Aretha Franklin's Birthday: The Music Icon Turns 71

Happy Birthday, Aretha Franklin!
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 23: GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award-winner Aretha Franklin performs at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Drums Competition and Gala Concert at The Kennedy Center on September 23, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 23: GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award-winner Aretha Franklin performs at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Drums Competition and Gala Concert at The Kennedy Center on September 23, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz)

Happy birthday, Aretha Franklin!

The Queen of Soul was born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tenn., and turns 71 today. Franklin has earned more than a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T for a career that's spanned five decades and seen 18 Grammy wins. Rolling Stone proclaimed her the No. 1 greatest singer of all time.

While Franklin's classic soul anthems -- "Respect," "Think," "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" and "Chain of Fools" among them -- continue to influence new generations of artists, her style does too. She made sartorial history in 2009, when her jaunty inauguration hat generated an unexpected amount of buzz. Katy Perry paid tribute to Franklin's millinery statement at President Obama's 2013 inauguration with a smaller version of the design.

Cheers to the woman who can make the first lady shake her hips.

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Aretha Franklin

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