(CNN) Aretha Franklin, whose gospel-rooted singing and bluesy yet expansive delivery earned her the title " the Queen of Soul ," has died, a family statement said Thursday. She was 76.
Franklin died at 9:50 a.m. at her home in Detroit, surrounded by family and friends, according to a statement on behalf of Franklin's family from her longtime publicist Gwendolyn Quinn.
The "official cause of death was due to advanced pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type, which was confirmed by Franklin's oncologist, Dr. Philip Phillips of Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit," the family statement said.
Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade—our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace. pic.twitter.com/bfASqKlLc5
"Aretha helped define the American experience," former President Barack Obama said in a statement . "In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade -- our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace."
Live shot from the Hollywood Walk of Fame. RIP Aretha! Thank you for your music! #queenofsoul pic.twitter.com/ZW8e2S2wvk — Peggy DeOrio (@psdeorio) August 16, 2018
Legendary soul singer and Franklin's friend of more than sixty years, Sam Moore, had words of sorrow and comfort to offer.
"I adored her and I know the feelings were mutual. While I'm heartbroken that she's gone I know she's in the Lord's arms and she's not in pain or suffering anymore from the damn cancer that took her away from us," he said in a statement. "I'm going to hope, pray and count on the fact that I will see her again sometime. Rest in the Lord's arms in love, Re."
Franklin's fans paid tribute with flowers and a crown left on her Hollywood Walk of Fame star in Los Angeles.
a source close to Franklin told CNN's Don Lemon that the singer was Her death comes three days aftera source close to Franklin told CNN's Don Lemon that the singer was in hospice care
"In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family. The love she had for her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins knew no bounds," Franklin's family said.
"We have been deeply touched by the incredible outpouring of love and support we have received from close friends, supporters and fans all around the world. Thank you for your compassion and prayers. We have felt your love for Aretha and it brings us comfort to know that her legacy will live on. As we grieve, we ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time."
Funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days, the statement said.
The singer had been reported to be in failing health for years and appeared frail in recent photos, but she kept her struggles private.
In February 2017, Franklin announced she would stop touring, but she continued to book concerts. Earlier this year, she canceled a pair of performances, including at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, on doctor's orders, according to Rolling Stone.
The singer's final public performance was last November, when she sang at an Elton John AIDS Foundation gala in New York.
Sing it: R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Over the course of a professional career that spanned more than half a century, Franklin's songs not only topped the charts but became part of the vernacular.
She made "Respect," written by Otis Redding, a call to arms. "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," a Carole King song, was an earthy expression of sexuality. "Think," which she wrote with her then-husband, Ted White, became a rallying cry for women fed up with loutish men.
The first woman admitted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she had 88 Billboard chart hits during the rock era, tops among female vocalists. At the peak of her career -- from 1967 to 1975 -- she had more than two dozen Top 40 hits.
Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Aretha Franklin performs at the opening of the new Performing Arts Center at Montgomery College in Silver Spring, Maryland, on September 11, 2009. Hide Caption 1 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos After a childhood of singing gospel music in Detroit, where her father was a minister, Franklin scored her first recording deal at age 18. In 1967 she signed with Atlantic Records, where she would record a string of hits. Hide Caption 2 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin performs on stage in 1968. Hide Caption 3 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin photographed with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the late 1960's. In 1968 she was asked to perform at King's funeral, where she sang a stirring rendition of "Precious Lord, Take Thy Hand." Hide Caption 4 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Aretha Franklin performs at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 26, 1968. Hide Caption 5 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Aretha Franklin sits for a portrait with her father, Baptist preacher 'CL' (born Clarence LaVaughn), and her sister, fellow singer, Carolyn, in New York in 1971. Hide Caption 6 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Crowds gather for a performance by Franklin at the Apollo Theater in New York City on June 3, 1971. Hide Caption 7 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin, far left, performs at Jimmy Carter's Presidential Inaugural Gala on January 20, 1977, in Washington, D.C. Hide Caption 8 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin and Glynn Turman walk down the aisle at their wedding on April 11, 1978.
