DETROIT, Mich. (NBCNC) – The Queen of Soul has died. Aretha Franklin, the commanding voice behind hits like “Respect”, “Think”, and “A Natural Woman”, died at her Detroit home Thursday. She was 76 and had been battling pancreatic cancer.
A preacher’s daughter, with a voice like no other, Franklin started as a gospel singer, making the transition to soul, and rock.
Earning 18 Grammys, singing at the inaugurations of Presidents Obama and Clinton, becoming the first woman voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In a statement, her family calls her loss “one of the darkest moments of our lives”.
Funeral arrangements will be announced soon.
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