(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.</s>President Bill Clinton and Aretha Franklin attend 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. less

President Bill Clinton and Aretha Franklin attend 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 ... more

US President Barack Obama fist bumps with singer Aretha Franklin who sung during a farewell ceremony for Attorney General Eric Holder at the Justice Department February 27, 2015 in Washington, DC.

Aretha Franklin performs during the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival Opening Gala premiere of "Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of our Lives" at Radio City Music Hall on April 19, 2017 in New York City.

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. less

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 ... more

Willie Wilkerson and fiancee Aretha Franklin pose at the "Motown: The Musical" Pre-Broadway Sneak Preview Celebration at The Liberty Theater Party Space on September 27, 2012 in New York City.

American singer Aretha Franklin looks over her shoulder, her hair pulled up into a beehive style, 1961. Franklin was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Photo by Metronome/Getty Images) less

American singer Aretha Franklin looks over her shoulder, her hair pulled up into a beehive style, 1961. Franklin was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Photo by ... more

Portrait of American singer Aretha Franklin, her father, Baptist preacher CL Franklin, and her sister her sister, fellow singer Carolyn, New York, 1971.

Soul singer Aretha Franklin sings in the Atlantic Records studio during 'The Weight' recording session on January 9, 1969 in New York City, New York.

Soul singer Aretha Franklin signs her contract with Atlantic Records (L-R Jerry Wexler, husband and manager Ted White and Aretha franklin) on November 21, 1966 in New York City.

NEW YORK (AP) — Aretha Franklin, the undisputed "Queen of Soul" who sang with matchless style on such classics as "Think," ''I Say a Little Prayer" and her signature song, "Respect," and stood as a cultural icon around the globe, died Thursday at age 76 from pancreatic cancer.

She died at her home in Detroit — "one of the darkest moments of our lives," her family said, in a statement released to The Associated Press by publicist Gwendolyn Quinn.

"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 ," the family said, adding that funeral arrangements would be announced in coming days.

Franklin, who had battled undisclosed health issues in recent years, announced her retirement from touring last year.

A professional singer and accomplished pianist by her late teens, a superstar by her mid-20s, Franklin had long ago settled any arguments over who was the greatest popular vocalist of her time . Her gifts, natural and acquired, were a multi-octave mezzo-soprano, gospel passion and training worthy of a preacher's daughter, taste sophisticated and eccentric, and the courage to channel private pain into liberating song.

"She was truly one of a kind," said Clive Davis, the music mogul who brought her to Arista Records and helped revive her career in the 1980s. "She was more than the Queen of Soul. She was a national treasure to be cherished by every generation throughout the world."

She recorded hundreds of tracks and had dozens of hits over the span of a half century , including 20 that reached No. 1 on the R&B charts. But her reputation was defined by an extraordinary run of top 10 smashes in the late 1960s, from the morning-after bliss of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," to the wised-up "Chain of Fools" to her unstoppable call for "Respect."

Her records sold millions of copies and the music industry couldn't honor her enough. Franklin won 18 Grammy awards. In 1987, she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Fellow singers bowed to her eminence. Said Smokey Robinson, who grew up with her in Detroit: "This morning my longest friend in this world went home to be with our Father. I will miss her so much but I know she's at peace."

Political and civic leaders treated her as a peer. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a longtime friend, and she sang at the dedication of King's memorial, in 2011. She performed at the inaugurations of Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and at the funeral for civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. Clinton gave Franklin the National Medal of Arts. President George W. Bush awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 2005.

Bill and Hillary Clinton issued a statement mourning the loss of their friend and "one of America's greatest treasures." For more than 50 years, they said, Franklin "stirred our souls. She was elegant, graceful, and utterly uncompromising in her artistry."

Franklin's best-known appearance with a president was in January 2009, when she sang "My Country 'tis of Thee" at President Barack Obama's inauguration. She wore a gray felt hat with a huge, Swarovski rhinestone-bordered bow that became an internet sensation and even had its own website. In 2015, she brought Obama and others to tears with a triumphant performance of "Natural Woman" at a Kennedy Center tribute to the song's co-writer, Carole King.

Franklin endured the exhausting grind of celebrity and personal troubles dating back to childhood. She was married from 1961 to 1969 to her manager, Ted White, and their battles are widely believed to have inspired her performances on several songs, including "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone," ''Think" and her heartbreaking ballad of despair, "Ain't No Way." The mother of two sons by age 16 (she later had two more), she was often in turmoil as she struggled with her weight, family problems and financial predicaments. Her best known producer, Jerry Wexler, nicknamed her "Our Lady of Mysterious Sorrows."

Franklin married actor Glynn Turman in 1978 in Los Angeles but returned to her hometown of Detroit the following year after her father was shot by burglars and left semi-comatose until his death in 1984. She and Turman divorced that year.

Despite growing up in Detroit, and having Robinson as a childhood friend, Franklin never recorded for Motown Records; stints with Columbia and Arista were sandwiched around her prime years with Atlantic Records. But it was at Detroit's New Bethel Baptist Church, where her father was pastor, that Franklin learned the gospel fundamentals that would make her a soul institution.

Aretha Louise Franklin was born March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee. The Rev. C.L. Franklin soon moved his family to Buffalo, New York, then to Detroit, where the Franklins settled after the marriage of Aretha's parents collapsed and her mother (and reputed sound-alike) Barbara returned to Buffalo.