Editor's note: A previous version of this caption identified Franklin's husband as Glynn Russell. His full name is Glynn Russell Turman. Hide Caption 9 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin on stage in 1980. Hide Caption 10 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Dan Aykroyd (far left), John Belushi (second left), Aretha Franklin (center) and Matt "Guitar" Murphy (back right) in a scene from the 1980 film, "The Blues Brothers." Hide Caption 11 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin and Big Mama Thornton perform together onstage on the television series, 'Omnibus,' in 1980. Hide Caption 12 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin poses backstage during ChicagoFest in 1981. Hide Caption 13 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin performs "Jumpin' Jack Flash" with Keith Richards and Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones in 1986. Hide Caption 14 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin sings at the Park West Auditorium in Chicago in 1992. Hide Caption 15 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin preforms at the Lincoln Memorial for President Clinton's inaugural gala in 1992. Hide Caption 16 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin became the youngest Kennedy Center Honors Awards recipient in 1994. Hide Caption 17 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin performs with, from left, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan, Carole King (obscured), Shania Twain and Celine Dion during the "Divas Live - An Honors Concert for VH1 Save the Music" at New York's Beacon Theater in 1998. Hide Caption 18 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin performs at a JVC Jazz Festival concert at New York's Lincoln Center in 2000. Hide Caption 19 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin sings at civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks' funeral in 2005. Hide Caption 20 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Former President George W. Bush presented Franklin with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 2005. The medal is awarded to those who have made contributions to national security, world peace or culture. Hide Caption 21 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin and Aaron Neville performed the national anthem before the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit. Hide Caption 22 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin in 2008. Hide Caption 23 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin performed "My Country 'Tis of Thee" at the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009. Hide Caption 24 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin at The NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner in 2009. Hide Caption 25 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Musician Rob Thomas, Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, actor Zach Levi, actress Jane Krakowski, singer Michael Buble and Franklin at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony in 2009. Hide Caption 26 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin during a 2010 concert, accompanied by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (far left) at the piano and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Hide Caption 27 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin and Oprah Winfrey during a star-studded taping of "Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular," in Chicago in 2011. Hide Caption 28 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos After canceling six months of public appearances because of medical problems, Franklin returned to the stage at the Jones Beach Theater in New York in 2011. Hide Caption 29 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin, seen on screen, at the "American Idol" finale in 2013. Hide Caption 30 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin performs during the National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony in Washington, D.C. in 2013. Hide Caption 31 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin waves while standing to receive an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 2014. Hide Caption 32 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos An emotional Attorney General Eric Holder, center, and President Barack Obama react after Franklin finished singing a song for Holder at an event celebrating the end of his tenure at the Department of Justice in 2015. Hide Caption 33 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Pope Francis looks on as Franklin performs during the 2015 Festival of Families in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hide Caption 34 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin performing in 2015 at the National Portrait Gallery, where she was honored. Hide Caption 35 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin singing at a benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York in 2017. Hide Caption 36 of 37 Photos: 'The Queen of Soul': Aretha Franklin in photos Franklin and her son Kecalf Cunningham stand under a newly unveiled street sign named in her honor outside Detroit's Music Hall in 2017. Hide Caption 37 of 37
"Aretha Franklin is not only the definitive female soul singer of the Sixties," according to her Rolling Stone biography, "she's also one of the most influential and important voices in pop history."
She won 18 Grammy awards, including the honor for best female R&B performance for eight straight years.
There was nothing run-of-the-mill about a Franklin performance. "I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)" is slinky and gritty, Franklin's voice sometimes a whisper over Spooner Oldham's electric piano.
"The House That Jack Built" fairly crackles: "I got the house / I got the car / I got the rug / And I got the rack / But I ain't got Jack," Franklin belts.
In Franklin's delivery, "Eleanor Rigby" was a figure of defiance; with Franklin's voice, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" went places not even Art Garfunkel, whose angelic tenor dominated Simon & Garfunkel's original version, could take it.
Her soul was as deep as her voice was strong.
"I think of Aretha as 'Our Lady of Mysterious Sorrows,'" wrote the late Jerry Wexler, Franklin's producer at Atlantic Records. "Her eyes are incredible, luminous eyes covering inexplicable pain. Her depressions could be as deep as the dark sea. I don't pretend to know the sources of her anguish, but anguish surrounds Aretha as surely as the glory of her musical aura."
