Aretha Franklin, whose gospel-rooted singing and bluesy yet expansive delivery earned her the title, "The Queen of Soul" died yesterday at the age of 76.
The "official cause of death was due to advanced pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type, which was confirmed by Franklin's oncologist, Dr. Philip Phillips of Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit," the family statement said.
"Aretha helped define the American experience," former President Barack Obama said in a statement.
"In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade -- our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace."
Legendary soul singer and Franklin's friend of more than sixty years, Sam Moore, had words of sorrow and comfort to offer.
"I adored her and I know the feelings were mutual. While I'm heartbroken that she's gone I know she's in the Lord's arms and she's not in pain or suffering anymore from the damn cancer that took her away from us," he said in a statement.
"I'm going to hope, pray and count on the fact that I will see her again sometime. Rest in the Lord's arms in love, Re."
Franklin's fans paid tribute with flowers and a crown left on her Hollywood Walk of Fame star in Los Angeles.
The singer had been reported to be in failing health for years and appeared frail in recent photos, but she kept her struggles private.
In February 2017, Franklin announced she would stop touring, but she continued to book concerts.
Earlier this year, she canceled a pair of performances, including at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, on doctor's orders, according to Rolling Stone.
The singer's final public performance was last November, when she sang at an Elton John AIDS Foundation gala in New York.
Agencies
