AUSTIN, Texas — Aretha Franklin's iconic sound took her all across the world and even brought her to Austin.
KVUE was there as Austinites remembered their interactions with the Queen of Soul.
"She impressed me as a kind person, a jovial person,” said Dr. James Polk, an Austin musician who met Aretha Franklin. “She knew what she was doing. She played piano also and her voice was just incredible."
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Dr. James Polk, an Austin musician, remembered the music legend. He said he met her out of the blue on the streets of France back in 1969.
"She said 'hi I'm Aretha' and I said 'oh really, I'm James,” said Dr. Polk. "She said, 'I heard you playing with Lionel Hampton the other night, you (are) the base player right?' I said 'yes.' She said, 'that's good, I like the way you play, you want to join my band?'"
Polk said he politely declined the offer because he was working with another band, but they talked for nearly 30 minutes.
”A good artist and she cared for people,” said Dr. Polk. “That's what I got from her just in that 20 or 30 minutes that I spoke to her that this is a good lady."
Franklin was a good lady with a voice her fans will never forget -- like Georgia Johnson, who's loved Franklin's music since ‘Respect’ came out when she was teenager. Now, Johnson has most of her albums.
"Probably 30 or 40 of hers alone,” said Johnson.
She and her husband saw the Queen of Soul live at the Bass Concert Hall several years ago, and it's something she'll never forget.
“It was just a booming voice and it was like no other voice,” said Johnson. “No one can duplicate her."
To hear one of her favorite artists passed away was tough for Johnson. But while the queen is gone, Johnson is grateful to know her music will live on.
"She'll never be gone because her voice will always be here in some form or fashion,” said Johnson.
Franklin passed away on Thursday at the age of 76 at her home Detroit, Michigan.