Aretha Franklin dead: The Queen of Soul's life in pictures
ARETHA Franklin has died at the age of 76 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Here is a look back on the soul singer's life and career through pictures.
Franklin, the preacher's daughter whose powerful voice made her the long-reigning "Queen of Soul" with such hit songs as "Respect" and "Chain of Fools," died on Thursday at the age of 76.
The iconic singer created a uniquely emotional and powerful voice that put her at the forefront of 1960s soul music along with Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Wilson Pickett.
Aretha sang at the funeral of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, as well as at the presidential inaugurations of Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
In 1987 she became the first woman voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2010 Rolling Stone magazine named her the No. 1 singer of the rock era.
Franklin was born March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in Detroit. Her father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin, was respected as a civil rights leader, an early advocate of "black pride" and a friend of King.
By 17, she had given birth to two children and later had two other sons.
First married to Ted White, who became her manager and publicly abused her, Franklin later married actor Glynn Turman in 1978 but they divorced in 1984.
President George W. Bush presented Franklin the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.