Aretha Franklin, the legendary musical Diva, has passed away at the age of 76 at her home in Detroit.
Regarded, by many, as one of the greatest singers of all time, Aretha, was struggling with her health and weight-issues for a long time but more so since her cancer diagnosis sometime around 2010.
The Queen Of Soul’s condition became frail this past week, as news about her being “gravely ill” surfaced on media outlets, as sources confirmed that death was indeed “imminent” for the celebrated icon.
Aretha was later put in hospice care, surrounded by her close family members who, until the very end, remained hopeful of her recovery.
She breathed her last on the 16th of August, surrounded by the love and care of her people.
The cause of her death has been cited as ‘pancreatic cancer.’
Although, Aretha retired from live performances towards the end of 2017 – due to her falling health, her demise marks an unfathomable void in the music industry and its impact can be felt by the countless tributes that are flowing-in by the minute.
Aretha, who started singing at her father’s church at a tender age of 10, performing gospel solo’s like ‘Jesus, Be A Fence Around Me’ remains one of the most influential and widely-respected vocalists in popular music history. The same gospel-like fire and passion was showcased by miss Franklin throughout her career’s many secular hits.
Some of her biggest career hits include classics like, ‘Natural Woman’, ‘Respect’, I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Loved You)’, ‘Chain Of Fools’, ‘Since You Been Gone’, ‘A Rose Is Still A Rose’, ‘Dr. Feelgood’ – to name a few.