Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and loved ones of the Aretha Franklin, the legendary Queen of Soul, she has died at 76 years young following a reported battle with cancer, TMZ reports.
Franklin was surrounded by family and friends when she passed away in her Detroit home, where she was under hospice care.
Aretha Franklin, the preacher's daughter who inspired decades with her Gospel/Soul sound was born in 1942 in Memphis, Franklin became one of the most revered singers of her era. After moving with her family to Detroit, she began singing in her father’s church and landed a record deal with Columbia in the early ‘60s.
She was the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 1987. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, The NAACP Vanguard Award, the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts. She won 18 Grammys as well as lifetime achievement and legend awards from the Recording Academy.
Twenty of her singles topped the R&B chart and more than 50 reached the R&B Top 10 throughout her career spanning more than six decades. Her defining hit, “Respect,” became a crossover smash in 1967.
The Queen of Soul sang at the funeral of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She graced the covers of Time magazine in 1968 and sang at the inaugurations of three Presidents: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and the nations first African American President, Barack Obama.
Check out her Gospel Greats above: