First Among Equals: Great Aretha Franklin Performances

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The world of music and the world at large is in mourning Thursday after the passing of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, who died at her Detroit home at the age of 76.

The daughter of a Baptist preacher, a young Franklin got her start in the church choir. She became a single mother in her teens. But she kept pursuing her dream.

Franklin won two Grammys for the song "Respect," and an honorary award from Martin Luther King Jr. A string of hits followed in the sixties and seventies that ultimately led to more than 40 "Top 40" hits, and a total of 18 Grammy Awards. She was also the first female act inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

WCCO's web staff has spent the morning listening to her indelible back catalogue of memorable songs. Here are some of our favorites.

"Respect" (1967)

"Respect" by Aretha Franklin is arguably one of the singer's most recognizable hits. The song was released in April of 1967 and stood at number one for 12 weeks. "Respect" was originally written by Otis Redding in 1965, but it wasn't until Franklin took it over and reinvented the song two years later that it topped the charts and became an anthem for women, even today. -- Aly May

"Think" (1968)

While it may not be the first song that comes to mind when one thinks of Aretha Franklin, "Think" is truly an iconic song from the Queen of Soul. The song, released as a single in 1968, is considered a feminist anthem (alongside "Respect") and features the well-known "freedom" chant during the chorus. Franklin performed the song in the 1980 cult classic movie, The Blues Brothers. -- Cole Premo

"You Send Me" (1968)

A song changed when Aretha Franklin covered it. Her voice manages to carry songs to places where the original artist didn't venture, and perhaps wouldn't have been able to. One such tune was Sam Cooke's "You Send Me." While the original love song has the quality of a warm summer day, Franklin's version adds the breeze, a quicker pulse of rock 'n' roll life. Her voice, too, makes the song soar while the original merely glides. The heights she reaches, in both tone and feeling, tempt you to lift your own voice, or just close your eyes and pretend her voice was also yours, if for a moment. In that way, her voice was transcendent. She sent us, and continues to send us, beyond ourselves. -- Jonathon Sharp

"Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" (1973)

Stevie Wonder's original tune (which wasn't released to the public until after Aretha turned it into a hit) was, well, an oddity. Lifting almost the exact same chord progression from his earlier hit "My Cherie Amour," "Until You Come Back To Me" promised amorous pursuit but suggested unabashed stalker behavior. Aretha's version doesn't surmount that obstacle, but her gentle, laidback delivery help minimize the psychological damage. This is as disquieted as easy listening gets. -- Eric Henderson

"Pride (A Deeper Love)" (1994)

Aretha dabbled in disco in the late '70s-early '80s, but as catchy as songs like 1982's  "Jump To It" were, she always seemed to be holding a little piece of herself back, as though to ashamed to be cashing in on the trend of the moment. By the time disco's descendant house music was enjoying its moment in the limelight, Aretha was ready to hitch in all the air in the room and blow the roof off. Featured in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, "Pride (A Deeper Love)" may well be the most thrilling dance moment in either hers or C+C Music Factory producers Clivillés & Cole's careers. All because she really gets to take it to church. -- Eric Henderson

"Rolling In The Deep" (2014)

In Franklin's 2014 Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics album, she covered hits from Alicia Keys, Beyoncé and Prince, but her rendition of Adele's "Rolling In The Deep" took the cake. Adele's first #1 hit became Franklin's 100th single to chart on the Billboard R&B charts. She integrated Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", and according to music critics "it was the rare remake that gives the original a run for its money." Franklin took the blues song and made it her own by incorporating signature Aretha Franklin characteristics. "Songs are meant to be enjoyed, and more than one person can sing them," Franklin told The Today Show back in 2014. -- Anne Thompson

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (2015)

Heaven on earth. Carole King's expressions at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony speak for us all. -- Eric Henderson