In which city was Aretha Franklin born?

Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee.

She was born Aretha Louise Franklin on March 25, 1942, at 406 Lucy Avenue in Memphis. Her father, Clarence LaVaughn Franklin, was a Baptist minister, and her mother, Barbara Sigers Franklin, was a gospel singer and pianist. The family moved to Detroit when Aretha was a young child, and Detroit became the city most closely associated with her upbringing and early musical development.

Because Franklin grew up in Detroit and her father became a major figure there, people sometimes mistakenly identify Detroit as her birthplace. Her childhood church, New Bethel Baptist Church, became an important early setting for her singing career, but it was located in Detroit rather than Memphis.

Memphis also has a major place in American music history, especially through blues, soul, and the music industry centered around Beale Street and Stax Records. Franklin's birthplace connects her to that broader musical tradition, even though her artistic identity was shaped primarily in Detroit.