Aretha Franklin's 4 Children: All About Clarence, Edward, Teddy and Kecalf

Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul, but she was also the matriarch of her large family, including her four sons: Clarence Franklin, Edward Franklin, Teddy Richards and Kecalf Franklin.

The “Respecta” singer was extremely closed and did not talk much about her boyfriends, but they were always a part of her life. “She’s not atypical in her privacy, she’s just extreme,” biographer David Ritz told PEOPLE in 2018. “I think her strategy for emotional survival was to idealize her life in general. When you tend to idealize things, you don’t have to deal with a lot of hard realities.”

Aretha welcomed her first son, Clarence Franklin, when she was just a teenager. “I still wanted to go out and hang out with my friends,” she said Ebony 1995 about how I became a mother so young. “I wanted to be in two places at the same time. But my grandmother, sister and cousin helped me a lot. They would babysit so I could go out occasionally.”

How early motherhood led Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin to a ‘life of quiet suffering’

A few years later, she gave birth to her second son, Edward Franklin, at the age of 15. In 1961, when she was 19, Aretha married music manager Ted White, and the couple had a son, Ted White Jr. , 1964. Aretha and Ted divorced in 1969, and only a year later the singer gave birth to her youngest son, Kecalf Cunningham, road manager Ken Cunningham.

While her children have largely stayed out of the spotlight, her four sons publicly mourned the loss of the “matriarch and rock of our family” following the singer’s death from pancreatic cancer at age 76 on August 16, 2018.

“In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are unable to find the right words to express the pain in our hearts,” the family said in a statement. “We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family. The love she had for her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins ​​knew no bounds.”

Franklin was intestate at the time of her death, leaving her three sons Edward, Kecalf and Ted White Jr. embroiled in a legal battle over two handwritten documents — one from 2010 and one from 2014 — that were discovered in the late singer’s home. (according to the Associated Press, Clarence lives under legal guardianship and did not participate in the trial).

While both documents called for the brothers to share revenue from their mother’s music and royalties, the AP reported that the 2014 document allowed Kecalf and her grandchildren to inherit Aretha’s home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. A probate trial began in Michigan in July 2023, and a jury ultimately ruled in favor of the will in 2014. After the verdict, the Associated Press reported that Franklin’s grandchildren stepped forward to hug Kecalf and Edward.

“I am very, very happy. I just wanted my mother’s wishes to be respected,” Kecalf said, according to the Associated Press. “We just want to exhale now. It was a long five years for my family, my children.”

The will was eventually executed by a judge in November 2023.

Read on to learn all about Aretha Franklin’s four sons.

Clarence Franklin, 69

Clarence Franklin (center), son of soul music icon Aretha Franklin.

Bill Pugliano/Getty

Aretha welcomed her first son, Clarence, on January 28, 1955 in Detroit, Michigan. She named it after her father, Clarence LaVaughn Franklin, who was a minister and civil rights activist.

Aretha was a pre-teen at the time and never publicly revealed who Clarence’s father was. She later confirmed in her handwritten will that Edward Jordan Sr. was the father of her two older children, but “he never made any contribution [their] well-being, future or past, monetary, material, spiritual, etc.”

Remembering the life of Aretha Franklin in photographs

“Aretha went back to school after giving birth to Clarence,” the artist’s sister Erma said in Ritz’s 2014 biography. Respect. “She was an excellent student who did well in all classes.”

Clarence wrote several songs, some of which Aretha even sang and recorded herself. According to court documents he received The New York TimesClarence was diagnosed with an unknown mental illness and spent some time in various institutions for the infirm. He was not involved in the legal dispute between his three brothers, although both wills stated that the singer’s estate must support him financially.

Edward Franklin, 68

Aretha Franklin and Edward Franklin attend the 2014 BET Honors.

Larry French/BET/Getty

On January 22, 1957, Aretha welcomed her second son, Edward, in Detroit, Michigan. After giving birth to Edward, Aretha dropped out of school to focus on her music career, which meant Eddie spent a lot of time with his grandmother, Big Mom.

“We were part of that generation of young singers who definitely sacrificed time with their children in order to devote themselves to their careers. We did it consciously,” said Arthea’s eldest sister Respect. “And we did it with a heavy sense of guilt.”

