According to reports from American news websites, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin is currently ‘gravely ill’ and surrounded by her family in Detroit
Friends and family are also asking fans to pray for the legend as they ask and privacy at this times
Franklin, who turned 76 in March was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, her last performance was on November 2, 2017 for the Elton John AID Foundation in New York and her public performance occurred at the Philadelphia’s Mann Center last August.
The soul legend has struggled with weight issues throughout her life, battled alcoholism and was a chain smoker for a large part of it.
Frankin was a mentor to the late Whitney Houston and Rolling Stone once named Franklin the number 1 singer of all time. She began her career as a child singing gospel music at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, where her father was a minister. In 1960, Franklin was signed to Columbia Records where she only achieved minimal success.
She signed with Atlantic Records in 1967 where she achieved commercial success with songs like “Respect,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” and “Think. By the end of the 1960s, she had become known as the “Queen of Soul.”