Photos: Aretha Franklin and US presidents Legendary singer Aretha Franklin and future president, Donald Trump, attend the grand opening of the Trump International Hotel and Tower on May 19, 1997 in New York City. Hide Caption 1 of 6 Photos: Aretha Franklin and US presidents Franklin performs at the inauguration ceremony for President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009. Hide Caption 2 of 6 Photos: Aretha Franklin and US presidents President Bush presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Aretha Franklin on November 9, 2005. The award is the nation's highest civilian honor, and recognizes exceptional meritorious service. Hide Caption 3 of 6 Photos: Aretha Franklin and US presidents Franklin is applauded by fellow Kennedy Center Honors Awards honorees, as well as former first lady Hillary Clinton and US President Bill Clinton on December 4, 1994. Hide Caption 4 of 6 Photos: Aretha Franklin and US presidents Former President George H.W. Bush congratulates Franklin after she was awarded an honorary doctorate at Harvard University commencement on May 29, 2014. Hide Caption 5 of 6 Photos: Aretha Franklin and US presidents Franklin performs at the Inaugural Gala for President Jimmy Carter on January 20, 1977. Hide Caption 6 of 6
A recording career at 14
Perhaps more than any other soul star, Franklin's voice embodied the music's debt to gospel.
She was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1942, but was raised mostly in Detroit, where her father, C.L. Franklin, was a prominent minister and a nationally known gospel singer. Franklin sang in the choir of her father's church and, though she declined her dad's offer of piano lessons and taught herself instead, began recording gospel music at age 14.
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She toured the gospel circuit with her father, befriending stars such as Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke. She later performed at Jackson's funeral.
She was signed to Columbia Records in 1960 by John Hammond, the eagle-eyed talent scout who also discovered Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, but she had only limited success at the label. It wasn't until her arrival at Atlantic Records in the decade's second half that she gave up trying to become a polished all-purpose entertainer for a career as a soul and R&B singer, backed by an earthy rhythm section from Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
"The backup musicians provided a much grittier, soulful and R&B-based accompaniment for Aretha's voice," according to the All Music Guide, "which soared with a passion and intensity suggesting a spirit that had been allowed to fly loose for the first time."
Over a year-and-a-half stretch from 1967 to 1968, Franklin racked up 10 Top Ten hits.
"It had looked for the longest time like I would never have a gold record," she told Time magazine in 1968. "I wanted one so bad."
Songs like "Respect" were not only huge sellers, they were also adopted by African-Americans and feminists as anthems for social change.
Civil rights icon and US Rep. John Lewis recalled Franklin's "unwavering" commitment to the movement.
"What made her talent so great was her capacity to live what she sang," Franklin said in a statement Thursday. "Her music was deepened by her connection to the struggles and the triumphs of the African American experience growing up in her father's church, the community of Detroit, and her awareness of the turmoil of the South."
After Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, Franklin sang at his funeral.
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The hits kept coming throughout the early 1970s, including "Spanish Harlem" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
By the late '70s, Franklin's star power began to wane, as the golden age of soul ended and as critics and fans became less enthusiastic about her continuing output. However, she re-emerged in the 1980s, releasing the 1985 album "Who's Zoomin' Who?", which spawned the hit "Freeway of Love."
She also collaborated with the Eurythmics on "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" and British pop star George Michael on the smash duet, "I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)." The latter hit No. 1, her last chart-topper.
"Don't say Aretha is making a comeback," she said at the time. "Who's Zoomin' Who" was released, she said, "because I've never been away."
Personal pain lent depth to her music
Franklin's reportedly tumultuous personal life, meanwhile -- she was twice divorced and had brushes with the law -- was shrouded in secrecy.
She was the mother of four sons -- she gave birth to the first at 15 and the second at 17, according to a 1995 Ebony magazine profile. The article depicted her as a warm, down-to-earth woman with a crackling sense of humor, who answered the door in bare feet and confided her diet secret was a combination of Slim-Fast and younger men. She also was reportedly an accomplished cook, telling Ebony, "I can wear some chitlins out."
The Ebony profile suggested the source of some of that pain might have been Franklin's growing up largely without a mother -- Barbara Franklin left the family in 1948, when Franklin was 6, and died four years later -- or the anguish of losing her father.
C.L. Franklin was shot in his home by burglars in 1979 and lived for five years in a semi-coma before dying, the magazine said. Asked the toughest decision she ever had to make, Franklin told Ebony, "It was when my dad was in the hospital," and began to cry.
But Franklin's lows and the emotion involved fueled her music. She saw a number of resurgences in the past three decades and her image as a pop icon endured, with President Barack Obama featuring her singing "My Country 'Tis of Thee" at his inauguration in 2009. She also performed at President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1992.
Franklin was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2005. In 1986, her voice was declared a national resource by the Michigan Legislature. She even had an asteroid named for her.
