Aretha Franklin grew up in Detroit, singing gospel music in her father's church. When she changed gears to secular music, her first single to chart was called "Won't Be Long."

Her big break was when she signed to Atlantic. She found herself at Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals, where she recorded "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)." Then came her signature song, the Otis Redding tune "Respect."

She had a string of hits for Atlantic: "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "Chain of Fools," "Think," "Spanish Harlem," "Rock Steady," and many others.

As Aretha headed into the '80s, she had a part in The Blues Brothers and reinvented her sound with the platinum-selling album Who's Zoomin' Who?, thanks to her hit "Freeway of Love."

In 1987, she was the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She is the most-charted female vocalist in the history of Billboard, and one of the best-selling artists of all time. She'll always be the Queen of Soul: the late, great Aretha Franklin.

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