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When Aretha Franklin sang, everyone who listened felt the purest version of heartbreak, love, or joy.
Whichever way she wanted to bend your heart, she could.
Here are ten songs she covered and made her own.
The Thrill Is Gone,1970.
Original Artist: Roy Hawkins
When Aretha accompanied herself on piano, something magical happened.
Although Roy Hawkins originally recorded this song, it was the great blues guitarist and singer B.B.
King who transformed it into a megahit.
Aretha, undaunted by treading on already well-trodden ground, brought her own fresh despair to the classic tune.
She had just split from her husband and manager Ted White amid reports of domestic abuse.
Her voice here lays bare all her pain, but also a wild, angry joy.
Original Artist: The Rolling Stones
Like The Thrill Is Gone, this cover features Aretha on piano.
Part London, part Delta, all rock and roll, this song really earns the exuberant Hallelujah!
No shade at Mick Jagger hes one of the most powerful vocalists of all time.
At 72 years old, she cant quite capture the same energy of her most famous live performances.
The backing band is good, but not all the vocalists know all the lyrics.
Love the One Youre With, 1971.Original Artist: Stephen Stills
What does joy sound like?
moment into an ode to contentment and finding triumph within yourself.
Its a song of comfort, sung by one friend to another after the death of the latters husband.
Its a role that shed best fill right about now.
Respect, 1967.Original Artist: Otis Redding
When Otis Redding recorded Respect, it was a hit.
When Aretha recorded it, it became the song of the civil-rights movement.
It wasnt just that her voice was more powerful.
She rearranged and rewrote it, giving it a new groove and momentum.
She also reversed its political message.
Its appeal has been so universal and long-lived that it is still played at protests around the country.
Everything comes together here.
Aretha strides out onto the stage.
From the moment she opens her mouth, Kings eyes are wet.
