Barack Obama Pays Tribute to Late Soul Legend Aretha Franklin

"Sometimes she helped us just forget about everything else and dance."

Aretha Franklin, one of the greatest ever singers and artists, died overnight at age 76 following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Tributes have been streaming in from fans, appreciating Aretha for her contributions to soul music and also to the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

However, perhaps the most moving tribute comes from former President Barack Obama, who invited the Queen of Soul to perform at his inauguration in 2009.

"America has no royalty," he begins, "But we do have a chance to earn something more enduring."

"Through her compositions and unmatched musicianship, Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade—our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect."

Read the full tribute below:

Check out footage below of Aretha Franklin singing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, where a tearful Barack and Michelle Obama were in attendance.