Rev. Al Green performed with his brothers at around the age of ten. Because his dad was so religiously devout, Al was kicked out of the house in his teens after his father caught him listening to Jackie Wilson.

D’Angelo was raised in the Pentecostal church and this is what D’Angelo’s brother, Luther, said about catching D’Angelo playing the piano for the first time: “Mike (D’Angelo’s real name) was three—and it was not banging,’ Luther says. ‘It was a full-fledged song, with melody and bass line. Shortly thereafter, he started playing for my father’s church. My father had a Hammond organ, and he had to slide down to reach the pedals, but he did that very well.”

Finally, there’s ReRe, or should we say “Queen ReRe” (Queen of Soul). Her dad, the Rev. C.L. Franklin was probably the most well-known Black pastor in the north, just as Martin Luther King, Sr. was the most well-known in the south in the 1940s – 1960s. Rev. CL Franklin was pastor of New Bethel Baptist in Detroit. Her childhood was different from everyone else’s in this story. For one, she lost her mother by age 10. And was already a well-known singer by 13 as she sang in her Dad’s church.

Her Pops was such a celebrity that big stars would visit their home all the time, especially gospel musicians Clara Ward, James Cleveland and Caravans members Albertina Walker and Inez Andrews as well as Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke just to name a few.

Unlike the others, Aretha’s dad didn’t mind her singing secular music. He even managed her and paid for her demo to get to Columbia Records. He also set up a deal for her to be on Motown, but Aretha thought the label wasn’t established enough.