arethamicrophone

This is a really sad day for all soul music fans, and in general music fans. The Queen of Soul, the legendary Aretha Franklin, has passed away at the age of 76, after losing the battle against pancreatic cancer. Aretha’s family stated about her passing:

In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family. The love she had for her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins knew no bounds.

We have been deeply touched by the incredible outpouring of love and support we have received from close friends, supporters and fans all around the world. Thank you for your compassion and prayers. We have felt your love for Aretha and it brings us comfort to know that her legacy will live on. As we grieve, we ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time.’

The American singer-songwriter managed to record 112 charted singles on Billboard, 17 top ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries and 20 number-one R&B singles. She also won 18 Grammy Awards and is considered to be one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, having sold over 75 million records worldwide. Aretha was also inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Above all numbers, the Queen of Soul, was a real woman of “soul”, managing to perform every single hit with her distinctive uniqueness and gifting us with decades of eternal hits like  ‘Baby I Love You‘, ‘(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman‘, ‘Chain Of Fools‘, ‘Ain’t No Way‘, ‘Think‘, ‘I Say A Little Prayer‘, ‘Spanish Harlem‘, ‘Rock Steady‘, ‘Day Dreaming‘, ‘Angel‘, ‘Something He Can Feel‘, Otis Redding‘s ‘Respect‘ among numerous others.

Bye Aretha….

Christos Doukakis