen |title = Aretha Franklin: Gospel and Glamour |work = The New York Times |date = October 11, 1981 |id = {{ProQuest|121764881}} }}</ref> Franklin signed with [[Clive Davis]]'s [[Arista Records]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/clive-davis-remembers-aretha-franklin-truly-one-of-a-kind-711990/|title=Clive Davis Mourns Aretha Franklin: 'Truly One of a Kind'|last1=Blistein|first1=Jon|date=August 16, 2018|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|access-date=September 4, 2019}}</ref> "Davis was beguiling and had the golden touch", according to ''Rolling Stone''. "If anybody could rejuvenate Franklin's puzzlingly stuck career, it was Davis."<ref name="RStone"/> Also in 1980, Franklin gave a [[Royal Command Performance|command performance]] at the [[London Palladium]] in front of [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]].{{cn|date=January 2025}} Franklin also had an acclaimed guest role as a [[soul food]] restaurant proprietor and wife of [[Matt "Guitar" Murphy]] in the 1980 comedy musical ''[[The Blues Brothers (film)|The Blues Brothers]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last = Fleming |first = Mike Jr. |date = August 16, 2018 |url = https://deadline.com/2018/08/john-landis-aretha-franklin-the-blues-brothers-reminisces-john-belushi-dan-aykroyd-1202447056/ |title = John Landis, Who Directed Aretha Franklin's Only Two Movies, Remembers Her 'Blues Brothers' Turns |website = Deadline Hollywood }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1 = Lifton |first1 = Dave |first2 = Matthew |last2 = Wilkening |date = August 16, 2018 |url = http://1440wrok.com/aretha-franklin-year-by-year-photos/ |title = Aretha Franklin Year By Year Photos |publisher = 1440 WROK NewsTalk }}</ref> Franklin's first Arista album, ''[[Aretha (1980 album)|Aretha]]'' (1980), featured the number-three R&B hit "United Together" and her Grammy-nominated cover of Redding's "[[I Can't Turn You Loose]]". The follow-up, 1981's ''[[Love All the Hurt Away]]'', included her famed duet of the title track with [[George Benson]], while the album also included her Grammy-winning cover of [[Sam & Dave]]'s "[[Hold On, I'm Comin' (song)|Hold On, I'm Comin']]". Franklin achieved a gold record—for the first time in seven years—with the 1982 album ''[[Jump to It]]''. The album's [[Jump to It (song)|title track]] was her first top-40 single on the pop charts in six years.<ref>{{cite magazine |url = https://www.billboard.com/artist/aretha-franklin/chart-history/dsi/ |title = Aretha Franklin – Jump To It |magazine = Billboard |access-date = August 16, 2018 }}</ref> The following year, she released "[[Get It Right (Aretha Franklin song)|Get It Right]]", produced by [[Luther Vandross]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last1 = Shewey |first1 = Don |title = Get It Right |url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/get-it-right-255411/ |magazine = Rolling Stone |access-date = August 28, 2018 |date = September 15, 1983 }}</ref>

In 1985, inspired by a desire to have a "younger sound" in her music, ''[[Who's Zoomin' Who?]]'' became her first Arista album to be certified [[List of music recording certifications|platinum]]. The album sold well over a million copies thanks to the hits "[[Freeway of Love]]", the title track, and "Another Night".<ref>{{cite magazine |last = Graham |first = Eliza |title = Aretha Franklin's New Wave of Pop |magazine = Rolling Stone|date=1985 |page = 11 }}</ref> The next year's ''[[Aretha (1986 album)|Aretha]]'' album nearly matched this success with the hit singles "[[Jumpin' Jack Flash]]", "[[Jimmy Lee (song)|Jimmy Lee]]" and "[[I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)]]", her international number-one duet with [[George Michael]]. During that period, Franklin provided vocals to the theme songs of the TV shows ''[[A Different World]]'' and ''Together''.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-07-18/features/8602120160_1_abc-tv-aretha-franklin-brock-walsh |title = Writer's Ballad Tapped For Abc-tv Fall Theme |first = Patrick |last = Goldstein |date = July 18, 1986 |work = [[Sun-Sentinel]] |access-date = April 18, 2012 |archive-date = July 9, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120709004400/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-07-18/features/8602120160_1_abc-tv-aretha-franklin-brock-walsh |url-status = dead }}</ref> In 1987, she issued her third gospel album, ''[[One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism]]'', which was recorded at her late father's New Bethel church, followed by ''[[Through the Storm (Aretha Franklin album)|Through the Storm]]'' in 1989.