"She looks rested and relaxed, like a housewife headed out to do some shopping at the local K-Mart," Ebony reporter Laura Randolph wrote in the 1995 profile. "There, or at the Woolworth's Five and Dime where, she recalls, she's spent many an afternoon 'browsing and buying knick-knacks' then 'sitting down at the counter to a scrumptious turkey and dressing plate with mashed potatoes oozing with gravy and loving it.' "
Health issues derailed her late career
Franklin battled health issues in recent years, struggling with weight gain and associated ailments.
In August 2010, she canceled two free concerts in New York because of "fractured ribs and pain in the abdomen," spokeswoman Gwendolyn Quinn said, adding that Franklin's doctors had told her to come in for tests immediately.
That November, her doctors ordered her to cancel all personal appearances for the next six months, the Detroit Free Press reported. In early December, Franklin underwent surgery deemed "highly successful."
She also canceled some appearances in 2013.
However, she recovered enough to return to touring in 2014, including a performance at New York's Radio City Music Hall. She'd also lost almost 100 pounds.
"It's fun buying new clothes!" she told USA Today. "I couldn't stay out of the mirror, just turning every way. This is my natural weight."
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As for her old wardrobe? The shopper knew exactly what to do with those outfits.
"I'm thinking of giving them to a resale shop," Franklin said.
Her final album, "A Brand New Me," paired Franklin's original recordings of some of her greatest hits with modern musical arrangements from London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
But gospel was only part of her vocabulary. The playfulness and harmonic sophistication of jazz, the ache and sensuality of the blues, the vehemence of rock and, later, the sustained emotionality of opera were all hers to command.
Ms. Franklin did not read music, but she was a consummate American singer, connecting everywhere. In an interview with The New York Times in 2007, she said her father had told her that she “would sing for kings and queens.”
“Fortunately I’ve had the good fortune to do so,” she added. “And presidents.”
For all the admiration Ms. Franklin earned, her commercial fortunes were uneven, as her recordings moved in and out of sync with the tastes of the pop market.
After her late-1960s soul breakthroughs and a string of pop hits in the early 1970s, the disco era sidelined her. But Ms. Franklin had a resurgence in the 1980s with her album “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” and its Grammy-winning single, “Freeway of Love,” and she followed through in the next decades as a kind of soul singer emeritus: an indomitable diva and a duet partner conferring authenticity on collaborators like George Michael and Annie Lennox. Her latter-day producers included stars like Luther Vandross and Lauryn Hill, who had grown up as her fans. Onstage, Ms. Franklin proved herself night after night, forever keeping audiences guessing about what she would do next and marveling at how many ways her voice could move.
Mother Sang Gospel
Aretha Louise Franklin was born in Memphis on March 25, 1942. Her mother, Barbara Siggers Franklin, was a gospel singer and pianist. Her parents separated when Aretha was 6, leaving her in her father’s care. Her mother died four years later after a heart attack.
Regarded as one of the greatest singers of all time, Aretha Franklin has died of advanced pancreatic cancer
The great American soul singer Aretha Franklin has died at the age of 76, her representative has said. She was reported to have been gravely ill with her family at her bedside.
“In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family. The love she had for her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins knew no bounds,” Franklin’s family said.
Franklin had been in ill health since 2010, when she was diagnosed with a tumour but returned to intermittent live performance after undergoing surgery. She died of advanced pancreatic cancer. Despite having announced her retirement from performing in 2017, she was due to headline two shows at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest this April but cancelled on doctor’s orders. Her last performance was at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City during Elton John’s 25th anniversary gala for the Elton John Aids Foundation on 7 November 2017.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Aretha Franklin. Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Known as “the queen of soul”, Franklin sold more than 75m records in her lifetime and won 18 Grammy awards. She had 77 entries in the US Billboard Hot 100 and 20 No 1 singles on the R&B chart. Her last album was A Brand New Me, released in November 2017, which paired archival vocal recordings for Atlantic Records with new orchestral arrangements by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Her last original recording was Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics in 2014, which included her take on Adele’s Rolling in the Deep.
“American history wells up when Aretha sings,” former US president Barack Obama said of her performance of (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. “Nobody embodies more fully the connection between the African-American spiritual, the blues, R&B, rock’n’roll – the way that hardship and sorrow were transformed into something full of beauty and vitality and hope.”
In the wake of her death, some of America’s most prominent figures have paid their respects. Barack and Michelle Obama put out a joint statement, reading, in part:
Every time she sang, we were all graced with a glimpse of the divine. Through her compositions and unmatched musicianship, Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade—our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. She helped us feel more connected to each other, more hopeful, more human. And sometimes she helped us just forget about everything else and dance.
