“Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin to perform at ��

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Aretha Franklin

Legendary vocalist Aretha Franklin will perform on campus as part of the at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, 2016, in Sanford Field House. Tickets for the �� community and the general public will be released in mid-January — watch for details as they become available.

Known around the world by her first name, and as the reigning “Queen of Soul,” Franklin’s repertoire spans pop, soul, jazz, rock, blues, and gospel.

Franklin was named the #1 Vocalist of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2009. The first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, she is the recipient of numerous awards, including 18 Grammys, five American Music Awards, and four NAACP Image awards. To date, she has received 12 honorary doctorate degrees.

The Global Leaders series, sponsored by ��’s Parents’ and Grandparents’ Fund, allows the university to invite inspirational leaders like Franklin to campus. Other guests have included former prime minister of Israel, Shimon Peres; Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Group founder; Hillary Clinton, former secretary of state; President Bill Clinton; Russian political activist Gary Kasparov; Tony Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain; Felipe Calderón, former president of Mexico; and the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.