Twitter’s celebrities pay tribute to the late Aretha Franklin

aretha franklin joe ortuzar flickr cc by

Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, has died.

The singer-songwriter fell ill earlier this week, and died on 16 August as a result of pancreatic cancer.

She was 76.

Born in 1942 in Memphis, USA, Aretha Franklin’s career spanned seven decades, and included hits like “Respect”, “Natural Woman” and “I Say A Little Prayer”.

Selling some 75-million records, there’s no doubt that she had a massive impact on the music industry.

Celebrities took to Twitter on Thursday night to mourn her death, celebrate her life, and thank her for her contribution to society.

Former US President Barack Obama led the sentiment.

“Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade—our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect,” he tweeted.

“May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace.”

Others followed, including Mr. T.

“Bless the heavens with that voice like you’ve blessed us all on this earth,” was Bruno Mars’ message.

“The world lost an incredibly talented woman today,” penned Britney Spears.

“Forever an inspiration,” wrote Jason Derulo.

“In my humble opinion the greatest female soul singer of our time has passed away,” Marcia Hines added.

“There will never ever be another you.”

“Saddened to hear of the passing of an icon,” wrote Chris Tucker.

“‘America the Beautiful’ has never been more beautiful,” tweeted WWE chairman Vince McMahon.

“Salute to the Queen. The greatest vocalist I’ve ever known,” wrote John Legend.

“Great artists never die. Music is immortal.”

“What beautiful music and vocal artistry you gave to the world. You are a legend and your soul will never be forgotten,” wrote Lady Gaga.

“Thank you, Ms. Franklin for blessing us with your incomparable gift. Honored to have shared the stage with you even for a moment. Always bowing down to you,” wrote Justin Timberlake.

“I have loved Aretha Franklin’s music my entire life, and her music has played in our audience for 15 years. My heart goes out to her family,” tweeted Ellen DeGeneres.

“RIP Aretha,” was Pink’s message.

“One of my GREATEST inspirations! The songs she gave us made us stronger and prouder. She empowered us!!” tweeted Alicia Keys.

“We’ll miss you Queen,” tweeted Oprah.

Feature image: joe ortuzar via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Andy Walker, former editor
More

News

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest in digital insights. sign up

Welcome to Memeburn

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest in digital insights.