Eddie followed in his mother’s footsteps in the music industry, working as a gospel singer and even recording a cover of “This Christmas” with his mom. “I’ve worked with her before … we knocked out a song in two or three takes,” he said of the experience.

In 2010, Eddie was badly beaten in an attack by three men at a gas station in Detroit and required surgery to have his jaw wired shut. Neither he nor his mother have spoken about the attack, although Aretha confirmed the attack in a statement to Billboard while clearing up some misinformation about the situation.

When Aretha died, Eddie performed a moving rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me” as a tribute to her at her funeral.

Teddy Richards, 59

Aretha Franklin’s son, Teddy Richards, performs.

Derek Storm/FilmMagic

In 1961, Aretha married Ted White at the age of 19, and he soon began leading her. They had a son, Ted White Jr. – professionally known as Teddy Richards – in February 1964 in Detroit. Just a few years later, however, Aretha divorced Ted amid reports of domestic abuse (according to a 1968 TIME story, he “swollen” her repeatedly).

How Aretha Franklin survived domestic abuse: In her first marriage to Ted White

While most of Aretha’s children lived with her and her family in Detroit, Teddy grew up mostly under the care of his father. Still, he was close to his mom and spent decades playing backing guitar in her band. Despite his mother’s support, Teddy said Detroit Free Press 2021. that his father was more hesitant about his entry into the music business.

“What he emphasized in our home was not showbiz, but education,” Teddy said of his father. “He wanted to stay as far away from it as possible. He knew the downsides, things most people don’t think about, in the music business. He wanted to put me on another path.”

Regardless, Teddy became a singer and songwriter in his own right and has performed with Nelly Furtado, Joe Cocker, Seal, Lenny Kravitz and INXS and released several albums of his own work.

“I’ve evolved from a self-taught guitarist to a producer, engineer and accomplished composer; I truly love music and enjoy the journey it’s taken me on,” Teddy wrote in his bio announcing his third album, Solitaire. He also describes himself as “Southwest Florida’s #1 Solo Entertainer” on his website.

While talking to Detroit Free Press In 2021, Teddy opened up about the struggles he faced trying to create his own identity as a musician while being the son of one of the most famous singers of all time.

“I learned pretty early on, especially when dealing with the press or people in the industry, that it’s very easy to be used as ‘Aretha’s son,'” he said. “If you’re trying to do something in your own name, to make your own way in the world, it’s going to be impossible if people know you like that. That would allow them to ignore your accomplishments.”

However, the musician was dedicated to clearing his own path.

“To some people it may look like, ‘He gave up his own mother.’ Not at all,” said Teddy. “I love both of my parents very much. But it’s important to be your own person, stand on your own two feet, do your job.”

Kecalf Franklin, 54

Kecalf Franklin, son of Aretha Franklin, poses with a legacy award.

Brian Stukes/Getty

Aretha welcomed her youngest son, Kecalf Cunningham (also named Kecalf Franklin) on March 28, 1970. His name is a combination of his mother’s initials — ALF — and his father’s initials, Ken E. Cunningham. Ken was Aretha’s road manager at the time.

Kecalf had a career as a gospel rapper and performed several times on stage with his mom. He is the father of several children who, like their famous grandmother, are also singer-songwriters.

Aretha Franklin’s youngest son criticizes upcoming biopic ‘Respect’ starring Jennifer Hudson

Kecalf’s daughter Grace even auditioned american idol; her audition aired during an episode in February 2022. “I don’t think I could have fully grasped it [my grandmother] was known all over the world,” she said at the time. “Because she was always a grandmother to me… I was very close to my grandmother. I have to see her all the time. I have to travel a lot with her.”

After Aretha’s death, Kecalf spoke passionately against the Jennifer Hudson biopic Respect released in 2021. In a lengthy post on Facebook, he wrote: “How can you make a movie about a person and not talk to them [sic] sons or grandsons about important information? How can you put a person [sic] family (picture) in the book and not ask for permission?”

Kecalf also became embroiled in a dispute over his late mother’s estate, claiming that his mother’s 2014 will stated that she wanted him to be the representative of the estate. (Aretha’s niece Sabrina Owens served as executor of the estate after Aretha’s death.)

In July 2023, a jury ruled that the 2014 will was valid — allowing Kecalf and his children to inherit Franklin’s “crown jewel” home in Michigan, which was valued at $1.1 million in 2018, according to the AP.

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Source: HIS Education