Franklin performed at Obama’s 2009 inauguration, singing My Country, Tis of Thee.
Bill Clinton, at whose 1993 inauguration gala Franklin performed, said in a joint statement with Hillary Clinton: “She will forever be the Queen of Soul and so much more to all who knew her personally and through her music. Our hearts go out to her family and her countless fans.” In a separate tweet, Hillary wrote: “mourning the loss today of Aretha Franklin who shared her spirit and talent with the world. She deserves not only our RESPECT but also our lasting gratitude for opening our eyes, ears and hearts. Rest in eternal peace, my friend.”
Play Video 1:49 'A women’s anthem': Aretha Franklin on Respect – video
Donald Trump wrote a calm – if rather unmusical – tribute on Twitter. “The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, is dead. She was a great woman, with a wonderful gift from God, her voice. She will be missed!”
Her final live performance was at a gala event for Elton John’s Aids foundation, in November 2017. John posted a tribute on Instagram, saying: “The loss of Aretha Franklin is a blow for everybody who loves real music: Music from the heart, the soul and the Church. Her voice was unique, her piano playing underrated – she was one of my favourite pianists.”
Carole King, who co-wrote Franklin’s classic song (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, said on Twitter: “What a life. What a legacy! So much love, respect and gratitude.” Paul McCartney called her “the Queen of our souls, who inspired us all for many many years”.
Franklin was born on 25 March 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee. The family moved to Buffalo, New York, when Franklin was two years old, and settled in Detroit, Michigan two years later. It was in Detroit, shortly after her mother’s death, that the 10-year-old Franklin started singing solos at New Bethel church, where her father was a preacher whose political sermons led Martin Luther King to stay with the family when he visited Detroit.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Franklin performs (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in 2015.
Clarence LaVaughn (CL) Franklin began managing his daughter and included her in his “gospel caravan” church tours. He assisted Franklin in signing first to JVB Records, which released her debut, Songs of Faith, in 1956, then to Columbia to pursue a pop career. After a first flush of success in the early 1960s, Franklin signed to Atlantic in 1966, where she flourished with an extraordinary run of singles including her cover of Otis Redding’s Respect, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and I Say a Little Prayer. In 1972, she released the live album Amazing Grace, which showcased her gospel background.
While her success had dimmed by the mid-1970s, Franklin revitalised her career in the 1980s thanks in part to a series of astute collaborations. Now signed to Clive Davis’s Arista Records, she duetted with George Benson, George Michael and, on their 1985 single Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves, the British synth-pop duo Eurythmics.
Franklin continued to release albums and perform throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and received the Grammy award for lifetime achievement in 1994. In 2005, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2009, she performed My Country, ‘Tis of Thee at Obama’s first inauguration.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest With John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in The Blues Brothers, 1980. Photograph: Pictures/REX/Shutterstock
Franklin announced her retirement from performing in February 2017 (though she would later return to the stage). Stepping back from performing was bittersweet, she said. “This is what I’ve done all of my life.” But, she added: “I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now.”
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Franklin was working on an as-yet unreleased album featuring collaborations with artists including Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Lionel Richie, she told Billboard in June 2017. In January 2018, Franklin’s long-term collaborator Clive Davis confirmed that the singer Jennifer Hudson would portray Franklin in the upcoming biopic Queen of Soul. Franklin had described Hudson as one of her first choices for the MGM film.
Franklin’s musical influence is immeasurable. “The soulfulness comes from the gospel,” Beyoncé once said. “It comes from Aretha, who listened to all of that, who sang in the church.” She has been sampled by artists including Kanye West, Outkast and Alicia Keys.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Franklin poses on the red carpet before the 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington DC, December 2015. Photograph: Molly Riley/AFP/Getty Images
It is almost matched by her political legacy. Her father CL helped Martin Luther King organise the Walk to Freedom; at King’s funeral in April 1968 she performed Thomas Dorsey’s Precious Lord. Respect, meanwhile, became hailed as a defining song of both the feminist and civil rights movements.
In a 2015 interview with Vogue, Franklin said that neither song was recorded with political intentions. “It’s important for people,” she said of Respect. “Not just me or the civil rights movement or women – it’s important to people. And I was asked what recording of mine I’d put in a time capsule, and it was Respect. Because people want respect – even small children, even babies. As people, we deserve respect from one another.”
Franklin is survived by her four sons. She gave birth to her first, Clarence, when she was 13, and her second, Edward, aged 14. Ted was born in 1964, followed by Kecalf in 1970.
