When Aretha Franklin died last year it left her millions of fans mourning her loss. Even almost a year later, the void can be felt whenever one of her timeless classics is heard. However, no one feels the pain of her absence more than her family. And now, as new information comes to light -after three handwritten wills were discovered in her home- her family has been jolted once again by shocking claims revealed by Aretha herself, regarding one of her children.

Right Under Their Noses

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One of the biggest controversies surrounding Aretha’s passing was the fact that she had no known will to allocate her assets to her four sons Clarence, Edward, Ted, and Kecalf. We introduced the four of them to our ILOSM fam’ last year, after her passing. In addition to splitting her estate, there were also rumors of extreme tax debt Aretha had been facing for many years. Eventually after a thorough search at Aretha’s Detroit home, three handwritten wills were discovered, pretty much hiding in plain sight. From Black America Web:

The wills were discovered May 3, two in a locked closet for which the key was only recently located and one in a spiral notebook stuffed under cushions on a sofa.

The 16 pages reportedly reveal that Franklin was all about making sure her sons were treated fairly.

Her eldest son, Clarence, named after her father, was born when Aretha was just twelve years old and has special needs that require specific care. Aretha never disclosed Clarence’s special needs status, but there’s another secret she didn’t reveal until after her death as well. And it deals directly with who Clarence’s biological father is.

Next Page: Secrets Revealed

The post In New Wills Found At Aretha Franklin’s Estate, She Reveals Family Secrets About Her Sons appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

As the world continues to deal with the shock of Aretha Franklin’s passing from cancer at age 76, we’re taking a minute to focus on her children, whom she loved dearly. Unbeknownst to many, the Queen of Soul has four sons and as the world mourns the loss of a music icon, Ted, Kecalf, Clarence, and Edward are mourning their beloved mother. Below are a few facts we’ve learned about them.

Clarence Franklin

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When Clarence Franklin was born in 1955, there was quite a bit of controversy surrounding his birth, due to Aretha’s age at that time. She became pregnant with Clarence when she was 12 years old and he was born on January 28, 1955. Aretha named him after her father, Clarence Franklin a.k.a. CL Franklin, which also led to rumors that her dad was the father of Clarence, but the actual father is a guy she went to school with back in the day, named Donald Burk.

Even though the Queen had her baby when she was literally just a child herself, she did her best to raise him and he’s seemingly grateful to her for that.

Edward Jordan

Two years after the birth of her first baby, Aretha gave birth to her second son, Edward Franklin, when she was 14 years old, on January 22, 1957. His father’s name is Edward Jordan, but much like the father of Aretha’s first born, not many details have been discovered about Jordan as well.

Edward Jr. performed with his mother many times throughout his career. He’s never pursued a solo music career of his own, but Aretha had Edward record a song with her for her Christmas album years ago and it was a beautiful moment for them both. See footage of that in the above below:

In 2015, Edward sang a tribute song in honor of his grandfather,Rev. C.L. Franklin, by performing Aretha’s favorite song, “His Eye Is On The Sparrow.” According to reports, Edward’s tribute was so beautiful that Aretha had him sang background vocals for it when she recorded it for her album, “A Woman Falling In Love.”

Next Page: Her Youngest 2 Sons >>>

The post Meet The 4 Sons Many Never Knew Aretha Franklin Had & How They’re Much Like Her appeared first on I Love Old School Music.