C.L. Franklin was among the most prominent Baptist ministers of his time. He recorded dozens of albums of sermons and music and knew such gospel stars as Marion Williams and Clara Ward, who mentored Aretha and her sisters Carolyn and Erma. (Both sisters sang on Aretha's records, and Carolyn also wrote "Ain't No Way" and other songs for Aretha). Music was the family business and performers from Sam Cooke to Lou Rawls were guests at the Franklin house. In the living room, the shy young Aretha awed friends with her playing on the grand piano.

Franklin occasionally performed at New Bethel Baptist throughout her career; her 1987 gospel album "One Lord One Faith One Baptism" was recorded live at the church.

Her most acclaimed gospel recording came in 1972 with the Grammy-winning album "Amazing Grace," which was recorded live at New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in South Central Los Angeles and featured gospel legend James Cleveland, along with her own father (Mick Jagger was one of the celebrities in the audience). It became one of the best-selling gospel albums ever.

The piano she began learning at age 8 became a jazzy component of much of her work, including arranging as well as songwriting. "If I'm writing and I'm producing and singing, too, you get more of me that way, rather than having four or five different people working on one song," Franklin told The Detroit News in 2003.

Franklin was in her early teens when she began touring with her father, and she released a gospel album in 1956 through J-V-B Records. Four years later, she signed with Columbia Records producer John Hammond, who called Franklin the most exciting singer he had heard since a vocalist he promoted decades earlier, Billie Holiday. Franklin knew Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. and considered joining his label, but decided it was just a local company at the time.

Franklin recorded several albums for Columbia Records over the next six years. She had a handful of minor hits, including "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody" and "Runnin' Out of Fools," but never quite caught on as the label tried to fit into her a variety of styles, from jazz and show songs to such pop numbers as "Mockingbird." Franklin jumped to Atlantic Records when her contract ran out, in 1966.

"But the years at Columbia also taught her several important things," critic Russell Gersten later wrote. "She worked hard at controlling and modulating her phrasing, giving her a discipline that most other soul singers lacked. She also developed a versatility with mainstream music that gave her later albums a breadth that was lacking on Motown LPs from the same period.

"Most important, she learned what she didn't like: to do what she was told to do."

At Atlantic, Wexler teamed her with veteran R&B musicians from Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, and the result was a tougher, soulful sound, with call-and-response vocals and Franklin's gospel-style piano, which anchored "I Say a Little Prayer," ''Natural Woman" and others.

Of Franklin's dozens of hits, none was linked more firmly to her than the funky, horn-led march "Respect" and its spelled out demand for "R-E-S-P-E-C-T."

Writing in Rolling Stone magazine in 2004, Wexler said: "There are songs that are a call to action. There are love songs. There are sex songs. But it's hard to think of another song where all those elements are combined."

Franklin had decided she wanted to "embellish" the R&B song written by Otis Redding, whose version had been a modest hit in 1965, Wexler said.

"When she walked into the studio, it was already worked out in her head," the producer wrote. "Otis came up to my office right before 'Respect' was released, and I played him the tape. He said, 'She done took my song.' He said it benignly and ruefully. He knew the identity of the song was slipping away from him to her."

In a 2004 interview with the St. Petersburg (Florida) Times, Franklin was asked whether she sensed in the '60s that she was helping change popular music.

"Somewhat, certainly with 'Respect,' that was a battle cry for freedom and many people of many ethnicities took pride in that word," she answered. "It was meaningful to all of us."

In 1968, Franklin was pictured on the cover of Time magazine and had more than 10 Top 20 hits in 1967 and 1968. At a time of rebellion and division, Franklin's records were a musical union of the church and the secular, man and woman, black and white, North and South, East and West. They were produced and engineered by New Yorkers Wexler and Tom Dowd, arranged by Turkish-born Arif Mardin and backed by an interracial assembly of top session musicians based mostly in Alabama.

Her popularity faded during the 1970s despite such hits as the funky "Rock Steady" and such acclaimed albums as the intimate "Spirit in the Dark." But her career was revived in 1980 with a cameo appearance in the smash movie "The Blues Brothers" and her switch to Arista . Franklin collaborated with such pop and soul artists as Luther Vandross, Elton John, Whitney Houston and George Michael, with whom she recorded a No. 1 single, "I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)." Her 1985 album "Who's Zoomin' Who" received some of her best reviews and included such hits as the title track and "Freeway of Love."

Critics consistently praised Franklin's singing but sometimes questioned her material; she covered songs by Stephen Sondheim, Bread, the Doobie Brothers. For Aretha, anything she performed was "soul."

From her earliest recording sessions, she defied category. The 1998 Grammys gave her a chance to demonstrate her range. Franklin performed "Respect," then, with only a few minutes' notice, filled in for an ailing Luciano Pavarotti and drew rave reviews for her rendition of "Nessun Dorma," a stirring aria for tenors from Puccini's "Turandot."

"I'm sure many people were surprised, but I'm not there to prove anything," Franklin told The Associated Press. "Not necessary."

Fame never eclipsed Franklin's charitable works, or her loyalty to Detroit.

Franklin sang the national anthem at Super Bowl in her hometown in 2006, after grousing that Detroit's rich musical legacy was being snubbed when the Rolling Stones were chosen as halftime performers.

"I didn't think there was enough (Detroit representation) by any means," she said. "And it was my feeling, 'How dare you come to Detroit, a city of legends — musical legends, plural — and not ask one or two of them to participate?' That's not the way it should be."

