Aretha Franklin “The Queen of Soul” Dies At 76.
Legendary music icon and “Queen of soul”, Aretha Franklin passed away on Thursday, following reports that she was seriously ill. The gospel-rooted singer, who had been suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer, died at 9:50 a.m. at her home in Detroit, her publicist said. She was 76 years old.
The lost of Aretha Franklin saddens the Gospel Music Community, seeing how her song has influenced music in church and around the world to its roots. According to Jackie Patillo, the president & Executive Director of GMA who said, “ We are honored to have inducted her into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2012 and will forever celebrate her legacy and global impact”.
About Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer and pianist. She began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father, C. L. Franklin, was minister. In 1960, at the age of 18, she embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records but achieving only modest success. After signing to Atlantic Records in 1966, Franklin achieved commercial acclaim and success with songs such as “Respect”, “Chain of Fools”, “Think”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”, “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)”, and “Spanish Harlem”.
By the end of the 1960s she was being called “The Queen of Soul“. Franklin recorded acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Lady Soul (1968), Young, Gifted and Black (1972) and Amazing Grace (1972), before experiencing problems with her record company by the mid-1970s. Read More…
