Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, Leaves a Lasting Legacy

Aretha Franklin, the most influential and celebrated R&B singer of her time, has died, at 76, after a long struggle with cancer. But her reign as the Queen of Soul? That’s forever.

Over the past 62 years, Franklin built an astonishing legacy that set the highest standard in soul music. She earned the title Queen of Soul with a staggering run of instant classics — including “Respect,” “Chain of Fools,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “I Never Loved a Man” and “Think” — when she signed with Atlantic Records in the 1960s. Her crown was never tarnished or threatened.

Surrounded by family and friends, Franklin died Thursday in Detroit. She had surgery for pancreatic cancer in late 2010 and had canceled numerous engagements due to illness since then. Thin but vocally fit, she last performed in November, at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Gala in New York.

Born in Memphis and raised in Detroit, Franklin sang gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church, where her father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin, was pastor . After a brief stint with Columbia Records, she signed with Atlantic, in 1967, and her career exploded. In later years she scored hits with “A Rose Is Still a Rose,” “Jump to It,” “Who’s Zoomin’ Who,” “Freeway of Love,” “Something He Can Feel,” a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” with George Michael. She ultimately accrued 112 charted singles on Billboard and won 18 Grammys.

At the Elton John AIDS Foundation gala in November, Aretha Franklin performed.

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Even when Franklin tackled tame pop songs, her voice, bursting with passion, emotion and raw power, elevated the material. Otis Redding, James Brown, Ray Charles and other icons of the era could not match her range and prowess over pop, soul, jazz, rock and gospel. Her singing was about force, finesse and fearlessness.

At the 1998 Grammys, when an ailing Luciano Pavarotti pulled out of singing “Nessun Dorma” at the last minute, Franklin performed the difficult aria with 20 minutes’ notice and no change in key to adjust to her voice. She pulled it off to breathtaking effect. She was neither a tenor nor an opera singer, but she was a vocal leviathan.