Aretha Franklin, 1942-2018

Queen of soul dies of pancreatic cancer

Aretha Franklin, queen of soul, 1942-2018.

Over the course of her storied career, Franklin took Otis Redding’s song “Respect” and turned it into an iconic feminist and civil rights anthem. She also owned her cameo in The Blues Brothers and according to The Guardian, “sold more than 75m records in her lifetime and won 18 Grammy awards. She had 77 entries in the US Billboard Hot 100 and 20 No 1 singles on the R&B chart.”

Franklin died of pancreatic cancer on Aug. 16 after creating a soundtrack for our lives.