Aretha Franklin: Honoring the life and legacy of the 'Queen of Soul'

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She was the 'Queen of Soul' loved by fans around the world. Singer Aretha Franklin died Thursday at age 76. The daughter of a 'preacher man' passed away at her home in Detroit from pancreatic cancer. Her career spanned decades, each note lifting her 'higher and higher' as a global icon. Many are turning to social media to pay tribute. CGTN's Phil Lavelle takes a look back at the life of Aretha Franklin.

In the fickle world of show business, her career spanned nearly six decades. Instantly identifiable with that voice. An iconic song. An iconic performer. Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul. Synonymous with that musical style.

In an age where celebrity means opening up your life to social media, she came from a generation where all that counted was the music A performer, whose fans needed nothing other than the voice.

Aretha Franklin was one of the world's best-selling artists: 18 Grammies to her name, record sales in the region of 75 million. And the first female performer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

She was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to a preacher father and musician mother. Soul was in her soul. The family later moved to Detroit. It was her home, her base and she was the city's 'girl done good'.

She flirted with music from an early age - but her first real recognition came with this song in 1967. And later that year, when she covered Otis Redding's 'Respect', it was a done deal. A diva had been born.

ARETHA FRANKLIN SINGER "Well then it was as you say, a woman's anthem, a battle cry, a mantra. But everyone wants respect. Everyone needs respect."

Other classics followed, (I Say A Little Prayer) an instant hit with fans. 'You make me feel like a natural woman' - a hit with other artists too.

As the years passed, her style evolved. Always current. But always with soul. Performing at some of the world's biggest shows: The Grammy Awards And even President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009.

In later years, her health became an ongoing issue. Throughout her life, she'd fought public battles with her weight, chain smoking and alcoholism. But it was cancer that came for her. An operation for an undisclosed tumor in 2010, deemed a success.

But by 2017, she was ill again asking fans to keep her in their prayers at a performance, announcing she would no longer tour and cancelling some engagements amid pictures of her looking increasingly thin and frail.

Even as she was dying, her people revealing no personal details about her illness: an anonymous source close to the singer saying only that she was gravely ill.

And now the world has lost one of its great musical talents. Her legacy lives on in the songs and the voice - powerful and distinctive as only a legend can be. Phil Lavelle, CGTN.