Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was a singer, composer, and pianist from the United States. She has been dubbed the "Queen of Soul" and has twice been ranked ninth on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time." Franklin is one of the best-selling music performers from the second half of the twentieth century to the present, with global sales of over 75 million records.

Throughout her career, Franklin garnered various awards. She received the National Medal of Arts as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2005, she was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, and in 2012, she was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Franklin was voted first on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" in 2010. The Pulitzer Prize committee bestowed a posthumous special commendation on the singer in 2019 for "her indelible impact to American music and culture for more than five decades." Franklin was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2020.