Franklin did most of her extensive touring by bus after Redding's death in a 1967 plane crash, and a rough flight to Detroit in 1982 left her with a fear of flying that anti-anxiety tapes and classes couldn't help. She told Time in 1998 that the custom bus was a comfortable alternative: "You can pull over, go to Red Lobster. You can't pull over at 35,000 feet."

She only released a few albums over the past two decades, including "A Rose is Still a Rose," which featured songs by Sean "Diddy" Combs, Lauryn Hill and other contemporary artists, and "So Damn Happy," for which Franklin wrote the gratified title ballad. Franklin's autobiography, "Aretha: From These Roots," came out in 1999, when she was in her 50s. But she always made it clear that her story would continue.

"Music is my thing, it's who I am. I'm in it for the long run," she told The Associated Press in 2008. "I'll be around, singing, 'What you want, baby I got it.' Having fun all the way."</s>Aretha Franklin, the preacher's daughter whose powerful voice made her the long-reigning "Queen of Soul" with such hit songs as "Respect" and "Chain of Fools," died on Thursday at the age of 76, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Franklin, who won 18 Grammys and had some 25 gold records, died at her home in Detroit, the AP said, citing a publicist for the singer. Representatives for Franklin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this week CNN, reported that Aretha is in hospice care at her home, where she is being looked after by health professionals, friends and family.

A report by theMirror UKsaid the star is in "the final stages of a devastating eight-year battle with pancreatic cancer" and was receiving around the clock treatment.

One of Aretha's close friends toldTMZthat they were told a week ago to prepare for the worst as she "could go any time".

According to the source, the star has dropped to 40 kgs.

The soul singer has hit the headlines for several years over her failing health and appeared frail in recent photos.

News of Aretha's condition has left fans across the world concerned. Messages of support flooded social media, which has resulted in Aretha topping the trends list.

Former public protector Thuli Madonsela had on Tuesday joined the worldwide chorus of well-wishes and prayers for the ailing US musician, after reports emerged on Monday that the gravely ill star was surrounded by concerned family.</s>DETROIT — Aretha Franklin, the undisputed “Queen of Soul” who sang with matchless style on such classics as “Think,” ”I Say a Little Prayer” and her signature song, “Respect,” and stood as a cultural icon around the globe, has died at age 76 from advanced pancreatic cancer.

Publicist Gwendolyn Quinn said through a family statement that Franklin died at 9:50 a.m. Thursday at her home in Detroit.

The statement said “Franklin’s official cause of death was due to advance pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type, which was confirmed by Franklin’s oncologist, Dr. Philip Phillips of Karmanos Cancer Institute” in Detroit.

“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,” the statement added. “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.

“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.

Franklin, who had battled undisclosed health issues in recent years, had in 2017 announced her retirement from touring.

A professional singer and accomplished pianist by her late teens, a superstar by her mid-20s, Franklin had long ago settled any arguments over who was the greatest popular vocalist of her time.

Her gifts, natural and acquired, were a multi-octave mezzo-soprano, gospel passion and training worthy of a preacher’s daughter, taste sophisticated and eccentric, and the courage to channel private pain into liberating song.

She recorded hundreds of tracks and had dozens of hits over the span of a half century, including 20 that reached No. 1 on the R&B charts.

But her reputation was defined by an extraordinary run of top 10 smashes in the late 1960s, from the morning-after bliss of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” to the wised-up “Chain of Fools” to her unstoppable call for “Respect.”

Her records sold millions of copies and the music industry couldn’t honor her enough. Franklin won 18 Grammy awards. In 1987, she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Fellow singers bowed to her eminence and political and civic leaders treated her as a peer. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a longtime friend, and she sang at the dedication of King’s memorial, in 2011.

She performed at the inaugurations of Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and at the funeral for civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.

Clinton gave Franklin the National Medal of Arts. President George W. Bush awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2005.

Franklin’s best-known appearance with a president was in January 2009, when she sang “My Country ’tis of Thee” at Barack Obama’s inauguration.

She wore a gray felt hat with a huge, Swarovski rhinestone-bordered bow that became an Internet sensation and even had its own website.

In 2015, she brought Obama and others to tears with a triumphant performance of “Natural Woman” at a Kennedy Center tribute to the song’s co-writer, Carole King.

Franklin endured the exhausting grind of celebrity and personal troubles dating back to childhood.

She was married from 1961 to 1969 to her manager, Ted White, and their battles are widely believed to have inspired her performances on several songs, including “(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone,” ”Think” and her heartbreaking ballad of despair, “Ain’t No Way.”

The mother of two sons by age 16 (she later had two more), she was often in turmoil as she struggled with her weight, family problems and financial predicaments. Her best known producer, Jerry Wexler, nicknamed her “Our Lady of Mysterious Sorrows.”

Franklin married actor Glynn Turman in 1978 in Los Angeles but returned to her hometown of Detroit the next year after her father was shot by burglars and left semi-comatose until his death in 1984. She and Turman divorced that year.

Despite growing up in Detroit, and having Smokey Robinson as a childhood friend, Franklin never recorded for Motown Records; stints with Columbia and Arista were sandwiched around her prime years with Atlantic Records.

But it was at Detroit’s New Bethel Baptist Church, where her father was pastor, that Franklin learned the gospel fundamentals that would make her a soul institution.

Aretha Louise Franklin was born March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee. The Rev. C.L. Franklin soon moved his family to Buffalo, New York, then to Detroit, where the Franklins settled after the marriage of Aretha’s parents collapsed and her mother (and reputed sound-alike) Barbara returned to Buffalo.

