Aretha Franklin, The Multiple Grammy Award-Winning Singer Whose Career Spanned Seven Decades, Has Died aged 76.
The Queen of Soul - best known for hits such as Respect, Think and I Say a Little Prayer - passed away in Detroit on Thursday after battling ill health for several years.
The cause of her death was advanced pancreatic cancer, her publicist Gwendolyn Quinn said. Funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days.
Franklin's family said in a statement they had lost their "matriarch and rock", adding: "We have been deeply touched by the incredible outpouring of love and support we have received from close friends, supporters and fans all around the world. Thank you for your compassion and prayers."
Diagnosed with cancer in 2010, Franklin was forced to cancel a handful of concerts earlier this year due to ill health and was ordered by doctors to rest for two months.
In February last year, the singer announced plans to retire from touring following the release of a new album.
She last performed in November 2017 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York and her final "miraculous" public concert was in Philadelphia in August 2017.
Franklin - and her distinctive, powerful voice - rose to fame in the 1960s after starting out as a gospel singer, going on to achieve massive global success with memorable soul hits.
She sold more than 75 million records worldwide and accumulated 18 Grammy awards, including one for Lifetime Achievement. She was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
Franklin died on August 16 - the same day of the year as Elvis Presley died in 1977 - at her home in Detroit, Michigan, surrounded by her family and friends.
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Aretha Grew up in Dire Poverty and This was Her Birth Home in Memphis. It is now under threat of demolition...
- Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Clarence LaVaughan ‘C.L.’ Franklin and Barbara Siggers Franklin. Her father was a Baptist preacher and mother was a gospel singer. She had 3 siblings and grew up in a religious household.
- When Franklin was 5 years old, her family relocated to Detroit, Michigan where her father founded a Baptist church. When she was 6, her parents separated because of her father’s infamous promiscuity. Her mother moved to Buffalo.
- When she was 10 years old, her mother died and her grandmother and aunts took care of her and her siblings. Her father was getting more and more famous for his sermons by this time and was known as the man with the ‘million-dollar voice’.
- She started to learn how to play the piano on her own when she was only a little girl and her earliest songs were recorded at the church when she was only 14. She also used to sing on the revival tours of her father.
Aretha Franklin wearing a dress with feather cuffs, 1969
RIP Aretha
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