Emotional Authority, Not Range Metrics: Ken Cunningham Rejects “Average” Claims About Aretha Franklin
OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A recent online debate compared the legacy of Aretha Franklin with today’s chart-leading vocal stars, arguing the “Queen of Soul” was merely strong for her era, and that singers such as Beyoncé achieve far greater technical height.
Ken Cunningham — Franklin’s former manager and partner during the 1960s and 1970s — countered the claim head-on. His response was direct: Franklin’s supremacy was not a matter of vocal gymnastics, but emotional strike. He argued that audiences reacted to the way Franklin conveyed meaning through phrasing and narrative, not the upper limit of her top note. He added that Franklin defined the template that later performers, including Beyoncé, learned from.
Franklin’s résumé supports his position. She registered 112 entries across Billboard’s charts, and remains one of the most decorated vocalists in U.S. recording history — with 18 Grammy Awards, 20 chart-topping R&B singles, a 1987 induction as the first woman in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a posthumous special Pulitzer Prize citation recognizing her enduring contribution to American music.
Cunningham emphasized the source of that power: a core built in religious vocal settings — the gospel methodology that shaped her improvisation, her dramatic low register, and her ability to turn a verse into a lived moment. He offered the example of Franklin singing lullabies at home, arguing that even in small, private settings her voice carried the same internal gravity that moved arenas.
The argument he advances is not that modern artists lack capability — Beyoncé’s influence and technical command are widely acknowledged — but that Franklin’s historical role was foundational. The comparison, he suggests, misses the point. Franklin’s most famous work was not judged by decibel or scale degree. It was measured by connection.
His conclusion: audiences cried because they recognized themselves inside the sound — not because they were waiting for a climactic high note.
