Aretha Franklin posthumously awarded Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is one of the most prestigious awards you can receive for journalism, literature, music, photography, and similar pursuits. It's usually presented to the winner in person, but it can be awarded after the person's death.
And that's just what happened with Aretha Franklin. Keep reading to learn more about how Aretha, the Queen of Soul, was awarded this prize after she passed away.
Learn more about the Queen of Soul and the newest award you can add to her long list of lifetime achievements.
The Life of Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin was born in 1942 and passed away on August 16, 2019. She's known for her civil rights activism as well as for her huge impact on the music industry.
Known by the moniker "The Queen of Soul," Aretha signed with the famous Atlantic Records in her mid-20s and quickly rose to fame. Her songs "Respect," "Chain of Fools," and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" propelled her to stardom.
Aretha was no stranger to awards.
She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a place in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, a Kennedy Center Honoree, a Presidential Medal of Freedom medal holder, and has a whopping 18 Grammys (with 44 total nominations!).
The list doesn't even end there; she probably has more awards than the entire inventory of www.trophiesplusmedals.co.uk!
Aretha Franklin passed away in August of 2018 due to complications from advanced stage pancreatic cancer.
Aretha Franklin Awarded a Pulitzer Prize
The Queen of Soul was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her contribution of music in 2019, making her the first individual woman to ever receive this type of special award and citation from the Pulitzer organization.
Franklin joins just a handful of other musicians to ever receive an honorary Pulitzer of this nature. And, as we just said, she is the only woman on this list, which solidifies her status as a Queen.
This is part of the statement given by the Pulitzer Organization announcing Aretha's award: "(Aretha is receiving this award) for her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades."
Other Pulitzer Prize Winners
What other music legends does this legendary lady join? Here are the other musicians honoured in the same way as Aretha:
- Bob Dylan
- Roger Sessions
- Scott Joplin
- Milton Babbitt
- William Schuman
- George Gershwin
- Duke Ellington
- Thelonious Monk
- John Coltrane
- Hank Williams
Like in Aretha's case, a good majority of these special citations were awarded posthumously. She will now forever be remembered as a legend amongst legends, as so few people are ever awarded this award.
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