The world lost one of its brightest stars and most powerful voices today with the passing of Aretha Franklin. Her 51 year secular music career is the stuff of legends: the most charted woman in Billboard history, 18 Grammy Awards not counting her Lifetime Achievement and Legend honors, and in 1987 she became the first woman ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Her numerous hits include “Think,” “Freeway of Love,” “Chain of Fools,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Spanish Harlem.” But the song she is perhaps best known for, her signature, will always be 1967’s “Respect.” The song was originally by Otis Redding, but Aretha’s cover turned it into something else entirely. Aretha’s voice along with the addition of the now classic “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” breakdown and “sock it to me” back-up vocals made her “Respect” into something vital and necessary.

Franklin’s dedication to activism was another hallmark of her life. Her father, Rev. Clarence LaVaughn was an activist and a close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Aretha herself went on tour with Dr. King and after his tragic assassination, she performed at his funeral. She also stood by activist Angela Davis, offering to pay her bail no matter how much it was. And after a lifetime of standing up for her people, Franklin was honored to perform at the Inauguration of President Barack Obama, the first black man to hold the highest office in the United States of America.

Her last public performance was November 7th, 2017, as part of the 25th Anniversary of Elton John’s AIDS foundation. In the Church of Saint John the Divine, Aretha performed nine songs, closing with “Freeway of Love.”

Rest in Power and Respect, Aretha Franklin.