“It Was a Complete Mistake”: Aretha Franklin on the Five Albums That Nearly Ended Her Career — and the Moment She Found Her Voice

Aretha Franklin’s reign as the Queen of Soul might seem inevitable in hindsight — her anthems of empowerment and heartache still echoing around the world. But behind the legend was a young woman who almost gave up on music after a string of disappointments that left her doubting her path, her talent, and her future.

“It was a complete mistake,” Aretha later admitted, reflecting on her first years in the industry. “Those early years at Columbia Records nearly broke me.”

The Wrong Path: Five Albums, No Hits

At just 18, Aretha Franklin signed to Columbia Records, one of the most powerful labels of the early 1960s. The world saw a preacher’s daughter blessed with a once-in-a-generation voice, ready to claim her place among the greats. But Franklin quickly realized she was being asked to become someone she wasn’t.

“They wanted me to be something I wasn’t — a polished jazz singer, a supper-club act,” she said. “Every time I opened my mouth, I felt like I was betraying my soul.”

Between 1961 and 1966, Columbia released five albums — Aretha (With the Ray Bryant Combo), The Electrifying Aretha Franklin, The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin, Laughing on the Outside, and Runnin’ Out of Fools. The critics admired her technique, but the records failed to capture the passion that defined Aretha’s later success. Commercially, they floundered.

“I remember finishing Runnin’ Out of Fools and thinking, ‘Maybe they’re right. Maybe I’m not made for this business,’” Franklin confessed. “I was tired of pretending. I wanted to feel what I sang.”

Nearly Walking Away

The disappointment was so profound that Aretha considered leaving music entirely. She thought about dedicating her life to her family and her church, believing maybe her true calling wasn’t fame, but faith.

“I thought, maybe God gave me this voice for the church, not the charts,” she said.

A New Beginning: Finding the Real Aretha

Everything changed when Jerry Wexler from Atlantic Records stepped in. He saw what Columbia couldn’t — that Aretha’s voice was meant for something rawer, truer, and more soulful. In 1966, he invited her to record in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where the gospel-infused Southern soul sound matched her own musical roots.

Their first song together, “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” was an instant revelation. The power, grit, and honesty in her voice were unmistakable — and so was the sense of homecoming. Aretha’s transformation was so electric that those in the studio knew immediately: music history was changing in that moment.

Within a year, Franklin delivered “Respect,” the global anthem that secured her legacy.

“It was like I came home,” she said. “For the first time, I wasn’t just singing notes. I was singing me.”

Lessons Learned — And Shared

Looking back, Aretha Franklin described her early career as both painful and crucial. Those five “failed” albums, she said, taught her as much about herself as her biggest hits did.

“It taught me who I wasn’t — and that’s just as important,” she reflected. “Sometimes you have to lose your way before you find your sound.”

The Legacy of a Voice Set Free

Aretha Franklin’s story is a reminder that even legends start with struggle. Her greatest triumph wasn’t instant stardom, but the courage to leave behind what didn’t serve her and to trust the truth inside her voice. In doing so, she gave the world not just a new sound — but a new standard for what it means to sing from the soul.

The Queen of Soul wasn’t made by the music industry — she was made by finding the strength to set her own voice free.