Saul LOEB / AFP
Music legend Aretha Franklin has died at the age of 76.
Here are key dates in the life of the US soul singer.
– March 25, 1942: Born Aretha Louise Franklin in Memphis, Tennessee, to a Baptist preacher.
– 1956: “Spirituals,” the first recording of Franklin, is released on a local label.
– 1960: Columbia Records releases the album “The Great Aretha Franklin.”
– 1967: Wins the first of her 18 Grammy Awards for her cover version of the Otis Redding classic “Respect,” which becomes a feminist anthem.
– 1968: Sings “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” at the funeral of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.
– 1987: Becomes the first woman to enter the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” the US pantheon of rock.
– 1991: Receives the Grammy Legend Award for her influence on the American music industry.
– 2005: Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest US civilian award, from George W. Bush.
– 2009: Sings “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” at the inauguration of Barack Obama, America’s first African-American president.
– 2017: Announces in February she will retire from touring. In November she sings at an anniversary gala for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, where she appears very thin.
– 2018: Franklin dies in Detroit on August 16 at age 76.
