The legendary soul singer, pianist, and performer Aretha Franklin died on Thursday, surrounded by family and friends, at the age of 76. The Queen of Soul will be remembered for countless songs and performances throughout her life, and is eloquently memorialized here by our own Spencer Kornhaber. Below, a collection of images of Franklin’s amazing career, spanning the past five decades.
Photos: The Queen of Soul's Amazing Career
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Read moreAretha Franklin performs during the Soul Together Concert at Madison Square Garden on June 28, 1968, in New York City. #
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Read moreAretha Franklin opens at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on June 13, 1969. #
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Read moreAmerican soul singer Aretha Franklin, a star on the Atlantic record label, photographed in 1968. #
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Read moreAretha Franklin at a news conference on March 26, 1973. #
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Read moreIn this photo taken on April 8, 1975, Aretha Franklin performs during the 47th Annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. #
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Read moreThe singer, songwriter, pianist, and actress Aretha Franklin, surrounded by the actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, on the set of The Blues Brothers, in 1979. #
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Read moreJames Brown and Aretha Franklin sing during a HBO taping at the Taboo night club in Detroit on January 11, 1987. #
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Read moreAretha Franklin performs in a recording studio with Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics in 1985. #
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Read moreAretha Franklin in performance in March 1990 #
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Read moreAretha Franklin preforms at the Lincoln Memorial for President Bill Clinton's inaugural gala in Washington, D.C., on January 17, 1993. #
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Read morePresident George W. Bush awards Aretha Franklin the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award in the East Room of the White House on November 9, 2005. #
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Read moreAretha Franklin and the Australian actor Hugh Jackman sing "Somewhere" from the classic musical West Side Story during the American Theatre Wing's 59th Annual Tony Awards show at Radio City Music Hall in New York on June 5, 2005. #
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Read moreAretha Franklin performs at the House of Blues on November 21, 2008, in Los Angeles. #
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Read moreAretha Franklin sings during the inauguration ceremony for President-elect Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2009. #
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Read moreFranklin in performance at the Candie's Foundation's 10th-anniversary "Event to Prevent" benefit in New York on May 3, 2011. #
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Read moreAretha Franklin onstage at the 10th Annual TV Land Awards at the Lexington Avenue Armory on April 14, 2012, in New York City. #
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Read moreAretha Franklin performs at the Festival of Families as Pope Francis looks on, September 26, 2015, in Philadelphia #
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Read moreDetroit native Aretha Franklin sings the national anthem prior to the start of the Detroit Lions–Minnesota Vikings game at Ford Field on November 24, 2016. #
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Read moreAretha Franklin sings during the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival Opening Gala premiere of Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives at Radio City Music Hall on April 19, 2017. #
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Read moreAretha Franklin is joined by family and friends during her street naming on June 8, 2017, in Detroit. #
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Read moreAretha Franklin performs onstage at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Gala at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine on November 7, 2017, in New York City. #
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Read moreSinger Aretha Franklin takes a bow at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Gala at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine on November 7, 2017, in New York City. #
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