Brenda Franklin Corbett on Growing Up With Aretha Franklin | Living for the City Full Interview

2026-08-19 · 41 min · episode 15 · 16 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

→ appeared on Living for the City podcast

0.68

evidence rules-v5
Brenda Franklin Corbett on Growing Up With Aretha Franklin | Living for the City Full Interview
→ appeared on Living for the City podcast

0.63

evidence rules-v5
Brenda Franklin Corbett on Growing Up With Aretha Franklin | Living for the City Full Interview
→ hosted by Side Stage person

0.55

evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Side Stage
→ discusses Music concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Music
→ discusses Music Commentary concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Music Commentary
→ discusses Music Interviews concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Music Interviews
→ discusses Music History concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Music History
→ references @LivingfortheCityPod website

0.38

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Brenda Franklin Corbett on Growing Up With Aretha Franklin | Living for the City Full Interview": https://youtube.com/@LivingfortheCityPod

Entities found in this episode

concepts 8

mentioned Music Commentary concept

0.50

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Music Commentary
mentioned Music Interviews concept

0.50

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Music Interviews
mentioned Music History concept

0.50

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Music History
mentioned Living for the City Full Interview concept

0.42

evidence rules-v5
Brenda Franklin Corbett on Growing Up With Aretha Franklin | Living for the City Full Interview
discusses Music concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Music
discusses Music Commentary concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Music Commentary
discusses Music Interviews concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Music Interviews
discusses Music History concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Music History

persons 4

mentioned Aretha Franklin person

0.72

evidence rules-v5
Brenda Franklin Corbett on Growing Up With Aretha Franklin | Living for the City Full Interview
mentioned Side Stage person

0.70

evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Side Stage
mentioned Brenda Franklin Corbett person

0.66

evidence rules-v5
Brenda Franklin Corbett on Growing Up With Aretha Franklin | Living for the City Full Interview
hosted by Side Stage person

0.55

evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Side Stage

podcasts 2

appeared on Living for the City podcast

0.68

evidence rules-v5
Brenda Franklin Corbett on Growing Up With Aretha Franklin | Living for the City Full Interview
appeared on Living for the City podcast

0.63

evidence rules-v5
Brenda Franklin Corbett on Growing Up With Aretha Franklin | Living for the City Full Interview

websites 2

mentioned @LivingfortheCityPod website

0.45

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Brenda Franklin Corbett on Growing Up With Aretha Franklin | Living for the City Full Interview": https://youtube.com/@LivingfortheCityPod
references @LivingfortheCityPod website

0.38

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Brenda Franklin Corbett on Growing Up With Aretha Franklin | Living for the City Full Interview": https://youtube.com/@LivingfortheCityPod

Episode description as stored

Brenda Franklin Corbett is Aretha Franklin's cousin, raised in the Franklin family home in Detroit alongside Aretha, Carolyn, Erma, and Cecil, and one of Aretha's longtime background singers as part of the trio Aretha named the Prima Donnas. This is her full conversation with host Hanif Abdurraqib. Brenda talks about singing with the grown folks in the choir at New Bethel Baptist Church by age six, in her own robe and her own chair, and the parade of legends who passed through the Franklin house on Oakland and East Grand Boulevard, from B.B. King and Cab Calloway to Mahalia Jackson. She gets into what it took to hold a note behind an artist who wanted the sound, the routines, and the look all perfect. She also gets into the move to Los Angeles to help raise Aretha's children, her role advising the film Respect, and the day of Aretha's funeral, when she turned off the broadcast to catch a flight and landed three hours later to find it was still going. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Born Into the Franklin House 06:41 - Learning Her Voice 09:27 - Chasing the Dream to New York 12:17 - Singing Behind Aretha 17:49 - Los Angeles and Raising the Kids 22:33 - The Future of Gospel 25:15 - Guarding the Legacy 30:06 - What She's Most Proud Of LINKS YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@LivingfortheCityPod Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5KYTveuTY4nydCKG8yTxjJ?si=c184740e2d9f43b5 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-for-the-city/id1895831267 Stay connected! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecitypod/ TAGS / KEYWORDS Living for the City, Living for the City podcast, Hanif Abdurraqib, Brenda Franklin Corbett, Aretha Franklin, Detroit gospel, Detroit music history, New Bethel Baptist Church, C.L. Franklin, Prima Donnas, background singers, Respect movie, Detroit soul music, gospel music Detroit, Detroit church music, Side Stage Network, Live Nation podcast, music podcast, Detroit culture, music history podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices