In Memoriam: Aretha Franklin

A Queen Who Embodied Black Music’s Spirit and Vision 

The ‘Queen of Soul,’ who passed away at the age of 76 after a battle with cancer, was so much more than even that lofty moniker implied. 

By Stereo Williams

She was an icon. A legend. And so much more than that.

Aretha Franklin was one of our greatest treasures; a prodigious talent and studious craftswoman who reached the pinnacle of her profession and became a cultural avatar at a time when black women were fighting to be seen and heard on their own terms. Aretha’s ascent to superstardom coincided with Black America’s cultural assertion against white supremacy in the 1960s, and carried over through the disillusionment and disenfranchisement of the ’70s. In the ’80s, she embodied her generation’s shift into newer modes of communication and higher symbols of affluence, and emerged as a venerated elder for a new wave of soul queens in the ’90s. Aretha was always a voice and a mirror for where her people and her generation had been, were currently, and seemed to be going.

On Thursday morning, the news came: The Queen of Soul was dead at age 76 from advanced pancreatic cancer.

It’s fairly easy to rattle off the names of the legendary soul singers who have followed her path to superstardom. Gladys Knight’s commercial breakthrough with the Pips was a few months after Aretha broke big with “I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You),” and Patti LaBelle’s solo emergence was similarly post-Aretha in the 1970s, as well as the debuts of Natalie Cole and Chaka Khan with Rufus. Aretha’s shadow over the singer-songwriter movement most often associated with artists like Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon gets less acknowledgement, but Aretha penned the classic “Dr. Feelgood” in 1967 and top five hits “Think” and “Sweet Sweet Baby” in 1968. She would write a string of hit originals in the early ’70s, including “Call Me,” “Rock Steady,” “Day Dreaming,” and “Spirit in the Dark.” And her skills as a pianist placed her squarely at the cusp of that burgeoning singer-songwriter shift that would be more evident throughout that decade. 

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Source: The Daily Beast 

Statement from Governor Andrew Cuomo

"Aretha Franklin used the power of her unforgettable voice to lift up others and shine a light on injustice. Today, we mourn the Queen." 

Source: The Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo