R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Take care of TCB
In Detroit, 1950
A Young girl named Aretha splits her time
between her divorced parents Reverend C.L. Franklin and Barbara
she loves singing and loves to sing for all the guests at the family's house parties
Later, Barbara plays the piano, and sings with her
tells her to remember, that she doesn’t have to sing for her dad if she doesn’t want to
and that her voice is her own not her father’s
during one of her father’s parties
an adult male guest comes upstairs and shuts the door sexually molesting her
Aretha’s grandmother notices her behavior is strange and asks her what is going on with her
Aretha won’t tell
but her grandmother tells her if she can’t say it to anyone she can always say it to god
Laterm the family receives the upsetting news
that Barbara has died
Aretha is devastated
stops singing and even speaking altogether
At her birthday party
she won’t even blow out the candles
Her father is frustrated
and gives up not knowing what to do with her
James Cleveland a family friend and leader of the church choir
encourages Aretha that music will always save her
she agrees to tour with her father’s sermons, and sing
In 1958, Aretha is singing in Birmingham
working with the civil rights groups in America
Doctor Martin Luther King Jr a friend of the family
praises Aretha and invites her to do more work
but she returns back to Detroit with her father where her grandmother is watching her two kids
which she had a result of the sexual assaults
At a house party
Ted White a local producer
makes eyes at Aretha who is attracted to him
C.L. threatens Ted to stay away from his daughter and calls him the N word
he then surprises Aretha with tickets to New York to meet about a record deal
In New York City
she and her father, meet with John Hammond at Columbia Records
who offers Aretha a recording contract
By 1960
Aretha is still making music, but has never had a hit song
She continues making albums
after three years
she is performing at a show
where a family friend singer Dinah Washington is in the audience
Aretha starts singing one of Dinah’s song in tribute
Dinah gets so offended she flips her table over
She meets with Aretha afterward
who is lamenting that she doesn’t have any hits
Dinah tells her it’s because her dad keeps picking songs
that she doesn’t believe in and she needs to record
that music that she believes in
Aretha remembers the trauma of her sexual assaults and sleeps in late
She arrives for her recording session an hour late
Hammond is just relieved, to find Aretha, but C.L. Franklin is furious with her
This leads to an argument between him and his doughter
where Aretha says
that she doesn't want to sing the songs that he picks
because he doesn’t pick any hits and he slaps her in the face
He tells Hammond in front of everyone
that Aretha has carried this darkness with her since she was a child
Later, Aretha runs into Ted again
He makes it clear that he is interested in her
asks her to sing for him
The two begin seeing each other
one morning at Ted’s place
Aretha sees that he has all her albums
He tells her believes he can manage her into making actual hits
Eventually, Aretha brings him home to meet her family
her sisters are shocked
knowing how their father will react When he sees Ted
C.L. pulls a gun on him until his mother calms him down
Aretha tells them not only are they together but she wants Ted to manage her
She tells her father it’s what needs to happen
and he tells her she will come begging for him to take her back
By 1966
Aretha has been dropped by her record company, and is married to, and has a child with Ted
who is beating up club owners, to get the money he is owed
Ted gets Aretha a meeting with Ted Wexler at Atlantic Records
Wexler wants to finally give her a hit record
recommends she work with some southern musicians that he knows in Alabama
Ted who is an aggressive manager
is furious
wanting Aretha to only record in New York, but Wexler promises the musicians are the real deal
In 1967
Aretha and Ted go to Alabama to record
Ted is angry that the musicians, are all white and refuses to record
but eventually, he eases in to letting Aretha record, "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You"
That night, at the motel
Ted tells her they will not return in the morning
The manager of the studio comes by to try to make peace with Ted
but Ted hears none of it and eventually goads the manager into a physical altercation
Afterward, Ted turns his ire onto Aretha who he assaults
Aretha leaves the recording and leaves Ted
returns how to Detroit with a black eye where her family takes her in
Wexler tries to find Aretha but he can’t
Walking down the street they hear Aretha’s song on the radio
she reaches out to Wexler
tells her she’s ready to keep recording and hires her sisters as her backup singers
Ted returns to Aretha
apologizes and takes him back, but afterward Aretha’s sisters warn her not to
They remind her that her parents fought all the time
Late one night
Aretha plays the piano and plays around with re-arranging the song “Respect”
Her sisters help her work out the song, which they eventually play for Wexler
Respect is a massive hit
and by 1968, Aretha is selling out Madison Square Garden
she has become a huge success and has many hits and is famous worldwide
Aretha tells Ted that she has agreed to perform at a benefit show for her father
but he says has meetings lined up for her
When Aretha refuses
Ted physically assaults her in a hotel elevator and she flees in the lobby
she and Ted go in for a meeting with Wexler and the whole company
including tour manager Ken Cunningham
who are so excited that they have dates lined up for a European tour for her
Ted is irate and says they refuse to do a tour
and wants Aretha to do movies even getting in Wexler’s face
but when they tell them how much the tour will be worth
Ted relents and they begin the tour
In Amsterdam
the press asks Aretha about the article
about her in Time magazine which has witnesses saying that they saw Ted assault her in the hotel
Ted is furious
saying he will sue the magazine
but Aretha angrily asks him how he could do that since the article is true
This leads to a vicious argument between the two where Aretha demands better treatment from him
but eventually, she says she’s had enough and kicks Ted out for good
she Needing comfort so she calls Ken
he comes to her side and the two begin a romantic relationship
Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated devastating Aretha and her entire circle
Aretha sings at his funeral
and afterward sits at the bar with C.L.
who picks a fight with her, when she says she supports a more radical approach to civil rights
like the kind Angela Davis has taken on
he accuses her of not walking in the spirit
she goes on to publicly voice support for Davis in the press
By 1970
Aretha and Ken are together and have their own child in a massive mansion in Los Angeles
When her crew tries to lessen her tour schedule
since Aretha has a habit of missing shows
They think she has been drinking too much, and giving in to her “demons”
Aretha viciously lashes out at all of them
including her own sisters
telling everyone she pays for all of them and they all need her
she shows up to a concert drunk and falls off the front of the stage
Ken tells her he can’t do this anymore
Aretha begins drinking herself into a stupor alone
until she sees a vision of Barbara who holds her and sings “amazing grace”
The next day
Aretha begins sobering up and reconciles with Ken
In 1972
she goes to Wexler
tells him she wants to make her next album a gospel album
He isn’t sure about it
but ultimately comes around to supporting her
suggests a camera crew document it to show white audiences about that part of her life
The live album is set to be recorded in a church and James Cleveland helps arrange everything
During a rehearsal
she breaks down in tears and James comforts her
She tells him she cannot fall apart like that in front of the cameras
James tells her that God will be there,
and that God knows what happened to her as a child was not her fault
Aretha’s entire family shows up for the recording of her album
including her father
who apologizes for what he said to her about not walking in the spirit
Aretha begins singing
that the album went on to be her greatest selling album of all time
Finally, The film ends with footage of the real Aretha Franklin