BREAKING: Aretha Franklin Dies Aged 76
The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin has died at the age of 76.
Despite rumours from family that the singer was 'alert' and 'laughing', the news has just broken that Franklin has sadly passed away in Detroit after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
She was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and announced her retirement from music last year. Her last performance was in November 2017 at a New York gala in aid of the Elton John Aids Foundation.
Aretha was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after her success with hits such as Respect, I Say A Little Prayer and Think, with 20 U.S. number ones and a career that spanned seven decades.
Her family released a statement following her death saying, "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."
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