[SIZE=7]Aretha Franklin, The ‘Queen Of Soul,’ Dies At 76[/SIZE]
The Detroit singer is best known for R&B hits like “Respect” and “Think.”
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Aretha Franklin attends a benefit to prevent teenage pregnancy in 2011. The “Respect” singer, who was a teen mother herself, released her first album at age 14. (ERIC THAYER/Reuters)
Aretha Franklin, the undisputed “Queen of Soul” whose powerhouse vocal cords revolutionized American music and made her one of the top-selling female musicians of all time, has died at age 76, her publicist told The Associated Press on Thursday.
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News of her death comes on the heels of several reports of Franklin being “seriously” unwell. Friends of the singer said Monday that Franklin was “gravely ill” and “asking for prayers.”
Rumors surrounding her health have followed Franklin in recent years, including concerns that she has cancer, which she denied in 2011. She performed at the Elton John AIDS Foundation gala in New York City last November and had lost a noticeable amount of weight. She canceled several shows in 2017 and 2018 for health reasons, including a headlining gig at New Orleans’ Jazz Fest in April. Franklin’s management said at the time that the singer’s doctor had ordered her to “stay off the road and rest completely.”
The 18-time Grammy winner, who got her start singing gospel as a child, transcended music categories — R&B, pop, jazz, disco and blues — during her six decades as a recording artist.
Her Top 10 hits included ”(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Think,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Chain of Fools,” and most famously her signature rendition of Otis Redding’s “Respect,” which became a rallying cry for strong, independent women and black empowerment during the civil rights era.
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Franklin in 1989. Among the singer’s most famous hits was her signature song, “Respect,” which became a rallying cry for women as well as for black empowerment. (Mario Suriani/AP)
“There are artists, there are stars, but there are very, very few we know will be a part of history forever,” Franklin’s longtime music collaborator, Clive Davis, told HuffPost in April 2017. “And her talent, her voice will be studied and appreciated forever.”
In addition to being a cultural icon ― not just in music, but in human rights and even fashion ― Franklin, who was ranked by Rolling Stone as the greatest singer of all time, was one of the most honored singers of the 20th century and 21st century.
News of her death comes on the heels of several reports of Franklin being “seriously” unwell. Friends of the singer said Monday that Franklin was “gravely ill” and “asking for prayers.”
Rumors surrounding her health have followed Franklin in recent years, including concerns that she has cancer, which she denied in 2011. She performed at the Elton John AIDS Foundation gala in New York City last November and had lost a noticeable amount of weight. She canceled several shows in 2017 and 2018 for health reasons, including a headlining gig at New Orleans’ Jazz Fest in April. Franklin’s management said at the time that the singer’s doctor had ordered her to “stay off the road and rest completely.”
The 18-time Grammy winner, who got her start singing gospel as a child, transcended music categories — R&B, pop, jazz, disco and blues — during her six decades as a recording artist.
Her Top 10 hits included ”(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Think,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Chain of Fools,” and most famously her signature rendition of Otis Redding’s “Respect,” which became a rallying cry for strong, independent women and black empowerment during the civil rights era.
https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5748dd91160000ab02f94b6c.jpeg?cache=2ya7fottz4&ops=scalefit_630_noupscale
Franklin in 1989. Among the singer’s most famous hits was her signature song, “Respect,” which became a rallying cry for women as well as for black empowerment. (Mario Suriani/AP)
“There are artists, there are stars, but there are very, very few we know will be a part of history forever,” Franklin’s longtime music collaborator, Clive Davis, told HuffPost in April 2017. “And her talent, her voice will be studied and appreciated forever.”
In addition to being a cultural icon ― not just in music, but in human rights and even fashion ― Franklin, who was ranked by Rolling Stone as the greatest singer of all time, was one of the most honored singers of the 20th century and 21st century.
She was the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and received a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian honor, in 2005. She was invited to perform at the inaugurations for Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
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The jeweled hat Franklin wore during President Barack Obama’s first inauguration earned its own celebrity status. (Jason Reed/Reuters)
Her 2009 performance at Obama’s inauguration ― where she wore a spectacular jeweled hat ― was one of several shows she performed for the first couple during Obama’s two terms in the White House. She would also perform the classic “A Natural Woman” at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. Obama appeared to wipe away tears as she brought the house to a standing ovation.
She was the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and received a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian honor, in 2005. She was invited to perform at the inaugurations for Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5748d7d81200002e00894c0d.jpeg?ops=scalefit_630_noupscale
The jeweled hat Franklin wore during President Barack Obama’s first inauguration earned its own celebrity status. (Jason Reed/Reuters)
Her 2009 performance at Obama’s inauguration ― where she wore a spectacular jeweled hat ― was one of several shows she performed for the first couple during Obama’s two terms in the White House. She would also perform the classic “A Natural Woman” at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. Obama appeared to wipe away tears as she brought the house to a standing ovation.