Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul and 'greatest singer of all time,' dies at 76

Aretha Franklin, whose gospel-rooted singing and bluesy yet expansive delivery earned her the title "the Queen of Soul," has died, a family statement said Thursday. She was 76.

Aretha Franklin performing on the 'VH1 Divas Live: The One and Only Aretha Franklin' at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, in 2001. (Credit: Scott Gries/ImageDirect)
Aretha Franklin performing on the 'VH1 Divas Live: The One and Only Aretha Franklin' at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, in 2001. (Credit: Scott Gries/ImageDirect)

Franklin died at 9:50 a.m. at her home in Detroit, surrounded by family and friends, according to a statement on behalf of Franklin's family from her longtime publicist Gwendolyn Quinn.

The "official cause of death was due to advance pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type, which was confirmed by Franklin's oncologist, Dr. Philip Phillips of Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit," the family statement said.

Her death comes three days after a source close to Franklin told CNN's Don Lemon that the singer was in hospice care.

"In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family. The love she had for her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins knew no bounds," Franklin's family said.

The singer had been reported to be in failing health for years and appeared frail in recent photos, but she kept her struggles private.