Legendary Soul Singer Aretha Franklin Has Died, Aged 76

Iconic soul singer Aretha Franklin has died peacefully in her sleep in her hometown of Detroit, aged 76.

The Queen of Soul had endured serious health issues for a number of years leading up to her death. In February 2017 she announced she would be retiring from touring at the end of the year, although she stated she would still be recording music.

“I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from, and where it is now,” Franklin said at the time. “I’ll be pretty much satisfied, but I’m not going to go anywhere and just sit down and do nothing. That wouldn’t be good either.”

Franklin was born in 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee, and signed to Columbia Records when she was just 18 years old. She switched to Atlantic Records seven years later, and in the ensuing years she became one of the most successful recording artists of all time, with iconic hits such as ‘Respect’, ‘Spanish Harlem’, ‘Chain Of Fools’, and ‘(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman’.

She has 18 Grammy Awards to her name, was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has sold over 75 million records worldwide. She’s widely regarded as the greatest singer of all time.

Her last performance was in New York in November, in support of Elton John’s AIDS Foundation.

Vale.

Photo via Aretha Franklin Facebook