The Queen of Soul made history by becoming the first individual woman to earn a special citation prize ever since the introduction of the Pulitzer Prize. The Pulitzer board said the award was given to Franklin for “her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades.”

Aretha Franklin was also the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. The marvelous musician sold millions of albums and won countless awards, including 18 Grammys, the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among many others.

She breathed her last at the age of 76, at her home in Detroit on August 16 last year.

Other artistes who were honoured with a special citation include the likes of Duke Ellington, Bob Dylan, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, George Gershwin, Ray Bradbury, William Schuman, Milton Babbitt, Scott Joplin, Roger Sessions, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II and Hank Williams.

SOURCE: AP