From the Archives: Fresh Air Interviews the Queen of Soul.

Aretha Franklin was more than a woman, more than a diva and more than an entertainer. Aretha Franklin was an American institution. Aretha Franklin died Thursday in her home city of Detroit after battling pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type. Her death was confirmed by her publicist, Gwendolyn Quinn. She was 76.

A rare interview with the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. She's won fifteen Grammy awards and is the first woman to be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. The state of Michigan has proclaimed her voice a natural resource. Her hits include "Respect," "I Say a Little Prayer," and "You Make me Feel Like a Natural Woman." She's just written an autobiography with David Ritz, entitled "Aretha: From These Roots" (Villard Books).

As a member of Stax Records' Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Cropper helped create some of the most important Southern soul music of the '60s. He died Dec. 3. Originally broadcast in 1990.