The Queen of Soul has quietly passed away at her home in Detroit from advanced pancreatic cancer. She was 76.

Aretha Franklin earned 18 Grammy Awards, had 112 charted singles on Billboard (17 in the top 10), and over 75 million records sold. Her first gospel album was released in 1956 at the age of 18, and she continued performing and recording until 2017.

Throughout that 61 years, Aretha made several stops in CNY. She headlined the Annual Jazz Festival twice in Syracuse with her last show at Onondaga Community College Saturday, July 18, 2015, at 9:30 PM. She performed at Colgate University Saturday, March 5, 2016, in the Sanford Field House as part of the Kerschner Family Global Leaders Series. The Queen of Soul also appeared on the Hamilton campus April 5, 2008, as part of the Sacerdote Great Names Series. Some saw her grace the stages of Turning Stone Casino and The Stanly Theatre.

Here are a few facts about Aretha you may not know from CNN

  • She had a four-octave vocal range.
  • Is a self-taught pianist, who learned without knowing how to read music.
  • Has 44 Grammy nominations and 18 wins.
  • A high school dropout, she has two honorary doctorates of music, from Berklee College of Music and Yale University.
  • In addition to receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame and the Apollo Theater Legends Walk of Fame.

We hope she had a fulfilling and enjoyable ride here on earth. We sure love her music.

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