Talk about respect, on Monday the Pulitzer Prize Board announced Aretha Franklin has been posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize’s Special Citation.
According to the organization, she is being recognized “for her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades.”
She is the first female artist, and one of less than a dozen musicians, to receive the Special Citation. Previous winners include Rodgers & Hammerstein, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, and Hank Williams.
Franklin passed away August 18th, 2018 at age 76. The Pulitzer’s Special Citation adds to a long list of recognition for the singer:
-National Medal of Arts
-Presidential Medal of Freedom
-First female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987)
-UK Music Hall of Fame (2005)
-Gospel Music Hall of Fame (2012)
-Ranked Number 1 on Rolling Stone’s "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" (2010)
-Ranked Number 9 on Rolling Stone’s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" (2010)