Aretha Franklin, whose gospel-rooted singing and bluesy yet expansive delivery earned her the title “the Queen of Soul,” has died, a family statement said Thursday. She was 76.Franklin died at 9:50 a.m. at her home in Detroit, surrounded by family and friends, according to a statement on behalf of Franklin’s family from her longtime publicist Gwendolyn Quinn.

The first woman admitted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she had 88 Billboard chart hits during the rock era, tops among female vocalists. At the peak of her career — from 1967 to 1975 — she had more than two dozen Top 40 hits. Over the course of a professional career that spanned more than half a century, Franklin’s songs not only topped the charts but became part of the vernacular.

The “official cause of death was due to advanced pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type, which was confirmed by Franklin’s oncologist, Dr. Philip Phillips of Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit,” the family statement said. Franklin’s fans paid tribute with flowers and a crown left on her Hollywood Walk of Fame star in Los Angeles. Her death comes three days after a source close to Franklin told CNN’s Don Lemon that the singer was in hospice care.

Longtime Big Sugar bassist Garry Lowe has died. The Canadian musician passed away early this morning following a private two-year battle with cancer. He was 65. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Lowe moved to Canada in 1976 when he was 22. He soon started playing with reggae legend Jackie Mittoo, and quickly became a respected and sought-after bassist in the city’s reggae scene, often playing with bands at the Bamboo Club on Queen. Lowe was a founding member of Culture Shock, one of Toronto’s most popular reggae bands. He made fast friends with Johnson, himself a bassist and huge reggae fan and in 1994, Lowe joined Big Sugar.

Lowe played with Big Sugar during their classic period and on many of their most notable albums, such as 1997’s Juno-nominated Hemi-Vision and 2001’s Brothers & Sisters, Are You Ready? Lowe was a featured player on nine of Big Sugar’s albums, from 1992’s self-titled release through 2003’s Hit & Run. When Big Sugar went on hiatus in 2003, Lowe formed the Truth and Rights Revue with fellow Big Sugar member Mojah, a band that played together for a short time and released one album. Among his installment loans poor credit final performances, Lowe played alongside his friends in Big Sugar and Alex Lifeson of Rush at the Danforth Music Hall in December.

In the wake of Lowe’s passing, Big Sugar leader Gordie Johnson shared the following statement:

“We lost our dear brother and sweet friend Garry this morning. He was my greatest musical collaborator, our wisest elder. We were blessed to be on low interest unsecured loan life’s journey together. We were blessed to know him and share his music. Please remember Garry Lowe in all your thoughts and prayers. Rally round the Lion.”

Drummer Vinnie Paul, co-founder of metal band Pantera, has died. Currently a member of Hellyeah, Paul was 54. His representative confirmed the legendary drummer’s death to Billboard, but added that no further details are available at this time. “Vincent Paul Abbott aka Vinnie Paul has passed away,” reads a statement on the Pantera Facebook page. “Paul is best known for his work as the drummer in the bands Pantera and Hellyeah. No further details are available at this time. The family requests you please respect their privacy during this time.”

Along with his brother, Dimebag Darrell, Paul (born Vincent Paul Abbott) formed Pantera in 1981. The group found mainstream success with second lead singer Phil Anselmo. Throughout its career, Pantera earned four Grammy nominations and charted nine albums on the Billboard 200, including its 1994 album Far Beyond Driven, which debuted at No. 1 on the chart. Following Pantera’s demise, the Abbott brothers formed Damageplan in 2003. The band was performing on Dec. 8, 2004, when Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed onstage during a concert in Columbus, Ohio.

Since 2006, Paul was the drummer for Hellyeah, a heavy metal supergroup that also includes Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray and  Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell. Born in Texas, Paul credited his Lone Star roots for his powerful groove. “The Texas thing is part of it, growing up on a healthy dose of ZZ Top and Stevie Ray Vaughan, but I also was a metal-head from day one. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Kiss, Van Halen, all my favorite bands had really great grooves to their music,” he told OnlineDrummer.com a few years ago. His parents are Jerry, a country music songwriter and producer, and Carolyn Abbott.