In 1987, Franklin performed "[[America the Beautiful]]" at [[WWE]]'s [[Wrestlemania III]]; one source states that "to this day her WrestleMania III performance might be the most memorable" of the event openers by many artists.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/aretha-franklin/aretha-franklin-at-wrestlemania-iii/|title=Watch Aretha Franklin Sing 'America the Beautiful' at WrestleMania III |work=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|first=Garrett|last=Martin|date=August 16, 2018|access-date=April 2, 2021}}</ref> After 1988, "Franklin never again had huge hits", according to ''Rolling Stone''.<ref name="RStone"/> The 1991 album ''What You See is What You Sweat'' flopped on the charts. She returned to the charts in 1993 with the dance song "A Deeper Love" and returned to the top 40 with the song "[[Willing to Forgive]]" in 1994.<ref>''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990'' – {{ISBN|0-89820-089-X}}.</ref> That recording reached number 26 on the Hot 100 and number five on the R&B chart. In 1989, Franklin filmed a music video for a remake of "[[Think (Aretha Franklin song)|Think]]".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Aretha Franklin – Think (1989) (Remake – Official Music Video)| date=September 23, 2010 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKHmos-tsU0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/aKHmos-tsU0| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|language=en|via=YouTube|access-date=July 2, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1990, she sang "[[I Want to Be Happy]]", "[[(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman]]", and "[[What You See Is What You Sweat|Someone Else's Eyes]]" at the ''[[MDA Labor Day Telethon]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Aretha Franklin – 'I Want To Be Happy' & 'Natural Woman' (1990) – MDA Telethon|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPxGYd7u63w |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/wPxGYd7u63w|work=MDA Telethon|date=May 31, 2018|archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=July 3, 2021|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Aretha Franklin – 'Someone Else's Eyes' (1990) – MDA Telethon|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-tx68LLYKI|work=MDA Telethon|date=April 25, 2019|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/O-tx68LLYKI| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=July 3, 2021|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1995, she was selected to play [[Aunt Em]] in the [[Apollo Theater]] revival of ''[[The Wiz]]''. Franklin's final top 40 single was 1998's "[[A Rose Is Still a Rose (song)|A Rose Is Still a Rose]]". The [[A Rose Is Still a Rose|album of the same name]] was released after the single. It sold over 500,000 copies, earning gold certification.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Aretha+Franklin&ti=A+Rose+Is+Still+a+Rose#search_section|title=American album certifications – Aretha Franklin – A Rose Is Still a Rose|publisher=Recording Industry Association of America|access-date=August 17, 2018|at=If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.}}</ref>

[[File:arethafranklin.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|Franklin performing in April 2007 at the [[Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie|Nokia Theater]] in [[Dallas]], Texas]]
That same year, Franklin received global praise after her [[Grammy Awards of 1998|1998 Grammy Awards]] performance. She had initially been asked to perform in honor of the 1980 film ''[[The Blues Brothers (film)|The Blues Brothers]]'', in which she appeared with [[Dan Aykroyd]] and [[John Belushi]]. That evening, after the show had already begun, another performer, opera tenor [[Luciano Pavarotti]] became too ill to perform the aria "[[Nessun dorma]]" as planned. The show's producers, desperate to fill the time slot, approached Franklin with their dilemma. She was a friend of Pavarotti and had sung the aria two nights prior at the annual [[MusiCares]] event. She asked to hear Pavarotti's rehearsal recording, and after listening, agreed that she could sing it in the [[tenor]] range that the orchestra was prepared to play in. Over one billion people worldwide saw the performance, and she received an immediate [[standing ovation]]. She would go on to record the selection and perform it live several more times in the years to come. The last time she sang the aria live was for [[Pope Francis]] at the [[World Meeting of Families]] in [[Philadelphia]] in September 2015. A small boy was so touched by her performance that he came onto the stage and embraced her while Franklin was still singing.<ref name="auto">{{cite magazine |last1 = Feeney |first1 = Nolan |title = Grammys Producer Ken Ehrlich on Aretha Franklin's Last-Minute, Showstopping 1998 Opera Moment: 'She Was Incomparable' |url = https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8470628/aretha-franklin-pavarotti-1998-grammys-nessun-dorma-ken-ehrlich |access-date = August 17, 2018 |magazine = Billboard |publisher = Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group |date = August 16, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite news |last1 = Stolworthy |first1 = Jacob |title = When Aretha Franklin stepped in for Pavarotti at the last minute to perform Nessun Dorma |url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/aretha-franklin-death-nessun-dorma-pavarotti-grammys-performance-a8494851.html |access-date = August 17, 2018 |work = [[The Independent]] |date = August 16, 2018 }}</ref>

Her final Arista album, ''[[So Damn Happy (Aretha Franklin album)|So Damn Happy]]'', was released in 2003 and featured the Grammy-winning song "Wonderful". In 2004, Franklin announced that she was leaving Arista after more than 20 years with the label.<ref>{{cite journal |url = http://www.bluesandsoul.com/news_item/247/aretha_parts_with_arista/ |title = Aretha Parts With Arista |journal =[[Blues & Soul]] |issue = 1088 |access-date = August 16, 2018 }}</ref> To complete her Arista obligations, Franklin issued the duets compilation album ''[[Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen]]'' in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/jewels-in-the-crown-all-star-duets-with-the-queen-mw0000750042 |title = Jewels in the Crown: All Star Duets with the Queen |website = AllMusic |access-date = August 16, 2018 }}</ref> In February 2006, she performed "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]" with [[Aaron Neville]] and [[Dr. John]] for [[Super Bowl XL]], held in her hometown of Detroit.<ref name=clinton/>