C.L. Franklin was among the most prominent Baptist ministers of his time. He recorded dozens of albums of sermons and music and knew such gospel stars as Marion Williams and Clara Ward, who mentored Aretha and her sisters Carolyn and Erma. (Both sisters sang on Aretha’s records, and Carolyn also wrote “Ain’t No Way” and other songs for Aretha.)

Music was the family business and performers from Sam Cooke to Lou Rawls were guests at the Franklin house. In the living room, the shy young Aretha awed friends with her playing on the grand piano.

Franklin occasionally performed at New Bethel Baptist throughout her career; her 1987 gospel album “One Lord One Faith One Baptism” was recorded live at the church.

Her most acclaimed gospel recording came in 1972 with the Grammy-winning album “Amazing Grace,” which was recorded live at New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in South Central Los Angeles and featured gospel legend James Cleveland, along with her own father (Mick Jagger was one of the celebrities in the audience). It became one of of the best-selling gospel albums ever.

The piano she began learning at age 8 became a jazzy component of much of her work, including arranging as well as songwriting.

“If I’m writing and I’m producing and singing, too, you get more of me that way, rather than having four or five different people working on one song,” Franklin told The Detroit News in 2003.

Franklin was in her early teens when she began touring with her father, and she released a gospel album in 1956 through J-V-B Records.

Four years later, she signed with Columbia Records producer John Hammond, who called Franklin the most exciting singer he had heard since a vocalist he promoted decades earlier, Billie Holiday.

Franklin knew Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. and considered joining his label, but decided it was just a local company at the time.

Franklin recorded several albums for Columbia Records over the next six years. She had a handful of minor hits, including “Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody” and “Runnin’ Out of Fools,” but never quite caught on as the label tried to fit into her a variety of styles, from jazz and show songs to such pop numbers as “Mockingbird.”

Franklin jumped to Atlantic Records when her contract ran out, in 1966.

“But the years at Columbia also taught her several important things,” critic Russell Gersten later wrote. “She worked hard at controlling and modulating her phrasing, giving her a discipline that most other soul singers lacked.

She also developed a versatility with mainstream music that gave her later albums a breadth that was lacking on Motown LPs from the same period.

“Most important, she learned what she didn’t like: to do what she was told to do.”

At Atlantic, Wexler teamed her with veteran R&B musicians from Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, and the result was a tougher, soulful sound, with call-and-response vocals and Franklin’s gospel-style piano, which anchored “I Say a Little Prayer,” ”Natural Woman” and others.

Of Franklin’s dozens of hits, none was linked more firmly to her than the funky, horn-led march “Respect” and its spelled out demand for “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.”

Writing in Rolling Stone magazine in 2004, Wexler said: “It was an appeal for dignity combined with a blatant lubricity. There are songs that are a call to action. There are love songs. There are sex songs. But it’s hard to think of another song where all those elements are combined.”

Franklin had decided she wanted to “embellish” the R&B song written by Otis Redding, whose version had been a modest hit in 1965, Wexler said.

“When she walked into the studio, it was already worked out in her head,” the producer wrote. “Otis came up to my office right before ‘Respect’ was released, and I played him the tape. He said, ‘She done took my song.’ He said it benignly and ruefully. He knew the identity of the song was slipping away from him to her.”

In a 2004 interview with the St. Petersburg (Florida) Times, Franklin was asked whether she sensed in the ’60s that she was helping change popular music.

“Somewhat, certainly with ‘Respect,’ that was a battle cry for freedom and many people of many ethnicities took pride in that word,” she answered. “It was meaningful to all of us.”

In 1968, Franklin was pictured on the cover of Time magazine and had more than 10 Top 20 hits in 1967 and 1968.

At a time of rebellion and division, Franklin’s records were a musical union of the church and the secular, man and woman, black and white, North and South, East and West.

They were produced and engineered by New Yorkers Wexler and Tom Dowd, arranged by Turkish-born Arif Mardin and backed by an interracial assembly of top session musicians based mostly in Alabama.

Her popularity faded during the 1970s despite such hits as the funky “Rock Steady” and such acclaimed albums as the intimate “Spirit in the Dark.”

But her career was revived in 1980 with a cameo appearance in the smash movie “The Blues Brothers” and her switch to Arista Records.

Franklin collaborated with such pop and soul artists as Luther Vandross, Elton John, Whitney Houston and George Michael, with whom she recorded a No. 1 single, “I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me).”

Her 1985 album “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” received some of her best reviews and included such hits as the title track and “Freeway of Love.”

Critics consistently praised Franklin’s singing but sometimes questioned her material; she covered songs by Stephen Sondheim, Bread, the Doobie Brothers. For Aretha, anything she performed was “soul.”

From her earliest recording sessions at Columbia, when she asked to sing “Over the Rainbow,” she defied category.

The 1998 Grammys gave her a chance to demonstrate her range. Franklin performed “Respect,” then, with only a few minutes’ notice, filled in for an ailing Luciano Pavarotti and drew rave reviews for her rendition of “Nessun Dorma,” a stirring aria for tenors from Puccini’s “Turandot.”

“I’m sure many people were surprised, but I’m not there to prove anything,” Franklin told The Associated Press. “Not necessary.”

Fame never eclipsed Franklin’s charitable works, or her loyalty to Detroit.

Franklin sang the national anthem at Super Bowl in her hometown in 2006, after grousing that Detroit’s rich musical legacy was being snubbed when the Rolling Stones were chosen as halftime performers.

