| Carolyn Franklin | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Carolyn Ann Franklin |
| Born | May 13, 1944 Memphis, Tennessee, USA |
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan, USA |
| Died | April 25, 1988 (aged 43) Detroit, Michigan, USA |
| Genres | Gospel, R&B, Pop, Jazz |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Piano, Vocal |
| Years active | 1963–1976, 1980–1988 |
| Labels | Double L (1963–1964) RCA Victor (1969–1976) Atlantic (1967–1970s - Background vocals) |
| Associated acts | Aretha Franklin, Erma Franklin, C.L. Franklin, Paul King, Jimmy Radcliffe |
Carolyn Ann Franklin (May 13, 1944 – April 25, 1988) was an American singer and songwriter and the baby sister of musician Aretha Franklin and daughter of prominent preacher C. L. Franklin.
Franklin was born in Memphis to Barbara (née Siggers) and C. L. Franklin. The youngest of six of C. L.'s children, she was moved to Buffalo following her birth.
By two, her family had settled at Detroit where she would begin singing at her father's New Bethel Baptist Church. Inspired by her sisters' successes in the secular music field in the early 1960s, Carolyn joined Erma and Aretha into a secular recording career, first recording in 1963.
Though, like Erma, her modest success in the industry wasn't matched by Aretha's later blockbuster breakthrough in the late 1960s.
While struggling to release a big hit, Franklin began to work behind the scenes as a songwriter, mainly for sister Aretha's work. Aretha and Carolyn's bond led to several collaborations between the two and in other occasions, Carolyn came up with songs for Aretha to sing. Among one of the first collaborations that became a hit success was "Ain't No Way", recorded in 1968.
The ballad single was the b-side to Aretha's top ten triumph, "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone". The song was strong enough to have its own airplay and eventually peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100.
Carolyn's next hit for her sister was the 1973 ballad, "Angel", which also featured Carolyn (and sister Erma) in background voices advising Aretha. Aretha mentioned her sister's name in the beginning of the song in a monologue describing how Carolyn came up with the song. Another song Carolyn contributed was "Pullin'" with Jimmy Radcliffe. Carolyn also wrote songs for Franklin's 1970 album, Spirit in the Dark and her 1975 album, You.
In 1976, Carolyn retired from the music industry and occasionally continued to sing with Aretha.
Carolyn was living at her father's West Side home in Detroit, Michigan when he was shot in 1979. She appeared as one of Aretha's background singers in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers.
Having never married, Carolyn died in Aretha's Bloomfield Hills, Michigan home from breast cancer on April 25, 1988, at age 43. Just ten days prior, she was awarded a B.A. in Music Education from Marygrove College. Her oldest sister, Erma Franklin, died of throat cancer in 2002.
Carolyn - like her other deceased family members - is interred at Detroit's historic Woodlawn Cemetery on North Woodward Avenue.