‘Queen of soul’ Aretha Franklin has been voted the greatest singer of the rock era, in the brand new edition of US Rolling Stone magazine

The 66-year-old singer, who shot to fame on the back of hits such as “Respect” and “I Say A Little Prayer” took out the new 100-strong poll after being voted for by a panel of her peers, with 179 musicians and industry names tallying their votes.

Judges included Metallica frontman James Hetfield, David Crosby, Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens), Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones), Iggy Pop, Mary J. Blige and even James Blunt.

Leading the top 10, Franklin came out in front of Ray Charles (#2), Elvis Presley (#3), Sam Cooke (#4), John Lennon (#5), Marvin Gaye (#6), Bob Dylan (#7), Otis Redding (#8), Stevie Wonder (#9) and James Brown (#10).