“I didn’t think there was enough (Detroit representation) by any means,” she said. “And it was my feeling, ‘How dare you come to Detroit, a city of legends — musical legends, plural — and not ask one or two of them to participate?’ That’s not the way it should be.”

Franklin did most of her extensive touring by bus after Redding’s death in a 1967 plane crash, and a rough flight to Detroit in 1982 left her with a fear of flying that anti-anxiety tapes and classes couldn’t help.

She told Time in 1998 that the custom bus was a comfortable alternative: “You can pull over, go to Red Lobster. You can’t pull over at 35,000 feet.”

She only released a few albums over the past two decades, including “A Rose is Still a Rose,” which featured songs by Sean “Diddy” Combs, Lauryn Hill and other contemporary artists, and “So Damn Happy,” for which Franklin wrote the gratified title ballad.

Franklin’s autobiography, “Aretha: From These Roots,” came out in 1999, when she was in her 50s. But she always made it clear that her story would continue.

“Music is my thing, it’s who I am. I’m in it for the long run,” she told The Associated Press in 2008. “I’ll be around, singing, ‘What you want, baby I got it.’ Having fun all the way.”</s>Aretha Franklin, the "Queen of Soul" who sang with matchless style on such classics as "Think," "I Say a Little Prayer" and her signature song, "Respect," has died at age 76 from advanced pancreatic cancer.

Publicist Gwendolyn Quinn told The Associated Press through a family statement that Franklin passed Thursday at 9:50 am at her home in Detroit. The statement said "Franklin's 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 added: "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 Showbiz 411 website first reported that Franklin, who stood as a cultural icon around the globe, was “gravely ill” on August 12. A day later a representative of her family confirmed the news with Local 4 Detroit.

Fellow music icon Stevie Wonder and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson were among those who visited Franklin in hospital while fans and celebrities paid tribute to her on social media, including former US president Bill Clinton, Mariah Carey, Patti LaBelle and Rod Stewart.

Media reports surfaced in 2010 that she was suffering from pancreatic cancer, reports Franklin subsequently denied. She did, however, admit in 2011 that she had been suffering from an unspecified health problem and had recently undergone surgery that would “add 15 to 20 more years” to her life.

Aretha Franklin was born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, the daughter of pastor and civil rights activist Clarence La Vaughan “CL” Franklin and gospel singer Barbara Siggers Franklin.

Soon after the family left Memphis for Detroit, where Aretha got her start performing at the church where her father served as minister, New Bethel Baptist.

She recorded gospel tracks that were released by a small label as an album titled “Songs of Faith” in 1956, when Franklin was just 14. She also performed with her father’s travelling revival show, where she crossed paths with such gospel greats as Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke.

At the age of 14 she gave birth to her first son, Clarence (some media reports say she was just 12 at the time). Edward was born two years later. Franklin eventually had two more sons, Ted White, Jr. and Kecalf Cunningham.

She traveled to New York in 1960 to pursue a secular music career, signing with Columbia Records and releasing her first, self-titled album “Aretha” in 1961. She enjoyed moderate success but in 1966 decided to sign on to Atlantic Records.

Her 1967 album, “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)”, included a cover of the Otis Redding song "Respect". Franklin’s version reached the No. 1 spot on both the R&B and the pop charts and earned Franklin her first two Grammy Awards. The song eventually became one of her most recognisable and iconic hits.

Her subsequent songs “Baby, I Love You”, “Chain of Fools”, “I Say a Little Prayer”, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", “Think” and "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone” also hit the Top 10.

She soon earned the title “Queen of Soul” and became a symbol of empowerment for the Civil Rights Movement. In 1968 Franklin performed "Precious Lord" at the funeral of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Later that year, she sang the national anthem to kick off the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Franklin’s first husband Ted White also served as her manager until they divorced in 1969, when Franklin’s brother Cecil took up managing her career. Cecil continued in this role until his death in 1989.

As her star continued to rise, Franklin won eight consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, the last one for "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" in 1974.

As disco began its ascendancy in the mid-1970s, Franklin’s style of soul began losing ground to newer, fresher singers like Donna Summer and Chaka Khan, according to Biography.com.

A cameo in the 1980 film “The Blues Brothers” helped revitalise her career and introduced her to a new generation of would-be fans. She soon signed to Arista Records and her 1982 album “Jump To It” was a hit on the R&B charts, earning her another Grammy nomination.

In 1987, Aretha Franklin became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

She has won 18 Grammy Awards – the first in 1967 – as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award and a Grammy Living Legend award. Most recently she won Best Gospel Performance for “Never Gonna Break My Faith” with Mary J. Blige in 2007.

Franklin was the recipient of the highest US civilian honour, the Presidential Medal Of Freedom, in 2005 and also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

She sang at the inauguration of US president Jimmy Carter in 1977, of Bill Clinton in 1993 and at Barack Obama’s first inauguration in January 2009.

Franklin famously brought Obama to tears with her performance of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” at the 38th annual Kennedy Center Honors in December 2015.

Over her nearly six-decade career, her distinctive fusion of gospel, soul and R&B style has influenced countless singers across generations.

In February of 2017, Franklin said she planned to "retire" from performing after the release of her new album.

"This will be my last year," she told Local 4 Detroit. "I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it."

