SAN ANTONIO – With a powerful voice and collection of hits, singer Aretha Franklin's legacy will last long beyond her 76 years.
The Queen of Soul died Thursday after a short time in hospice care, and her loss has left fans like Jay DeVaughn feeling a void inside them.
"There's a saying that (goes) 'We stand on the shoulders of giants.' And Miss Franklin was one of them," said the San Antonio musician.
A musician with a focus on gospel, DeVaughn said it's easier to do what he does knowing someone like Franklin went before him.
"I can't help but feel inspired by someone who was as gifted and as brave as she was," he said.
Robert Darden, a gospel music historian and journalism professor at Baylor University, said the appeal of Franklin's music crossed racial boundaries in a divided era.
"Aretha was one of the very, very few where it's white kids sharing, 'Have you heard this?'" he said.
As fans continue to share her music, it will live on. Though her admirers wish she could, too.
"I believe that any musician who has ever done any music from her feels the same thing that I'm feeling -- a void and a loss," DeVaughn said.