BREAKING NEWS: Publicist for Aretha Franklin says the Queen of Soul died Thursday at her home in Detroit.
The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin has passed away from pancreatic cancer, according to the Associated Press. She was 76-years-old.
The legendary singer was reported “gravelly ill” in her native Detroit hometown earlier this week, confirming past stories of her being seriously ill. The news brought light to last year’s retirement of the 18-time Grammy winner, who was actually diagnosed with cancer in 2010. Franklin’s final public performance was at Philadelphia’s Mann Center in August 2017, but her last performance was on November 2017 at the Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York.
Having been in the music industry for 56 years, it’s safe to say Franklin helped shaped it. She performed “Precious Lord” at Martin Luther King’s Jr.’s funeral in 1968, was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, brought the first Black president (Barack Obama) to tears at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015.
RELATED: Update: Aretha Franklin Is Reportedly “Gravely” Ill And Near Her Death
Franklin’s last album, A Brand New Me: Aretha Franklin (with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), was released in 2017 and a 34-song compilation album called The Atlantic Singles Collection 1967-1970 is due in September 2018, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Related:
Aretha Franklin And Her Iconic Moments With Presidents Of The United States
Powerhouse Performances From Aretha Franklin That Proves She Will Always Be The Queen Of Soul
Rest In Peace: Aretha Franklin our Queen Of Soul Has Passed At 76 was originally published on kissdetroit.com
