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Aretha Franklin
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Known as the "Queen of Soul," Aretha Franklin began singing gospel as a young child at a church in Detroit where her father was a minister. She became a recording artist at 18, and although she bounced around different record labels throughout her career, she found success at each one. Aretha's list of awards and accomplishments is staggering: 112 charted singles, which include 20 number 1 R&B singles and 17 top 10 pop singles, 18 Grammy Awards, including the first ever 8 consecutive awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (1968-1975), the National Medal of Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she was the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and was named by Rolling Stone as the number 1 Greatest Singer of All Time in 2010. Aretha famously appeared in the 1980 film "The Blues Brothers" starring Dan Akroyd and John Belushi. She continued to perform throughout her life, and she passed away on August 16th, 2018 at the age of 76. President Barack Obama wrote about her, "American history wells up when Aretha sings." In 2019 she was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize "for her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades," and just last year she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.