Celebrities send their love and prayers as Aretha Franklin's health deteriorates
Aretha Franklin has been seriously ill since Monday and several musicians and celebrities took to social media to express their concern about the singer's health and to wish her speedy recovery. A source close to the family informed The Associated Press about her ill-health but did not reveal any details.
The 76-year-old Queen of Soul had to cancel her concerts earlier this year after her doctor advised her to stay off the road and get some rest. Although the singer had denied rumors that she was suffering from pancreatic cancer, she did undergo surgery for an undisclosed illness in 2010.
She had announced her plans to retire and was last seen performing at the Elton John AIDS Foundation fundraiser last year in November. "I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from, and where it is now," Franklin had said. "I'll be pretty much satisfied, but I'm not going to go anywhere and just sit down and do nothing. That wouldn't be good either."
American singer, Faith Evans, took to Instagram to post a clip of Franklin's song 'A Rose is Still a Rose' from her 1998 album of the same title. Captioning it "Sending my thoughts & prayers to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin! 🙏🙏🙏 #GetWellSoon #ArethaFranklin", the post received several comments from fans who wished the same for the iconic singer.
Franklin was reportedly scheduled to perform on her 76th birthday in Newark, New Jersey, and at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. After announcing her retirement, she performed at some selected event, one of which was the 25th anniversary of Elton John’s AIDS Foundation in November in New York City. Franklin closed the event with songs like 'I Say a Little Prayer' and 'Freeway'.
A source informed People that Franklin's death is "imminent". Detroit news anchor Evrod Cassimy wrote that Franklin is now surrounded by friends and family, "I am so saddened to report that the Queen of Soul and my good friend, Aretha Franklin is gravely ill... I spoke with her family members this evening. She is asking for your prayers at this time. I’ll have more details as I’m allowed to release.”
The singer's last full-length album, 'Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics', which came out in 2014, featured covers of songs by Adele, Gloria Gaynor, and Chaka Khan. Franklin also collaborated with Stevie Wonder last year on a new record which she described as "kind of multi-(directional)". "Of course, several of the songs are going to be produced by Stevie (Wonder), and of course there's only one Stevie, right?" Franklin said.