Aretha Franklin, the ‘Queen of Soul,’ has died after a long battle with advanced pancreatic cancer. She was 76.
Aretha passed away in her Detroit home where she was under hospice care. Reports were that she had been in failing health for many months and she was down to 86 pounds.
She was surrounded by friends and family when she passed.
In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our hearts. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family. ~Family of Aretha Franklin.
Franklin’s career spans six decades. She got her start singing gospel music in a Detroit Church where her father was the minister. In 1960, she signed with her first major record label. By 1968, Franklin was an established soul chart-topper with hits such as “Respect,” “Chain Of Fools,” and “You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman.”
Franklin performed a moving rendition of “Precious Lord Take My Hand” at the Memorial Service of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Franklin was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1994, at age 52, she became the youngest at that time to receive a Kennedy Center Honor. Franklin has 44 Grammy nominations and 18 wins. President George W. Bush awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
Franklin’s last album, “A Brand New Me,” released in 2017, remixed her vintage vocals with newly recorded arrangements. Franklin’s last known performance was at a private gala for the Elton John AIDS Foundation last November.
The Queen of Soul will be very, very missed. Her voice, her style, her ability to move an audience with her soulful, beautiful sound will be remembered by millions. She is survived by her four sons.
RIP Aretha Franklin.
Please keep her family in your prayers.
Sending you prayerful blessings from Sterrett, Alabama!
Charity
Copyright © Charity M. Richey-Bentley 2018
A great singer and my favorite icon
RIP Queen of Soul. We will miss your music.