In November 2017 she released her last album, "A Brand New Me", which included many of her classic titles, including “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Respect” with backing from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Franklin cancelled planned performances earlier this year on doctor’s orders, the AP reported. She was originally scheduled to perform in Newark on her 76th birthday in March and at the famed New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in April.

She performed on August 26, 2017, at Philadelphia’s Mann Center and a couple of weeks later at a concert outside of Chicago. Those were her last major public performances.

Franklin has supported many charities and causes over her lifetime, including the NAACP, the Special Olympics, the Rainforest Foundation and the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes. Her final performance was at a private gala for the Elton John AIDS Foundation last November (main photo above).</s>Aretha Franklin, the preacher's daughter whose powerful voice made her the long-reigning "Queen of Soul" with such hit songs as "Respect" and "Chain of Fools," died on Thursday at the age of 76, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Franklin, who won 18 Grammys and had some 25 gold records, died at her home in Detroit, the AP said, citing a publicist for the singer. Representatives for Franklin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this week CNN, reported that Aretha is in hospice care at her home, where she is being looked after by health professionals, friends and family.

A report by the Mirror UK said the star is in "the final stages of a devastating eight-year battle with pancreatic cancer" and was receiving around the clock treatment.</s>, Detroit, United States, Aug 16 – Aretha Franklin, the music icon, legendary singer and “Queen of Soul” loved by millions whose history-making career spanned six decades, died on Thursday, her longtime publicist announced. She was 76.

She influenced generations of female singers with unforgettable hits including “Respect” (1967), “Natural Woman” (1968) and “I Say a Little Prayer” (1968). She passed away at home in Detroit from advanced pancreatic cancer.

The multiple Grammy winner cemented her place in US music history with a powerful, bell-clear voice that stretched over four octaves. In a career crossing generations, her hits spanned soul and R&B, to gospel and pop.

Franklin passed away at 9:50 am (1350 GMT) surrounded by her family and loved ones, her family said in a statement issued by her publicist.

“It is with deep and profound sadness that we announce the passing of Aretha Louise Franklin, the Queen of Soul,” the statement said.

“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.”

The family thanked fans around the world for their “incredible outpouring of love” since it first emerged earlier this week that she was gravely ill.

“We have felt your love for Aretha and it brings us comfort to know that her legacy will live on.”

The 18-time Grammy award winner inspired multiple singers during her five-decade career from pop diva Mariah Carey and the late Whitney Houston, to Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige and the late Amy Winehouse.

In 1987, she became the first woman ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine put her at the top of its list of the 100 greatest singers of all time, male or female.

She sang at the inaugurations of presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” at the investiture of the country’s first African-American head of state.

In a heartfelt tribute from the Obamas, the former president and his wife Michelle praised Franklin’s “unmatched musicianship,” which they said “helped define the American experience.”

“Every time she sang, we were all graced with a glimpse of the divine,” the Obamas 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. 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.”

US President Donald Trump called the singer “terrific,” saying “she brought joy to millions of lives and her extraordinary legacy will thrive and inspire many generations to come.”

Clinton and his wife, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, on Thursday hailed her as “one of America’s greatest national treasures.”

“For more than 50 years, she stirred our souls. She was elegant, graceful, and utterly uncompromising in her artistry,” they said.

Singers and musicians quickly flooded social media in mourning her passing, which came on the same day that fellow US music giant Elvis Presley died at his home in Memphis, the city where Franklin was born, 41 years ago.

Paul McCartney‏ called Franklin an inspiration and “the Queen of our souls,” while Diana Ross hailed her “wonderful golden spirit.”

Fellow soul superstar Patti LaBelle praised Franklin as “a rare treasure whose unmatched musical genius helped craft the soundtrack to the lives of so many.”

Franklin — who was widely known by only her first name, in true diva style — rose from singing gospel in her father’s church to regularly topping rhythm and blues and pop charts in the 1960s and 1970s.

Other than “Respect,” her powerful cover of the Otis Redding tune that became a feminist anthem and her calling card, Franklin had dozens of Top 40 singles, according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Other hits include “Day Dreaming” (1972), “Jump to It” (1982), “Freeway of Love” (1985), and “A Rose Is Still A Rose” (1998). A 1986 duet with George Michael, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” hit number one in several countries.

Franklin’s declining health was first disclosed on the Showbiz 411 website late Sunday by Roger Friedman, a reporter and family friend.

The Detroit News later reported that she was in hospice care, as artists from across the musical spectrum offered well wishes to the singer who lived in Detroit — the Motor City, home of Motown — most of her life.

In 2005, Franklin was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest award for an American civilian — by then-president George W. Bush.

In 2010, she suffered serious health problems, but continued to perform until late last year, singing last in November 2017 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York. That same year, Detroit named a street after her.</s>(CNN) — A one-of-a-kind voice in the musical world is being remembered as a person who’s left an unfillable void in the music industry.

Aretha Franklin, who died Thursday after a battle with pancreatic cancer, is being honored by her peers across multiple generations and musical genres as a legend and the undeniable queen of all things soul.

“I’m absolutely devastated by Aretha’s passing,” Davis told CNN’s Don Lemon. “She was truly one of a kind. She was more than the Queen of Soul. She was a national treasure to be cherished by every generation throughout the world. Apart from our long professional relationship, Aretha was my friend. Her loss is deeply profound and my heart is full of sadness.”

“This photo was taken in 2012 when Aretha & I performed at a tribute celebration for our friend Marvin Hamlisch,” Streisand wrote in a tweet. “It’s difficult to conceive of a world without her. Not only was she a uniquely brilliant singer,but her commitment to civil rights made an indelible impact on the world.”

