Queen of soul Aretha Franklin dead at 76

With the passing of Aretha Franklin, one of the most forceful voices in the history of American music has fallen silent.

Aretha Franklin performing during the BET Honours at the Warner Theatre in Washington in 2012.

‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin has died aged 76 after losing her eight year battle with cancer.

With her passing, one of the most forceful voices in the history of American music has fallen silent.

A soul singer, songwriter and pianist who was born in 1942 and raised as the daughter of a preacher, Franklin — one of very few artists who was perhaps more commonly known by her first name — was renowned for her formidable presence both onstage and off.

Franklin sings a few notes into microphone in 1972. Picture: AP

Her greatest moments included recordings such as Respect, Think and Chain of Fools, but Franklin’s career spanned six remarkable decades and touched millions of lives. She died at home on August 16 while surrounded by her family in Detroit, Michigan, aged 76.

American-Australian singer and actress Marcia Hines is one of many musicians who grew up admiring the way Franklin carried herself.

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“I was still a little girl in Boston when I heard her, and I think any little girl in America who was going to be a singer would have tried to aspire to Aretha — which would have been no mean feat,” Hines told The Australian. “She came out of the church, which most black kids came out of — I did, too — and then she broke away and became this powerful soul singer.”

Aretha Franklin performs at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.

“Nobody can sing like Aretha,” said Hines. “There’s nobody who can touch Aretha.”

After spending much of her childhood in Detroit beneath a roof she shared with the Reverend Clarence LaVaughn “C. L.” Franklin — whose sermons sold millions of copies on Chess Records — Franklin signed to Columbia Records at the age of 18.

But it wasn’t until she shifted to Atlantic Records in 1966 that she began to be known as the Queen of Soul, thanks to 1967 chart-toppers such as I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) and Respect — two tracks that she noted as her favourites in a catalogue of hundreds.

“Everybody wants respect,” Franklin told Rolling Stone in 2014. “In their own way, three-year-olds would like respect, and acknowledgment, in their terms.”

In her lifetime, she was certainly rich in both of those commodities. Her accolades include 18 Grammy Awards, honorary doctorates from Harvard and Yale, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.

She became the first female performer to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, while Rolling Stone awarded her the top spot on its list of the greatest singers of all time in 2008. She is estimated to have sold 75 million records, among which 45 were Top 40 singles in the United States.

To Marcia Hines, the singer represented a pillar of strength. “She was a powerful black woman, and she was in a position to be able to be that powerful because of her writing skills, and because of her musical skills,” said Hines. “I don’t think anybody ever told Aretha what to do.”

Aretha Franklin performs as Pope Francis is seated left, looks on during the Festival of Families in Philadelphia in 2015.

“Some might be frightened by that, but I think there’s really something to be said about a strong woman,” said Hines. “I don’t care what colour she is; just a strong woman who can stand her ground because of her talent. That was Aretha.”

Her final appearance on stage took place in November 2017 at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City as part of a 25th anniversary gala for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, where she performed a nine-song set that included I Say a Little Prayer and Freeway.

“I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now,” she told Detroit radio station WDIV Local 4 last February, while announcing that she was retiring from touring after cancelling a series of concerts due to health concerns.

Aretha Franklin performs during the 47th Annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. in 1975.

While her voice has fallen silent, her recordings will live on. “That’s the great thing about music: when you leave, your music doesn’t,” said Hines. “If you were to ask me who was the greatest female soul singer ever, I’d have to say Aretha Franklin.”