“I just love it”: The song Aretha Franklin was most proud of
One of the greatest voices to ever be put to tape, the word icon doesn’t even begin to describe the all-encompassing importance of Aretha Franklin as an artist. From her origins as a gospel singer at a local church in Detroit, Franklin rose to become the defining voice of 1960s soul music. Capturing the sounds and attitude of the civil rights movement, her importance as a performer stretched far beyond her obvious quality as a vocalist. Nevertheless, the Memphis-born performer left a lasting mark on the face of American music and culture.
It is difficult to imagine Aretha Franklin being anything other than a world-renowned vocalist, but her early years in the music industry were punctuated by missed opportunities and commercial flops. After establishing herself as a talented gospel singer during the 1950s, she would eventually turn to secular music, following a trail blazed by Sam Cooke, and quickly signed a contract with Columbia Records. Her time at Columbia was pretty disastrous, and by the time her contract expired, she actually owed the label money due to incredibly disappointing sales numbers.
When the budding soul star switched over to Atlantic Records in 1967, however, her career finally kicked into gear. Recording groundbreaking hit after groundbreaking hit, this period marked Franklin’s most prolific and commercially successful. Breaking into the mainstream with the timeless classic ‘I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)’, the Atlantic years were essential in establishing Franklin as one of America’s most affecting voices.
If you had to boil down the career and spirit of Franklin into just one song, it would have to be the 1967 single ‘Respect’, originally recorded by Otis Redding. A rallying cry for female liberation and the fight for civil rights, the song arguably defined the decade of the 1960s as a whole, particularly with regard to its political and cultural revolutions. It should come as no real surprise, therefore, that Franklin herself always held the song incredibly close to her heart.
Back in 2014, Rolling Stone asked the ‘Queen of Soul‘ to compile a list of her favourite songs. Alongside classic soul tracks by the likes of Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett, and The Four Tops, the vocalist also selected her own work in the form of ‘Respect’. While you might argue that picking your own recording as one of your all-time favourites might be a little arrogant, it is easy to see why Franklin would choose the enduring classic.
Expanding on her appreciation of the 1967 classic, Franklin poses the question, “What can I say about this one?” Summarising its importance, she shared, “Well, I just love it. Of course, that became a mantra for the civil rights movement. ‘Respect’ is just basic to everyone: everybody wants it […] Everybody wants and needs respect. It’s basic to mankind. Perhaps what people could not say, the record said it for them.” Indeed, the anger and defiance inherent in Franklin’s performance did reflect the anger of the oppressed Black population in America at the time.
In terms of women’s liberation, Franklin was quick to downplay the importance of the song, saying, “I don’t think I was a catalyst for the women’s movement. As far as I know, that was Gloria Steinem’s role.” While Steinem was instrumental in kicking off the second wave of feminism, it was Franklin’s song which gave that movement its soundtrack. Despite her downplaying of her music’s feminist leanings, Franklin also declared, “Women did, and still do, need equal rights. We’re doing the same job; we expect the same pay and the same respect.”
A record like ‘Respect’ and a voice like Aretha Franklin never truly loses its appeal. “I never get tired of singing it,” the singer agreed. “I really love it. And I find new ways to just keep it fresh for me, without changing exactly what it is people heard on the record.” Admittedly, the themes of race relations and gender that Franklin was singing about back in 1967 are still relevant issues in the modern age, making ‘Respect’ as important a song today as it ever has been. Franklin’s voice will always be a powerful reminder of defiance and liberation, regardless of how many years pass.