“I’m sitting in prayer for the wonderful golden spirit Aretha Franklin.”

“Salute to the Queen. The greatest vocalist I’ve ever known.”

“The loss of @ArethaFranklin 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.”

“The Queen of Soul has left this earth to sit on her throne in heaven. How blessed we were to hear the best that God had to offer in her voice. RESPECT!”

Related: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, has died

“LADY SOUL. The first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Aretha Franklin was an artist of passion, sophistication and command, whose recordings remain anthems that defined soul music. Long live the Queen.”

“America has no royalty. But we do have a chance to earn something more enduring. Born in Memphis and raised in Detroit, Aretha Franklin grew up performing gospel songs in her father’s congregation. For more than six decades since, 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. Aretha may have passed on to a better place, but the gift of her music remains to inspire us all. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace. Michelle and I send our prayers and warmest sympathies to her family and all those moved by her song.”

“Hillary and I mourn the loss of our friend Aretha Franklin, one of America’s greatest national treasures. For more than 50 years, she stirred our souls. She was elegant, graceful, and utterly uncompromising in her artistry. Aretha’s first music school was the church and her performances were powered by what she learned there. I’ll always be grateful for her kindness and support, including her performances at both my inaugural celebrations, and for the chance to be there for what sadly turned out to be her final performance last November at a benefit supporting the fight against HIV/AIDS. 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.”

“I was honored to present Aretha Franklin with the key to our city last year at her last show in Detroit. She earned the love and respect of millions of people, not just for herself, but for the city she loved so dearly and called home. We are deeply saddened that she has passed.”

“Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Aretha Franklin. Aretha was a groundbreaker and an icon whose legacy will live on forever.”

“Her voice; her presence; her style. No one did it better Truly the Queen of Soul I will miss you!”

“From the time that Dinah Washington first told me that Aretha was the ‘next one’ when she was 12 years old until the present day, Aretha Franklin set the bar upon which every female singer has and will be measured. And she did it with the professionalism, class, grace and humility that only a true Queen could. I treasured every moment that we spent together from working in the recording studio, to performing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, or simply hanging in the kitchen, and I will miss her dearly. RIP Ree-Ree. You will reign as the Queen forever.”

“She was the heart and soul of our city. She did everything for our city,” Linda Solomon, a friend of Franklin and native of Detroit, told CNN.

“She once said when I’m not on stage, I am the lady next door. I would see Aretha at Kroger’s. I went to the cashier and said, ‘Did you see Aretha in the produce aisles?’ She said, ‘She’s always here.’ She was down to earth, she was unassuming, she was wonderful to work with.”

“Because it’s the queen, you do what she says,” Bryson told CNN Thursday. “One of the things you never said to Aretha Franklin was, ‘No.’ ”

“Our Heavenly Father has chosen one of our most prolific voices to join His Heavenly Choir……………Aretha now rests in peace!!…..I, like I’m sure she was taught, that we are All put on this earth for a purpose, and once that is fulfilled, we will then be ‘Called Home’! She sincerely will be missed throughout the Musical World, Family, and Friends. My deep heartfelt condolence I send from my family to her family and do hope the grief I know they are feeling will begin to subside with time, as losing a family member is a VERY HARD THING to process. Know that her pain is over and she suffers no longer! Rest in Peace my Friend.”

“When she sang, she embodied what we were fighting for, and her music strengthened us. It revived us. When we would be released from jail after a non-violent protest, we might go to a late night club and let the music of Aretha Franklin fill our hearts. She was like a muse whose songs whispered the strength to continue on. Her music gave us a greater sense of determination to never give up or give in, and to keep the faith.”</s>Jennifer Hudson is paying tribute to the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin.

Franklin died on Thursday and Hudson took to Instagram to remember the legendary artist. The Oscar-winning actress has a personal connection to Franklin, given that she's portraying her in an upcoming biopic that begins filming next year.

Hudson, 36, Instagrammed video of herself listening to Franklin's cover of The Beatles' "Let It Be."

"I have no words, so I will let the Queen say it!" Hudson wrote. "But I will say while teaching me about your life, u taught me so much about life and schooled me in mine. I will never forget those teachings #riparethafranklin."

In January, famed record executive Clive Davis announced at his annual pre-GRAMMY party in NYC that Franklin actually handpicked Hudson to play her.

"She stops any and every show she's in," Davis said of Hudson. "Her voice is truly incredible. When they ask, 'Where's the next Aretha? Where will the next Aretha come from?' I say, 'It's her.'"

"I don't even know what to say," Hudson replied. "Look at God! #ArethaFranklin you have no idea how humbled I am!"

Hudson then performed a medley of the legendary singer's most iconic hits at the bash, including "Respect," "Rock Steady" and "Think."

Davis paid his own emotional tribute to Franklin on Thursday, Instagramming a throwback pic of the two together.

"I’m absolutely devastated by Aretha’s passing," he wrote. "She was truly one of a kind. She was more than the Queen of Soul. She was a national treasure to be cherished by every generation throughout the world. Apart from our long professional relationship, Aretha was my friend. Her loss is deeply profound and my heart is full of sadness."

Hudson and Davis are just two of many celebrities who have paid tribute to Franklin, which have included Oprah Winfrey, Celine Dion, Paul McCartney, Britney Spears, The Rolling Stones, Barack and Michelle Obama and more.

