Aretha Franklin
Personal life
Franklin was the mother of four sons. She first became pregnant at the age of 12 and gave birth to her first child, named Clarence after her father, on January 28, 1955. The father was widely believed and reported to be "Donald Burk, a boy she knew from school"; however, in one of her handwritten wills discovered in 2019, Franklin revealed the father was Edward Jordan. On August 31, 1957, Franklin had a second child with Jordan, named Edward Derone Franklin[citation needed] after his father. Franklin did not like to discuss her early pregnancies with interviewers. Both children took her family name. While Franklin was pursuing her career and "hanging out with [friends]", Franklin's grandmother Rachel and sister Erma took turns raising the children. Franklin would visit them often. Franklin's third child, Ted White Jr., was born to Franklin and her then-husband Theodore "Ted" White in February 1964 and is known professionally as Teddy Richards. He provided guitar backing for his mother's band during live concerts. Her youngest son, Kecalf Cunningham, was born in April 1970 and is the child of her road manager Ken Cunningham.
Aretha Franklin-32