Ted White Jr.

Aretha married her first husband and then manager, Theodore “Ted” White Sr. in 1961 at age 19. They had son, Ted Jr., in February 1964. Out of all of her children, Ted is the most musically involved. He’s played guitar for his mother’s band on plenty occasions. Here are a few details that were reported about Ted Jr. via Heavy:

[Ted White Jr.] attended Michigan State University. In 1994, he gave a cassette-demo to INXS keyboardist Andrew Farris, who agreed to help him rework the songs for an official release.

“Andrew, who wrote many of the INXS signature hits, was very impressed with my writing and invited me to collaborate,” he recalled. “After writing & recording 2 songs, we negotiated a music publishing deal. We worked exceptionally well together and we ended up collaborating on 11 tracks!”

White since gone on to release two more albums under the stage name Teddy Richards. “I’ve evolved from a self-taught guitarist into a producer, engineer and accomplished tunesmith,” he said. “I truly love music and enjoy the journey that it’s taken me on.” In addition to his recording career, Richards has been an opening act for INXS, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Seal, and The Verve Pipe.

Kecalf Franklin Cunningham

Kecalf was born on March 28, 1970 to Aretha and her then road manager, Ken Cunningham. His parents dated from 1968 to 1976 before going their separate ways. Kecalf is a Christian rapper, who’s performed with his mother on a few occasions.

Through all of the ups and downs of Aretha Franklin’s life, she proved to be a woman of great resiliency and she loved her sons more than life itself. Rest on Queen after a beautiful job well done.

[Via]