Aretha Franklin Posthumously Awarded Special Pulitzer Prize

Aretha Franklin was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, the organization announced Monday. The Queen of Soul is being honored "for her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades."

Franklin is the first female artist to receive the Pulitzers’ Special Citation for the arts since the honor was first awarded in 1930. She joins the list of 41 special citation prizes and less than a dozen musicians to receive the Pulitzers’ Special Citation for the arts. Past recipients include Rodgers & Hammerstein, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, and Hank Williams.

This year, the Pulitzer Prize for Music went to composer Ellen Reid’s opera p r i s m. Last year, Kendrick Lamar was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his 2017 LP Damn.

Check out the official announcement below.

Congratulations to @ArethaFranklin and her family and friends. #Pulitzer #QueenOfSoul #Respect pic.twitter.com/SRdwncE5UI

— The Pulitzer Prizes (@PulitzerPrizes) April 15, 2019

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