Although more of a traditional preacher than a gospel singer, the Reverend C.L. Franklin still had a profound effect on the development of gospel music and its subsequent impact on popular black music. Franklin's sermons and hymns--recorded and released throughout the 1950s, '60s, and '70s--were infused with a passion and fire that still mark the finest soul and R&B to this day. And if that were not enough, Franklin also nurtured the musical gifts of his daughters, the most well-known of whom are Erma and Aretha Franklin. The Reverend died from complications stemming from a gun-shot wound in 1984.