A publicist for the artist confirmed the news with a statement issued to the Associated Press. Gwendolyn Quinn told the agency that Franklin died at 9.50am on August 16 at home in Detroit, from advanced pancreatic cancer.
In a statement, her family 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.”
Known universally as the Queen of Soul, Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1942 but came up in Detroit. Her pop career was imbued with the gospel style forged in her early years singing at the church where her father served as a preacher.
In the late ‘60s, after leaving Columbia for Atlantic, she released an iconic run of material, including the singles Think, I Say a Little Prayer and Respect, with this golden period continuing into the next decade with albums including 'Spirit in the Dark', ‘Young, Gifted and Black’ and the live sets 'Live at Fillmore West' and 'Amazing Grace'.
In later years Franklin became a noted collaborator - in the ‘80s with artists including George Michael and the Eurythmics - and continued recording through to 2014’s ‘Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics’. She was the first female Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee and during her career sold over 70m records.
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