For more on Franklin's life and legacy, watch the video below:

Aretha Franklin Dead at 76: Barbra Streisand, John Legend and More React

Aretha Franklin, Legendary Singer and 'Queen of Soul,' Dies at 76</s>NEW YORK (AP) — Aretha Franklin, the undisputed “Queen of Soul” who sang with matchless style on such classics as “Think,” ”I Say a Little Prayer” and her signature song, “Respect,” and stood as a cultural icon around the globe, has died from pancreatic cancer. She was 76.

Publicist Gwendolyn Quinn told The Associated Press through a family statement that Franklin died Thursday at 9:50 a.m. at her home in Detroit.

A professional singer and pianist by her late teens, a superstar by her mid-20s, Franklin had long ago settled any arguments over who was the greatest popular vocalist of her time. Her gifts, natural and acquired, were a multi-octave mezzo-soprano, gospel passion and training worthy of a preacher’s daughter, taste sophisticated and eccentric, and the courage to channel private pain into liberating song.

She recorded hundreds of tracks and had dozens of hits over the span of a half century, including 20 that reached No. 1 on the R&B charts. But her reputation was defined by an extraordinary run of top 10 smashes in the late 1960s, from the morning-after bliss of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” to the wised-up “Chain of Fools” to her unstoppable call for “Respect.”

The music industry couldn’t honor her enough. Franklin won 18 Grammy awards. In 1987, she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Fellow singers bowed to her eminence and political and civic leaders treated her as a peer. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a longtime friend, and she sang at the dedication of King’s memorial, in 2011. She performed at the inaugurations of Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and at the funeral for civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. Clinton gave Franklin the National Medal of Arts. President George W. Bush awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2005.

Franklin’s best-known appearance with a president was in January 2009, when she sang “My Country ’tis of Thee” at Barack Obama’s inauguration. She wore a gray felt hat with a huge, Swarovski rhinestone-bordered bow that became an Internet sensation and even had its own website.

Franklin endured the exhausting grind of celebrity and personal troubles dating back to childhood. She was married from 1961 to 1969 to her manager, Ted White, and their battles are widely believed to have inspired her performances on several songs, including “(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone,” ”Think” and her heartbreaking ballad of despair, “Ain’t No Way.” The mother of two sons by age 16 (she later had two more), she was often in turmoil as she struggled with her weight, family problems and financial predicaments. Her best known producer, Jerry Wexler, nicknamed her “Our Lady of Mysterious Sorrows.”

Despite growing up in Detroit, and having Smokey Robinson as a childhood friend, Franklin never recorded for Motown Records; stints with Columbia and Arista were sandwiched around her prime years with Atlantic Records. But it was at Detroit’s New Bethel Baptist Church, where her father was pastor, that Franklin learned the gospel fundamentals that would make her a soul institution.

Aretha Louise Franklin was born March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee. The Rev. C.L. Franklin soon moved his family to Buffalo, New York, then to Detroit. C.L. Franklin was among the most prominent Baptist ministers of his time. Music was the family business and performers from Sam Cooke to Lou Rawls were guests at the Franklin house. In the living room, young Aretha awed Robinson and other friends with her playing on the grand piano.

Franklin was in her early teens when she began touring with her father, and she released a gospel album in 1956 through J-V-B Records. Four years later, she signed with Columbia Records producer John Hammond, who called Franklin the most exciting singer he had heard since a vocalist he promoted decades earlier, Billie Holiday. Franklin knew Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. and considered joining his label, but decided it was just a local company at the time.

Franklin recorded several albums for Columbia Records over the next six years. She had a handful of minor hits, including “Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody” and “Runnin’ Out of Fools,” but never quite caught on as the label tried to fit into her a variety of styles, from jazz and show songs to such pop numbers as “Mockingbird.” Franklin jumped to Atlantic Records when her contract ran out, in 1966.

“But the years at Columbia also taught her several important things,” critic Russell Gersten later wrote. “She worked hard at controlling and modulating her phrasing, giving her a discipline that most other soul singers lacked. She also developed a versatility with mainstream music that gave her later albums a breadth that was lacking on Motown LPs from the same period.

“Most important, she learned what she didn’t like: to do what she was told to do.”

At Atlantic, Wexler teamed her with veteran R&B musicians from FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, and the result was a tougher, soulful sound, with call-and-response vocals and Franklin’s gospel-style piano, which anchored “I Say a Little Prayer,” ”Natural Woman” and others.

Of Franklin’s dozens of hits, none was linked more firmly to her than the funky, horn-led march “Respect” and its spelled out demand for “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.”

Writing in Rolling Stone magazine in 2004, Wexler said: “It was an appeal for dignity combined with a blatant lubricity. There are songs that are a call to action. There are love songs. There are sex songs. But it’s hard to think of another song where all those elements are combined.”

Franklin had decided she wanted to “embellish” the R&B song written by Otis Redding, whose version had been a modest hit in 1965.

“When she walked into the studio, it was already worked out in her head,” the producer wrote. “Otis came up to my office right before ‘Respect’ was released, and I played him the tape. He said, ‘She done took my song.’ He said it benignly and ruefully. He knew the identity of the song was slipping away from him to her.”

In a 2004 interview with the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, Franklin was asked whether she sensed in the ’60s that she was helping change popular music.

“Somewhat, certainly with ‘Respect,’ that was a battle cry for freedom and many people of many ethnicities took pride in that word,” she answered. “It was meaningful to all of us.”
American soul singer and songwriter Aretha Franklin dies at the age of 76.