The late, great Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer and pianist. She began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father, C. L. Franklin, was minister. Franklin had one of the most iconic and recognizable voices of all time. Franklin, 76, died Thursday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Facts about Aretha Franklin

She became the Gospel singer at the age of ten.

She taught herself how to play piano by ear. A true music genius.

She Performed at the Inaugurations of Three Presidents

She's Childhood Friends With Smokey Robinson 

She was the Godmother to Whitney Houston who called her "Auntie Ree"

First woman inducted into a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . In 1984, Franklin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Keith Richards. Richards announced her as, “The first lady to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.”

She had her first child at the age of 12 and has 4 sons.

She received over 12 Honorary Degrees.

She sang opera. At the 1998 Grammy Awards, she stepped in last minute for Luciano Pavarotti — who was unable to perform at the time — to sing one of the most famous tenor arias of all time, "Nessun Dorma."

She had a major fear of flying.

Celebrities remember Aretha Franklin