Aretha Franklin Has Died at Age 76

*Aretha Franklin, the legendary Queen of Soul, died Thursday following a reported battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 76.

Franklin was surrounded by family and friends when she passed away under hospice care in her Detroit home. She had been in failing health for several months and was down to 86 pounds, TMZ reports.

Aretha Franklin performs onstage at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Commemorates Its 25th Year And Honors Founder Sir Elton John During New York Fall Gala at Cathedral of St. John the Divine on November 7, 2017 in New York City.

Born in 1942 in Memphis, Franklin became one of the most revered singers of her era. After moving with her family to Detroit, she began singing in her father’s church and landed a record deal with Columbia in the early ‘60s.

After achieving modest success there, she signed to Atlantic Records in 1967, where her career skyrocketed with such songs as “Respect”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”, “Spanish Harlem” and “Think”. By the end of the 1960s she had earned the nickname “Queen of Soul.”

She recorded acclaimed albums such as “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You,” “Lady Soul,” “Young, Gifted and Black” and “Amazing Grace” before experiencing problems with Atlantic by the mid-1970s.

After her father was shot in 1979, Franklin left Atlantic and joined Arista Records, finding success with her part in the 1980 film “The Blues Brothers” (see above) and with the albums “Jump to It” (1982) and “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?” (1985).

Twenty of her singles toped the R&B chart and more than 50 reached the R&B Top 10 throughout her career spanning more than six decades. Her defining hit, “Respect,” became a crossover smash in 1967 and a feminist anthem.

Franklin won 18 Grammys out of 44 nominations.

In 1987, the icon was the first female to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and her name appears in at least two of Rolling Stone’s all-time lists, including the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time (No. 9), and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time (No. 1).

While paying tribute to Carole King at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, Franklin brought the house down – and tears to the eyes of President Obama – with her famous rendition of the King-penned “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”

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