Aretha Franklin Archives

Remembering Those We Have Lost in 2018

January 10, 2019

Nathan Conyers, Aretha Franklin, Nancy Wilson, Winnie Mandela, Dennis Edwards, Vel Phillips, Ron Dellums, Betty Nabors, Ruthie Sherrod-Davis, Brian Jerome Evans, Sterling Price Hayman III, Farice Marie Clayton, Rev. Dr. Amanda Gray, Robert E. Williams, Nellie Durrell, Kirthan A. Henderson, Nathaniel Brown, John C. Wilturner, Michael A. Word Sr, Darrick A. Sellers, Ricky Adams, Yvonne… [Read More]

Remembering Aretha Franklin as a civil rights icon

August 31, 2018

Aretha Franklin, who was born and rose to fame during the segregation era and went on to sing at the inauguration of the first black U.S. president, often used her talent, fortune and platform to inspire millions of black Americans and support the fight for racial equality. “She not only provided the soundtrack for the… [Read More]

Paying final R.E.S.P.E.C.T.s to the ‘Queen of Soul’

August 23, 2018

Aretha Franklin, the self-taught piano prodigy, vocalist and songwriter who first conquered the charts in the late ’60s and never relinquished her throne, died Thursday, August 16, 2018 of advance pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type, her publicist confirmed to PEOPLE Magazine. She was 76. “In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we… [Read More]

Close friends confirm that Aretha Franklin is ‘gravely ill’, as family gathers around Queen of Soul

August 16, 2018

Shock and concern have spread around the music world overnight following reports that soul singing great Aretha Franklin is “gravely ill.” Franklin, 76, is reportedly surrounded by her family and close friends in Detroit. The family is asking for prayers and privacy. A source who has known Franklin since the start of her career told… [Read More]