If you grew up in a black household, you’ve probably heard an Aretha Franklin record or seven.

Maybe you heard her demand R-E-S-P-E-C-T or proclaim how her boo made her feel. However you were introduced, her voice is distinct and unforgettable.

But, what about the woman behind the voice?

Franklin's health issues have dominated this week's headlines, and sadly, we lost her to a battle with pancreatic cancer. 

While everyone mourns her passing, let’s take some time to celebrate the life of the Queen of Soul.

1. Teen motherhood didn’t stop her hustle.

Franklin had her first two sons at ages 12 and 14, respectively. But childbirth did not keep her from pursuing her dreams. Her father began managing her in her early teens, and she regularly traveled with him. Columbia Records gave her a deal when she was just 18 years old.

2. She transformed “Respect” from a song about a male temper tantrum to a female empowerment record.

“Respect” was initially a hit from Otis Redding and centered around a man who wanted respect from his lady when he left work since he brought home the bacon.

Franklin took the song, added her memorable spelling hook and made it HERS.

According to CBC, Redding was a bit salty.

"This is a song that a girl took away from me, a good friend of mine. This girl, she just took this song,” he said of a 25-year-old Franklin.

The song later became an anthem for the Black Power and feminist movements. That wasn’t Franklin’s intention, but she understood the appeal.

“It’s important for people. Not just me or the civil rights movement or women—it’s important to people. And I was asked what recording of mine I’d put in a time capsule, and it was “Respect.” Because people want respect—even small children, even babies. As people, we deserve respect from one another,” she told Vogue.

3. Aretha was the epitome of #TeamNatural.

In that same interview, the diva admitted she was not fond of wearing makeup early in her career.

“When I first came into the business in the early ’60s out of the church, I didn’t wear makeup or anything like that. I was just very natural and happy with that,” she said. “One evening, at the Trade Winds in Chicago, the club owner said to me, 'You’re going to have to put some makeup on, we can’t see her from the rear of the club, get some makeup on that girl!' So now I wear a little makeup, but I still feel like a natural woman.”

4. She made President Obama cry.

After winning a presidential medal of freedom, she brought the house down with a stirring rendition of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” Obama shed a solitary thug tear at the moving performance.

“American history wells up when Aretha sings. That’s why, when she sits down at a piano and sings ‘A Natural Woman,’ she can move me to tears," Obama later said about the moment in a statement to The New Yorker. "The same way that Ray Charles’ version of ‘America the Beautiful’ will always be, in my view, the most patriotic piece of music ever performed—because it captures the fullness of the American experience, the view from the bottom as well as the top, the good and the bad, and the possibility of synthesis, reconciliation, transcendence.”

That same performance produced this iconic gif of Franklin treating her mink like a throw rug.

5. Ree had been woke before it was a term. 

The Detroit native’s father was involved in the civil rights movement, and consequently, Franklin was around many great leaders, reported The Washington Post.

“Daddy had been preaching black pride for decades,” she told biographer David Ritz, “and we as a people had rediscovered how beautiful black truly was and were echoing, ‘Say it loud, I’m black, and I’m proud.’”

She sang at Dr. King’s funeral, and as one Twitter user pointed out, she put her money where her mouth is to help the movement. Ashon Crawley posted a Jet Magazine clipping from 1970 where Franklin vowed to contribute financially to Angela Davis’ bond after she was arrested for charges related to escaping a courtroom.

“Angela Davis must go free. Black people will be free,” Franklin said at the time. “I’ve been locked up (for disturbing the peace in Detroit), and I know you got to disturb the peace when you can’t get no peace. Jail is hell to be in. I’m going to see her free if there is any justice in our courts, not because I believe in communism, but because she’s a black woman, and she wants freedom for black people.”

There are so many more examples, but we ain’t got all day. Rest in power, Auntie Ree.

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