10 things you should know about late Aretha Franklin

The legendary Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin died on Thursday at her home in Detroit.

While the details of her death have not yet been reported, Franklin was said to be “gravely ill” earlier this week. Franklin was 76 years old.

Here are 10 things you need to know about the legendary queen of soul.

Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, where her father, C. L. Franklin, was minister
In 1960, at the age of 18, she embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records but only achieving modest success.
In 1998, Franklin won international acclaim for singing the opera aria “Nessun dorma”, at the Grammys of that year replacing Luciano Pavarotti. Later that same year, she scored her final Top 40 recording with “A Rose Is Still a Rose”.

4.Franklin’s other popular and well known hits include “Rock Steady”, “Jump to It”, “Freeway of Love”, “Who’s Zoomin’ Who”, “Chain Of Fools”, “Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)”.

5.Franklin has won a total of 18 Grammy Awards and is one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, having sold over 75 million records worldwide.

Franklin is listed in at least two all-time lists on Rolling Stone magazine, including the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

In January 1967, she traveled to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record at FAME Studios to record the song, “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” in front of the musicians of the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.The song was later issued that February and shot up to number-one on the R&B chart, while also peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100

In June 1968, she appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

In 1985, inspired by her desire to have a “younger sound” in her music, her fifth Arista album, Who’s Zoomin’ Who?, became her first album to be certified platinum, after selling well over a million copies.

In December 2015, Franklin gave an acclaimed performance of “(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman” at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors during the section for honoree Carole King, who co-wrote the song.