Aretha Louise Franklin, the multiple Grammy award-winning singer, passes away on Thursday. She was an American singer and pianist. The Queen of Soul was best known for hits such as Respect, Think and I say a little prayer. Franklin had 17 top ten US chart hits over a music career of about seven decades.
She died on 16th August at 9:50 am at her home in Detroit, surrounded by family and friends. The cause of her death was advanced pancreatic cancer, her publicist Gwendolyn Quinn said. Funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days.
Former President Barack Obama took to his social media handle and wrote:
“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.”
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
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 16, 2018
President Donald Trump also tweeted and said Franklin’s voice was a gift from God.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2018
Aretha gave her final performance last November at a gala in New York held in aid of the Elton John Aids Foundation. She sold more than 75 million records worldwide and accumulated 18 Grammy awards, including one for Lifetime Achievement. The legendary singer was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and announced last year she was retiring from music.
May her soul rest in peace!