CHICAGO, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The Grammy-award winning "Queen of Gospel" -- Albertina Walker -- has died in Chicago, an associate said.
Walker died Friday of respiratory complications at RML Specialty Hospital, where she had been hospitalized since her 81st birthday on Aug. 29, The Chicago Tribune reported.
Walker suffered from emphysema, said Pam Morris, who coordinated the Chicago Gospel Music Festival for 20 years.
Through her vocal ensemble the Caravans, Walker launched the careers of gospel music icons Inez Andrews, Shirley Caesar, James Cleveland, Bessie Griffin and Dorothy Norwood, the Tribune said.
"She was the star-maker," said Norwood, who joined the Caravans in 1954. "She was a great singer -- one of the greatest."
Walker played her last major performance in June with a reunited version of the Caravans at the Chicago Gospel Music Festival.
"The Lord lets me sing," she told the Chicago Tribune in 2004. "The only time I'll stop is when the Lord says."
