Currently, Aretha Franklin is afforded as much due deference as any other American performer of music. It'd be difficult to count how many Presidents have either honored or asked her to perform. That by itself is probably enough to figure a career as a success. If not, though, the political and cultural cache that Franklin touts surpasses most folks in the entertainment industry.

While a great deal of her recording career was given over to reworking popular songs, the selections that Franklin filled her albums with had some sort of affect on the greater culture. Even the songs that were written specifically for her have become anthems to portions of the not just the American record buying public, but international fans. She is generally recognized as the leading voice in soul music from the '60s and even if that wasn't the case a string of albums from the latter portion of the decade and the early '70s could make the argument for her.

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You begins this march to the top of music in early 1967. The States hadn't yet exploded into a dark orgy of hate and violence and there was sill a general feeling of hope throughout the counter culture. While the first of the decades' assassinations had already taken place, the last few years of the decade hadn't begun to devolve completely - yet. The reworking of Otis Redding's "Respect" may have been the first enormous break that Franklin helped herself to, but with the inclusion of "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," the album jumps with gender critiques and statements that not only announce her as a star, but as a woman intolerant of poor treatment.

Perhaps Franklin's most commonly recognized classic, Lady Soul, saw release a year later in '68. The album features two of her most well known tracks in "Chain of Fools" and "Natural Woman." The tone of the disc is generally up beat as the singer's accompanied by everyone from Eric Clapton to King Curtis and Bobby Womack. There are certainly moments on both of those aforementioned songs that move away from the lighter fare focusing on the foibles of male/female relationships. And in these moments Franklin continues her criticism of not just gender inequality, but in equality in general.

The last of this string of strong releases - and perhaps the least well known - Young, Gifted and Black might be familiar to hip hop fans as much as anyone else due to its funky sample ready music. There are still some laid back moments to be sure. But as the title states, the album, to a certain extent, works to lay out issues that Franklin and others faced during her ascent to musical stardom. In tone and appearance, the album is starkly contrasted by her preceding albums. The cover, darker in tone features the singer in reflection with a stained glass window serving as the background.

Franklin's catalog after this point is a bit dicey at points. But revisiting these early accomplishments is more than enough to maintain the legacy that Franklin's worked to create over time.