Let’s all take a moment to give thanks for the beautiful life of Aretha Franklin, the Queen of our souls, who inspired us all for many many years. She will be missed but the memory of her greatness as a musician and a fine human being will live with us forever. Love – Paul McCartney wrote on his twiiter

Salute to the Queen. The greatest vocalist I’ve ever known. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 #Aretha – John Legend

Mourning the loss today of @ArethaFranklin who shared her spirit and talent with the world. She deserves not only our RESPECT but also our lasting gratitude for opening our eyes, ears and hearts. Rest in eternal peace, my friend – Hillary Clinton wrote –

This is a huge loss for the music industry. The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, has died Thursday (Aug. 16) at age 76 from pancreatic cancer in her Detroit home. Her publicist Gwendolyn Quinn released a family statement to the Associated Press hat she died Thursday at 9:50 a.m.

“Franklin’s 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,” the statement read.

“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 family shared.