Queen of Soul Aretha gravely sick
ARETHA Franklin is gravely ill and “asking for your prayers”, friends said yesterday.
The 76-year-old American singer, known as the Queen of Soul, was understood to be in a Detroit hospital and surrounded by her family. Her hits include 1967’s Respect and 1968’s I Say A Little Prayer. She was the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The twice-married mother of four was diagnosed with an unspecified illness in 2010, reported to be pancreatic cancer.
Her friend Evrod Cassimy wrote online yesterday: “... the Queen of Soul and my good friend Aretha Franklin is gravely ill. She is asking for your prayers.”
Her final public performance was in Philadelphia last August, though she performed privately in November at the Elton John Aids Foundation in New York.