Aretha Franklin, the eternal Queen of Soul passed away today at the age of 76, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. A pioneering influence on virtually every soul singer who came after her, and a crusader for civil rights as well as a brilliant artist. My favorite Aretha songs: 1) "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman" 2) "I Say A Little Prayer For You" 3) "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" 4) "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" 5) "Respect" 6) "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" 7) "Baby, I Love You" 8) "Think" 9) "Spanish Harlem" 10) "Chain of Fools"
In tribute to her career, here she is stealing the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers out from under the stars:
Here she is performing at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015 (and bringing President Obama to tears):
And finally, performing at Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009:
